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  • From: "Gwen Giffen" <ggiffen@1st.net>
  • To: <livingontheland@lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [Livingontheland] speaking of sheep/ New bunch of
  • Date: Wed, 31 May 2006 08:49:58 -0400

While Navajo-Churro sheep have interested me, when choosing a breed I went with Romney and Romney crosses, for several reasons. Navajo-Churros are a little harder to come by in the eastern midwest for an affordable price for me, and transportation increases the cost. Romneys are adapted to a wet pasture, and take little hoof-trimming. They are supposed to be resilient to parasites, and I have found this to be true. I have a parasite problem in my wet pasture, with my goats particularly. I have a good bit of Lincoln and some Corriedale genetics in my sheep also, and some of them are naturally colored. The crosses seem to add hardiness to the sheep, and variety to longwool spinning fleeces. They are not extremely prolific - I get lambs at about 150 %. We've had to help with lambing with some of the purebreds, but not the crosses.

There are several Yahoo groups made specifically for selling spinning goods. I posted my 12 longwool fleeces from last year on one - a raw fleeces group - and they all sold within 2 weeks. Someone with Blueface Leicesters told me not to bother with eBay; that Yahoo groups were easier. I set up as a vendor with PayPal first, but about half of my first customers preferred paying with personal checks. You just have to wait for the check to arrive before you ship the fleece. My biggest hassle was finding the most appropriate size box to ship in. When I figured this out, then I ordered a bunch for cheap from U-Line, instead of paying Staple's prices for them. It all takes a little bookkeeping, but it has worked out nicely.

We've taken 2 sheep and a goat so far to a local small packer, and have been very happy with the inexpensive, pasture-raised meat. I have neighbors who have been asking for a lamb when we have extra. All in all, I've found it one of the more profitable endeavors on the farm to raise a few sheep.

A word about sheep breeds - I've done some research on mad cow and scrapie, and Suffolk, while a nice carcass, is one of the main carrier breeds of this disease. I also do not care for the fleece for spinning. They were the most widely available breed, but I chose not to go with them for these two reasons. I have little knowledge of their hardiness or how prolific they are. The Lincoln adds size to the body and length to the wool; the Corriedale adds fineness and shortens the fiber length a little. I have yet to spin a Navajo-Churro fleece, but there are many posted to buy on the fiber groups, and they seem to go well and for good prices. As a spinner who loves the longwools, it makes sense to me that the Romney, Lincoln and Corriedale fleeces have no problem selling online at a good price either. I get a lot more than I would if I took the fleeces to the Ohio Woolgrowers.

I have a female llama for a guard animal. I've had her for nearly 5 years, and have yet to have a coyote problem. I see coyotes in and around my pasture from time to time, but our rabbit population combined with a llama seems to be keeping them at bay so far. She is by far the easiest livestock element on the farm to care for, and is worth every penny I paid for her.

Gwen




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