# Breeds to consider for pasturing/meat?



## Millroad (Oct 15, 2010)

I'm trying to research this but totally overwhelmed by the number of breeds out there, and their wool characteristics, etc. We are considering trying to raise a small flock of sheep for lamb meat. We would like a breed that would do well on grass/alfalfa pasture without a lot of supplemental feed, and also one that would show well as a 4-H project for my kids. We live in Colorado - typical temperate climate - hot in the summer, cold in the winter. If anyone has any suggested breeds for me to consider, I'd love to hear from you. Thank you!


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## Reed77 (Mar 20, 2011)

I'm not sure about weather hardiness , but the suffolk is one of the more popular breeds at fair


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## VA Shepherd (Dec 26, 2010)

Suffolks are common at fairs, but the meat has a really strong flavor, I wouldn't recommend them for eating. I believe the saying is "the blacker the face, the nastier the taste."

Icelandics have very mild meat and they're very hardy, but I don't think they're often shown. They don't halter train (or any kind of train) easily in my experience. I like personality in my sheep, and they have it in abundance! 

How about North Country or Border Cheviots? They are great keepers, very meaty, supposed to have good flavor though I can't speak from personal experience. My ram is 1/4 NCC, he is HUGE, and as gentle as any ram I've ever met (outside of breeding season ). They're smart and can be stubborn, but if you get them young and tame them early, they're wonderful. They also work well with dogs, I'm told, if you want to use a herder.

Black Welsh Mountain sheep are also very mild and very hardy, but $$$. They're a rare breed. One of the top BWM breeders in the US is located in CO, on the Western Slope (Desert Weyr Farm). She will not sell you a less than perfect animal, but it's an investment, for sure.


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## LibertyWool (Oct 23, 2008)

From my experience Suffolk/Hamp sheep need more feed (ie are less feed efficient) than my Romney sheep. The Border Leicester and Cotswolds I have had are in the middle. Romney sheep are very feed efficient and would be a good option. Romneys would show well in a fleece competition, but would not do well as market lambs. Winning market lambs are normally fed no more than a handful of hay a day and the rest of their diet is grain products to produce fast growth and heavy coverage (Suffolk/Hamp are popular for market lambs). I hope this helps....


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## Countrygent51 (Jul 30, 2011)

I'll put in my two cents, having been a long time county fair/state fair sheep exhibitor as a kid. I don't currently raise sheep, but still attend fairs and keep up with developments to some extent. Free advice, worth every penny (haha):

Traditional meat breeds, primarily of British origin, that have been popular over the years: Suffolk, Hampshire, Shropshire, Dorset, Oxford, Southdown. These breeds have all changed a lot (driven partly by showring fads as well as commercial considerations). Suffolks, Hamps, and Oxfords are the largest framed on this list, followed by Dorsets and Shropshires, with the little meaty Southdowns slightly behind in overall size as adults. Most have been raised with the typical Midwestern farmer emphasis on growth rates with plenty of grain. All will graze, but none are especially known for this trait. Dorsets traditionally breed out of season (a plus) and compete well against the darker faced meat breeds. Southdowns are awesome, like the fuel efficient VW next to the big roomy SUV.

Cheviots are great, awesome mothers, excellent foragers, but grow more slowly and do not typically compete as well in a market class in 4H. They are also pretty wild at heart (there are exceptions, but they spook easily and jump, unless you spend plenty of time working with them). Border are tiny, North Country are big. Montadales fit someplace into this category as well, Cheviot looking but with more meat genetics. Texels are yet another, more exotic white face, that I'd put in here as something to consider.

White faced wool breeds like the Corriedale, Columbia are nice dual purpose animals, still not going to compete for growth or carcass with the meat breeds, but shear a wonderful fleece. Lincolns and Romneys fit in here someplace as do some of the (unfortunately) rarer breeds like Cotswold, Rambouillet, Merino etc. These all shear heavy fleeces and do produce good meat, but probably wouldn't gain as fast on a pound per day basis as a Suffolk or Hamp on grain. 

