To: <bobford79 AT yahoo.com>, <homestead AT lists.ibiblio.org>
Subject: Re: [Homestead] Another wood-fired oven production
Date: Sat, 8 Nov 2008 16:00:04 -0800
There are several breeds of sheep that are either milking or multi-use. The
ones that youngest is buying in the spring, St. Croix, are multi-purpose.
Now, for the sheep milking trivia. Ya know, all that useless information
you'll never need or use again <g> *Generally* speaking, you sit at the
back of sheep to milk them. One of the reasons for the St. Croix is that
you milk them just like a goat, from the side. The Friesians very prolific
on milk production.
In Sicily and parts of Italy, lots of the cheese is from sheep. The best
mozzarella is sheep milk!
The U.S. imports, are ya sitting down?, OVER 72,000,000 pounds of sheep
cheese a year! Yup, 72 MILLION! And that number is growing. We only
produce a half million pounds. So, anyone with the space and the right mind
set, could make some money!
Now, last I checked (it's been a couple of years), cow milk was selling for
about $13/cwt. Goat milk for about $27/cwt and sheep milk for $55.50/cwt.
You can get, from St. Croix, E. Friesian and some other breeds, a minimum of
3 pints of milk per day with a lamb on them. The E. Friesian is the most
prolific here in the U.S. and gives more than 3 pints. Some have given as
much as 396 gallons per lactation.
The best milk producers are the Awassi and Sarda but we don't have them
here.
----- Original Message -----
From: "bob ford" <bobford79 AT yahoo.com>
Are you thinking of having milk "sheep", Gene? I have never heard of
anyone having dairy "sheep". I know they can produce plenty for their
lambs, but ...? :-)
Re: [Homestead] sheep was Another wood-fired oven production
, (continued)