Post by josiegirl on Jan 26, 2022 15:28:21 GMT -5
So I had another thread inquiring about dairy sheep last year, simply cuz I love sheep milk and we weren't sure if we could get Josie rebred. Got wonderful advice, but we put it off since Josie was still producing and we(well... I) don't want to collect animals if we're not ready for them. Whiiiiiich leads to this thread. I finally may have found a way to get my husband get rid of his rabbits. Rabbits that my husband apparently has always wanted but it has been a dismal failure. Complete waste of money and time. He 'collected' them. I could go on all stinking day about his stinking rabbits. But this thread is about sheep.
I think we may have found a compromise. I have always wanted a fiber animal when we were ready for one, and he wants cool skulls for his flesh eating beetles, plus hides. So I proposed that if he got rid of his rabbits we could buy a starter flock of sheep. And even tho he's still hesitant, I think if I find the right sheep he will go for it!!!
So I'm looking for advice for a good dual purpose sheep. Actually tri purpose, but the third purpose not being milk but horns. So wool, decent meat, and horns. Initially thinking icelandic sheep cuz they sure are beautiful, but I hear their wool is not very nice to wear. I also don't believe for a second they provide milk because nobody I've seen who owns them milks them. And they are bloody expensive.
I'm talking with a jacob sheep breeder about what he'd let a starter flock go for, thinking they will be less expensive than icelandics. They are sooo cool, they have 4 horns! Or 2-6 horns actually. So husband loooves that. They are small, so I don't think they'd give MUCH meat. But we don't need much lamb. Can anyone speak to how their fleece is tho? That's my main concern. I hear they are variable, the breeder says he may be able to pick out some finer fleeced sheep.
Any other suggestions? It seems a lot of sheep don't have horns anymore. Looking for breeds that both sexes have horns, nice wool, and I feel like you can eat just about any sheep right? The thread alohaparenting had mentioned merino wool sheep tasted bad. And I don't think they have any horns right?
Any help greatly appreciated, I wanna get rid of these rabbits!!!
I will also have plenty of other questions and research to do. Like can they share pens with pigs or cows, will cow mineral blocks hurt them, do they destroy pasture for cows etc.
I think we may have found a compromise. I have always wanted a fiber animal when we were ready for one, and he wants cool skulls for his flesh eating beetles, plus hides. So I proposed that if he got rid of his rabbits we could buy a starter flock of sheep. And even tho he's still hesitant, I think if I find the right sheep he will go for it!!!
So I'm looking for advice for a good dual purpose sheep. Actually tri purpose, but the third purpose not being milk but horns. So wool, decent meat, and horns. Initially thinking icelandic sheep cuz they sure are beautiful, but I hear their wool is not very nice to wear. I also don't believe for a second they provide milk because nobody I've seen who owns them milks them. And they are bloody expensive.
I'm talking with a jacob sheep breeder about what he'd let a starter flock go for, thinking they will be less expensive than icelandics. They are sooo cool, they have 4 horns! Or 2-6 horns actually. So husband loooves that. They are small, so I don't think they'd give MUCH meat. But we don't need much lamb. Can anyone speak to how their fleece is tho? That's my main concern. I hear they are variable, the breeder says he may be able to pick out some finer fleeced sheep.
Any other suggestions? It seems a lot of sheep don't have horns anymore. Looking for breeds that both sexes have horns, nice wool, and I feel like you can eat just about any sheep right? The thread alohaparenting had mentioned merino wool sheep tasted bad. And I don't think they have any horns right?
Any help greatly appreciated, I wanna get rid of these rabbits!!!
I will also have plenty of other questions and research to do. Like can they share pens with pigs or cows, will cow mineral blocks hurt them, do they destroy pasture for cows etc.