What breed of sheep to get???

[landkeeper]

if you want meat and nothing more then get texel or texel cross wether lambs they will get to a decent weight without getting too fat and have a good meat to bone ratio you could easily run them on to +25kg carcass weight without any trouble more if you don't mind a bit of fat on your lamb
A lot of the other breeds mentioned are either lacking in confirmation or meat yield due to the characteristics of their breeds
avoid entire male lambs for obvious reasons and ewe lambs if you want to run them on in weight as they tend to run to fat

 

[NorthDorset]

I keep Wiltshire Horn. They are an ancient breed and slow maturing and arrow shaped or as Landkeeper puts it lacking confirmation and meat yield! However they drop their young in the field rather than having to be bought in to lamb and don't need much care. Being a hair sheep they shed their wool and don't need shearing. Wool is virtually worthless and getting a shearer in for four sheep just painful.

However that said I don't know that Wiltshire Horns are really what you are after in your circumstance.

Around lambing time you will pick up orphan lambs for nothing. We gave 2 away this year ourselves. You will need to put in a fair bit of work up front weening them and hand reared sheep often don't thrive but will serve for a cheap source of lamb. Anything you pick up locally is likely to fit your environment. Breeding on such a small scale is very difficult.

Typically my sheep fetch about £80 each.

You will need to get a CPH number to keep sheep and complete the flock book and movement paperwork needed.

I have found it very interesting and rewarding.

 

[Pedro]

Go for the Herdwicks, the lambs are black but eventually become white.
Excellent mutton and a local breed easily sourced in Cumbria.

HWH.

They're certainly hardy, so don't find interesting ways to die quite so often, but really they're fell sheep and they are real escape artists. Any little chink in the field security and they will be through it. Even jump over fences if the grass is greener...

 

[Roedinator]

We just had ten Kerry hill x delivered yesterday £ 55 each 3 months old
will run these on to just after Xmas time
keep some for the freezer and sell whole and half lamb packs
worked well last year
regards pete

 

[SL6.5]

My neighbours have already said they will take care of the paper work, legal side of things, transportation etc.
my side will just be pound notes.

And if there is a problem will they be the owners or will you?

Many people try and keep farm animals without being part of the "system". In doing so they potentially jeopardise said "system" and place working farmer's livelihoods at risk.

If you are going to be an owner of sheep please take note of the following.

https://www.gov.uk/sheep-and-goats-identification-registration-and-movement

https://www.gov.uk/sheep-and-goat-welfare

National bio-security and responsibility for the welfare of everyone else's stock don't seem to occur to many hobby owners as being their responsibility, when actually these are the people most likely to make serious mistakes and cause serious problems through ignorance. Sorry about the soap-box rant, but farming isn't a game, regardless of the fact that many people do play at it.

 

[weeman]

And if there is a problem will they be the owners or will you?

Many people try and keep farm animals without being part of the "system". In doing so they potentially jeopardise said "system" and place working farmer's livelihoods at risk.

If you are going to be an owner of sheep please take note of the following.

https://www.gov.uk/sheep-and-goats-identification-registration-and-movement

https://www.gov.uk/sheep-and-goat-welfare

National bio-security and responsibility for the welfare of everyone else's stock don't seem to occur to many hobby owners as being their responsibility, when actually these are the people most likely to make serious mistakes and cause serious problems through ignorance. Sorry about the soap-box rant, but farming isn't a game, regardless of the fact that many people do play at it.

Cheers for the links, most of what I read appeared to be common sense and respect that most would carry out.
i wont be putting anyone's livelihood at risk as its a close nit community where I live in an area of AONB.
myself and neighbours work closely with natural England who have surrounding land.
i get people on my side, don't step on people's toes.

 

[countrryboy]

A very good point above.
I mind when F&M hit it was all these daft wee hoby farmers refused to have there scabby sheep culled yet their neighbours with pedigree show winning sheep had there whole flocks/bloodlines wiped out, there livliehoods and generations of breeding gone overnight.
Some moved there sheep into there houses and had petions and all sorts of stupid things to save a handfull of sheep yet the farmers had to loose all their's

Ps Not calling u a daft wee hobby farmer weeman but that was the type of good ljfe incomers that did jepodise the whole clean cull and didn't care about the neighbouring farmers

 

[SL6.5]

Cheers for the links, most of what I read appeared to be common sense and respect that most would carry out.
i wont be putting anyone's livelihood at risk as its a close nit community where I live in an area of AONB.
myself and neighbours work closely with natural England who have surrounding land.
i get people on my side, don't step on people's toes.