If I was looking for a nice, docile, meaty, efficient breed for kids at the fair I'd give Southdowns a look. They look a bit like koala bears and are bursting with muscle all the way through.

Lots of great breeds, all with fervent advocates and their own unique advantages and drawbacks. Have fun with your search.


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## lambs.are.cute (Aug 15, 2010)

I have suffolk, suffolk/dorset, and romney ewes on pasture. I breed them all to a suffolk ram. All my lambs are on a grass/legume pasture full time with no grain.

My best ewes for being on grass are the suffolk/dorset and the romney (although the romeny has to be watched because she gets too fat). The best lambs for eating are the romney/suffolk crosses. The suffolk adds some fame and growthyness to the romeny and the romney adds a LOT of muscle.


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## houndlover (Feb 20, 2009)

I have suffolks crossed with dorsets, dorpers, and hamps. Definitely the easiest keepers are the suffolk/dorset crosses. Consistently higher weaning weights, despite all the lambs weighing about the same at birth. Second are the suffolk dorper crosses. As for winning at show, the suffolk hamps beat everything. Taste? All the same to me. This year I'm crossing out with a new ram, a north country cheviot/suffolk cross. He's a big guy at 2, way better built than my last ram, a suffolk hamp, and THAT was a good ram. I'm hoping for nice lambs next year. A couple of big producers in my county run only cheviots and they are beautiful sheep, all grass only fed. My problem with them is their white feet and our wet climate. I know those producers send their sheep down valley south of Corvallis to spend the wet winter because of foot rot. They are good eating and do well, but I don't have any personal experience. I would guess if they can run 500-600 and be profitable running them down on the ***** near the columbia river all summer, they are probably good sheep. We shall see.


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## bergere (May 11, 2002)

Best eating I have had, was Black Welsh Mountain sheep, even the older ones taste good
Granted they are not really big enough to show in some of the 4-H classes.


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## BarbadosSheep (Jun 27, 2011)

Do you want wool or is your primary purpose meat? If just meat, consider one of the hair sheep types, such as Katahdins. the meat is a little less "lamby" due to the lack of lanolin that the sheep have in the wool they do have, plus the wool sheds off in the spring with no shearing required.


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## MDKatie (Dec 13, 2010)

I'd recommend either Romneys or Southdowns. My Romneys are constantly out grazing...they'd much prefer to be out grazing in the rain than under cover eating hay. They're supposed to be one of the better breeds for finishing on grass. 

I also love Southdowns. They're docile and good meat animals, and in my experience they are extremely easy keepers, better even than the Romneys.


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## Countrygent51 (Jul 30, 2011)

For those raising concerns about the "lamby" taste of the meat on some breeds, are you referring to lamb or mutton (the older sheep tend to have a stronger taste regardless of breed from my understanding). I can see mutton being a problem. I've never heard or experienced the complaint about darker faced breeds having a stronger, less desirable taste. Raised a lot of sheep and eaten a lot of lamb over the years.

FWIW, I love the taste of lamb. This discussion reminds of me of the old saying about Red Delicious apples: the apple variety developed for those who dislike the taste of apples!


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## bergere (May 11, 2002)

What is interesting about the BWM, is they don't have a strong taste, and they aren't Rammy or Lammy tasting. These are a very low lanolin sheep, so that kind of taste doesn't follow through.

Now I couldn't stand my Dad's Suffolks,, they were really strong in taste. Kind'a gross really...


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## Countrygent51 (Jul 30, 2011)

I went back and read the original post: it seems you are balancing several goals (all worthy) including: meat production, pasture thrifty, and potential success in the youth show ring. There is probably no perfect breed, but the good news is you have several nice options. The most important is to find a breed you like: appearance, personality, historic breed characteristics. The second thing is to think about what kind of show environment your kids will face: youth/4H shows vary widely by region. When I was a kid showing in the 1970s the judge would rarely look beyond a Suffolk or Hamp in the market classes. Today, from what I can tell, more options are available including competitions by breed or by breed groupings (e.g. whiteface or speckle face market lambs) so you are not always up against the "favored" breed. That means you could select a less common breed, based on what you and the kids like.

