[Paul Plots]

Wow! What a choice. The local farmer's collected his sheep now - it's incredible how that dog worked. I asked if he needed any help and he said 'No thanks, the dog will get them' - he just stood and whistled / shouted and the dog had them rounded up and in the trailer. I wouldn't have been surprised if he'd shut the door and driven the land rover at this point

Today I think we need heavy sheep - the lighter ones are being blown off in the wind!

Woolly jumpers? 

[sion01]

I just realised that I know where Clogwyn Melyn is.Its about 4 miles away from me.Forget about the sheep for know and get yourself aquainted with the 'the goat' pub at bryncir.
You could even buy a goat and then all you'd have to do of an evening is tell her indoors that you'r going to ckeck on the 'goat' and then disapear down the pub.
You may also like to point out to her that a lot of farmers drink at the goat so a lot of information could be got so you would actually be 'working'.

[John]

I just realised that I know where Clogwyn Melyn is.Its about 4 miles away from me.Forget about the sheep for know and get yourself aquainted with the 'the goat' pub at bryncir.
You could even buy a goat and then all you'd have to do of an evening is tell her indoors that you'r going to ckeck on the 'goat' and then disapear down the pub.
You may also like to point out to her that a lot of farmers drink at the goat so a lot of information could be got so you would actually be 'working'.

Hello neighbour! I've seen the goat..

We're just up from the BT phone box

Map Link

[joyfull]

I just realised that I know where Clogwyn Melyn is.Its about 4 miles away from me.Forget about the sheep for know and get yourself aquainted with the 'the goat' pub at bryncir.
You could even buy a goat and then all you'd have to do of an evening is tell her indoors that you'r going to ckeck on the 'goat' and then disapear down the pub.You may also like to point out to her that a lot of farmers drink at the goat so a lot of information could be got so you would actually be 'working'.

this wouldn't work for John as Val is on here all the time and will have read this post!! besides I bet Val would already be in the goat before John got there 

[madcat]

this wouldn't work for John as Val is on here all the time and will have read this post!! besides I bet Val would already be in the goat before John got there 

Leaving him with the tab to pay for her port & lemons???   

[John]

Leaving him with the tab to pay for her port & lemons???   

But Val drinks cider! Well, to be accurate, Val drinks anything but prefers cider

(Awaits writ from lawyer)

[Trillium]

And here you thought rainy weather would have you knee deep in it 

[GrannieAnnie]

Leaving him with the tab to pay for her port & lemons???   

But Val drinks cider! Well, to be accurate, Val drinks anything but prefers cider

(Awaits writ from lawyer)

Oh don't get divorced now John, you've only just bought the place of your dreams!!   

[Bettina]

John, I would look for a rare breed, with both good meat and wool. Finn Sheep are actually great for that, they taste fantastic and the wool is good for spinning.

If you take good care of the pasture and the sheep do not end up with too many burrs and grass or hay in the fleece, a lot of handspinners will happily take it off your hand, if it is good quality.

To look at fleeces and how you can sell them, have a look on

www.etsy.com

search under all items for "raw fleece" and you will have an idea as to prices and demand from handspinners for specific breeds.

[John]

Thanks Bettina - a very helpful post.

Apart from sheep, there's a lot of other projects we want to get going and we've decided we're going to be careful lest we jump into everything at once and end up with an unholy mess.

I don't mind a mess in the veg plot but I do take livestock very seriously - it's plain wrong not to look after them properly.

[Bettina]

I agree that looking after livestock is very important and that research is required.

With sheep however, it is nice to know that there are three things you can get from them. Milk, wool and meat.

Also, even if you cannot find a finn ram for finn sheep girls, even 50% finn tastes fantastic and for lambs that eventually go on to slaughter, and in the freezer, any other good meat ram will do.

However, when you do buy finn sheep, make sure that you buy from someone who has bred them for both meat quality and fleece. Also, finn are very prolific, that is twins and triplets are the norm with them, so you may also need less sheep for the amount of lambs you would like to have per year.

[Tiggs]

What about Black Welsh Mountain or Welsh Mountain sheep?? Jacobs are also a nice ahrdy breed. I saw some at market whcih had filled out well and were stocky things. Or Hebrideans? A Hebridean ram can have up to six horns, what a sight!! We are thinking of getting a couple of Hebrideans as they are quite a sight for the public. 

[zarazara]

We keep Badger Face torwen. They are a type of welsh mountain. we've just finished lambing and our 3 ewes have all had pairs [twins] one tuplamb and one ewe lamb each.
We used to farm "properly" for a living and several hundred sheep. the Badger Face is new to us and we are finding them to be excellent mothers,easy to keep and they do their lambs well in addition to being attractive to look at. Cant ask for more than that!

[rubenjohnson]

i feel really proud of u. but such breed can withstand for your land,though u can go for some research...

[Redgoat]

Having grown up on a farm which kept sheep you should consider amongst other things any tendency in the breed for problems. eg Derbyshire Gritstone are reckoned to have poor mouths and susceptible to losing teeth earlier than other breeds.

Other factors are the height of your land and the availability for shelter. For instance if you were to go for a lowland breed like Bluefaced Leicester you'd have to accept they would need to be indoors in winter in order to withstand the cold.

Of course you may wish to consider whether you want to produce a marketable carcass or just keep the breed for show. Breeds like the Cheviot, Texel or Suffolk are top rated meat breeds.
The joy of keeping any livestock is the choice of breeds so enjoy it.

Given you are in North Wales I would personally suggest a breed such as the Black Welsh Mountain. Aesthetically pleasing, easy lambing and hardy