You are either in the system and properly monitored or you are not in the system and therefore a risk and potential danger to everyone who is in it. It's that simple. To be in the system you need to do everything required in the links I provided and should also, in advance of doing anything, take advice from people such as local vets and DEFRA. Owning sheep is much more complex than owning a gun and each has its own system of rules and regulations,. You wouldn't try owning a gun without obeying the rules so hopefully you will not be any different where sheep are concerned. By the time you have consulted with everyone you need to consult and fulfilled all of the rules, then you will probably be sufficiently familiar with sheep and sheep keeping to answer your own question, which you posed in the opening post. Good luck on the learning curve.

 

[private fraser]

In theory the plan sounds great re just the 4 sheep,but after reading the posts I think I'd just buy the beast(s) from the neighbour when you want the meat.
Less hassle, no possibility of going wrong in the keeping of them and keep good relations all round.
Maybe I'm just being lazy though.

 

[Buchan]

SOme interesting replies here. Yes, Herdwick will produce excellent mutton, but a small carcass. Almost any fat ram x mule will give a decent fat lamb that will grow. I'd have suggested Hampshires as someone else did, I've heard good things about eating quality. Buy from someone you know and check on worming/fluke treatments. Glad to hear you've abandoned breeding them - just a headache with a few.

 

[ju13]

weeman, you should have said on friday, it maybe too late for this year but should be able to pick up some "pet" lambs from January round here if you aren't to fussed as to breed and just fatten them all up and slaughter before winter arrives, last week lambs at NW auctions were around £64-68 each ready to kill but then bang on transport tickets and killing it all adds up, give me a message on the phone with what you are after can ask the boss to see if he knows of any to transfer to the farm.

 

[weeman]

weeman, you should have said on friday, it maybe too late for this year but should be able to pick up some "pet" lambs from January round here if you aren't to fussed as to breed and just fatten them all up and slaughter before winter arrives, last week lambs at NW auctions were around £64-68 each ready to kill but then bang on transport tickets and killing it all adds up, give me a message on the phone with what you are after can ask the boss to see if he knows of any to transfer to the farm.

Apologies mate I was running late for the vets. I'll pop in sometime this week for a chat etc.

Cheers for the capes, the new pup was enjoying playing with the red cape. Just need some blood and I'm ready for tracks/scent trails to be laid.

 

[glenure]

Just make sure you get ones that can't talk otherwise you can get in a lot of bother!

 

[deeangeo]

Just make sure you get ones that can't talk otherwise you can get in a lot of bother!

 

[Irish Bob]

Hi and apologies by being at the opposite end of the spectrum.
my neighbour has approx two acres of land that they have kindly said I can put some sheep on there. What breed will be is best to produce good meat and low maintenance.
idealy I'd like only four what costs may I be looking at.

Any Cumbrian north lancs farmers on here??

You are going to need a holding number and be registered with animal health. Not hard but more hassle. I could not sell you lambs without these.

and only having four and possibly hand rearing, just don't give them names.

 

[pendle]

Get the book sheep for the smallholder by tim tyne it will help you its one of the best sheep books on the market . Just ask VSS he wrote the book

 

[smullery]

Hi and apologies by being at the opposite end of the spectrum.
my neighbour has approx two acres of land that they have kindly said I can put some sheep on there. What breed will be is best to produce good meat and low maintenance.
idealy I'd like only four what costs may I be looking at.

Any Cumbrian north lancs farmers on here??

Pretty ones

Stan

 

[skywull]

slow ones

 

[johndeere]

Killed my first half dozen lambs just now 2 gone whole the rest will be cut up and go as freezer orders.
The middle two lambs are twin herdwick cross Hampshire and weighed slightly less than the others didn’t weigh them, in my freezer now the others are 44LB with pluck removed so the little herdwick done ok.

 

[phillc]

..... farming isn't a game...

Too right! It's a serious career and livelihood. If only more people were aware of the opportunities:



As for the sheep, go for Mouflon. Then you can stalk them later. The rams make cracking trophies.