? About Hair Sheep

[Ky hills]

I know this is a cattle forum, but a while back there were a couple posts about sheep, and while I have somewhat of a love/hate feeling on raising sheep, I am contemplating getting a few again. A few years ago, I had around 60 ewes mostly Suffolk and a few Suffolk/Dorsett crossbreds, I had coyote problems and sold them all. Since then I have at times wished I still had a few to eat down some lots around the barns, but didn't want to have to deal with getting them sheared. I remember some folks on here talking about hair sheep, and last week when UK advertised sheep for sale I thought about some of their Dorpers. I didn't get any, as someone came at the opening time and bought them all.
I am wondering what folks opinions of the various breeds of hair sheep are? Should I still try to stick to Dorpers, or are Katahdins similar? There seem to be more Katadins available at this time. Or are there other breeds that perform and sell about as well?

 

[crop/hail]

I posted about the hair sheep a few weeks ago. I bought me a handful of bred dorper ewes. So far so good. I don't know much about sheep but I do know that those things are as good as Grazon for weeds. They still have oats boot top high in the traps around my house that they are in and they are busy eating all of the weeds!! As I said, I don't know much about sheep so I got an order buyer to buy them for me. They cost just under 250 per head. they are all baby tooth and bred heavy a couple have already lambed and those little suckers grow FAST at 3 weeks old, they are twice the size they were when they were born. Most everyone around here has gone strickly to hair sheep (mostly dorper and dorper crosses) as they don't have to mess with shearing them and they actually seem to do better and bring more money. They (dorpers) also seem to stay in fences better than other types of sheep and especially goats. Mine are in a 6 strand barb wire fence and they haven't gotten out yet.

 

[Ebenezer]

We have St. Croix hair sheep. Our policy is no worming, no foot trimming, no helping with lambs and selection for adequate muscle in rams and twinning in ewes. They will be the easiest to keep of any breed if you can find them there and there are St. Croix in KY. Just be sure that the breeders don't raise them like pets. I can give you a KY breeder's name if that will speed things. The ewes do well and the F1's bred back to a terminal ram are about as good as any F1 in the SE USA or the southern USA.

 

[Ky hills]

Thank you both Crop/Hail and Ebenezer, for your informative comments.
Ebenezer, if it isn't much trouble, I am interested in looking into St Croix sheep and contacting the breeder you mentioned.

 

[JWBrahman]

If you only need a couple for weed control get some Barbados with the nasty horns to keep the coyotes away.

 

[Ebenezer]

Thank you both Crop/Hail and Ebenezer, for your informative comments.
Ebenezer, if it isn't much trouble, I am interested in looking into St Croix sheep and contacting the breeder you mentioned.

Check your PMs.

 

[Ky hills]

Thank you Ebenezer.
JWBrahman, we are infested with coyotes here, and bears have been in the area too. but I'm not sure I want sheep with horns. I have had some pretty hard knocks from a couple Suffolk rams. I think I have seen a few Barbados sheep, if they are what I think they are, then they are pretty animals.

 

[JWBrahman]

My mistake, the American Blackbelly has the horns and the Barbados Blackbelly is polled. They have better camouflage and will probably live longer than a St. Croix which are annoyingly tame.

http://barbadosblackbelly.com/faq/faq.htm

 

[Kell-inKY]

I have a question, I have a lot of woods at the edges and inside of almost all my pastures, (that's where the coyotes come in usually). Do sheep tend to spend a lot of time in the woods?

 

[Ebenezer]

I have a question, I have a lot of woods at the edges and inside of almost all my pastures, (that's where the coyotes come in usually). Do sheep tend to spend a lot of time in the woods?

Hair sheep will not stay in the woods like goats but will go in to eat leaves, shrubs, fruit, acorns, ... They will lay in shade for brief periods but go back into the pastures and sun to eat. Not an all day thing. If your fences are good enough to hold sheep get a single female donkey that has had at least one foal/baby or whatever you call them and be sure that she is used to sheep and goats or get an understanding that you can take her back if she does not work out. Just the female and not the baby.

 

[crop/hail]

My sheep have a nice pecan orchard that they can go lay in the shade under and they lay out in the middle of the oat field rain or shine!! makes me question their intelligence!!!