I'd take a good look at Southdowns (docile, meaty, wonderful carcasses), Corriedales (dual purpose, great mothers, big size, known for superb fleeces), and Dorsets (Horned are heritage and rare, Polled are common and modern) as dual purpose, good mothers, good foragers, with a decent carcass. Lots of great choices, can't go wrong if you find one you really like that meets your criteria.


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## Millroad (Oct 15, 2010)

Thanks for all the information, folks - very helpful. Our county fair starts this week, and I will write down the names of these breeds and see who is showing what and how they do, and maybe even find some breeders. I'll also look at the premium book for the fair and see how they are grouped.

As far as the wool goes, I am a knitter but I don't imagine raising sheep for wool unless they were merinos, as I can't have regular wool near my skin. And our next door neighbors raise alpacas, whose wool I much prefer to sheep's! But who knows. . .


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## Maura (Jun 6, 2004)

I have black Welsh mountain sheep. They taste mild. You can eat an old ram and not get a strong taste. I actually prefer a more sheepy taste. My corriedale ram was butchered at about age 4 1/2 and was very good. A couple of cuts were strong, but the rest was not as mild as BWM, very good. The rest of our butchered sheep have been corriedale X BWM and the flavor is good. The corriedale creates a larger black sheep with very nice wool. Not merino, but I'm happy with it (the best wool I get from the next generation down, less BWM, but black). Give Desert Wyr a call.


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## Lazy J (Jan 2, 2008)

Production bred Dorsets!!!!!


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## Jcran (Jan 4, 2006)

bergere said:


> Best eating I have had, was Black Welsh Mountain sheep, even the older ones taste good
> Granted they are not really big enough to show in some of the 4-H classes.


I just bought two 6-month old wethers. About how much should I expect them to weigh on average...bought them site unseen from the guy who sold me the ewe last year...only grass fed so far, and when's the best age to slaughter. I butchered out a crossed ewe lamb last year and it was the best lamb we've ever had. Small, though.


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## Looking4ewes (Apr 30, 2006)

"Production bred Dorsets!!!!!"

I wholeheartedly agree! Docile, good mothers, easy to handle, etc. I love my Dorsets!


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## Nicole Irene (Jun 12, 2011)

I like our Jacob sheep and my mil is processing and knitting with their wool (they are supposedly very desirable wool breeds). They are smaller and hardy. They are fat on barely any pasture (our fields are dry right now) and a couple flakes of hay/alfalfa. When the grass is green, they get no supplements (except the salt lick). 

They are a bit goat like in personality, very....outgoing.  
This is Baby looking for cob (she is like a crack addict):









Their meat is supposed to be good, mild and never muttony. I don't know, as we have yet to butcher our first wether.

Oh, and the lambs are absolutely adorable:


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## Maura (Jun 6, 2004)

Jcran said:


> I just bought two 6-month old wethers. About how much should I expect them to weigh on average...bought them site unseen from the guy who sold me the ewe last year...only grass fed so far, and when's the best age to slaughter. I butchered out a crossed ewe lamb last year and it was the best lamb we've ever had. Small, though.


I don't know what they will weight. BWM is a small breed, but some of the lines are larger. If you want more size, a ram is better, the hormones help them put more meat on. This type of sheep is meant to be on pasture only. They are very thrifty. If you try to bulk them up with grain you're only going to get fat sheep. Wethers get fat on pasture and grass hay, ask me how I know.


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## francismilker (Jan 12, 2006)

If you're interested in sheep primarily for meat, I'd suggest any breed of hairsheep. We eat them regularly and have never noticed the "off", "twangy" flavor in any age no matter if it was fed on grain or grass. I even butchered a 2-3 year old ewe once and she was great!


BTW, we don't feed our hairsheep ANYTHING. And I mean, "ANYTHING"! (besides minerals) They thrive on grass alone and are very parasite resistant. They have no lambing problems in extreme heat or extreme cold. As well, if the tails are banded for docking upon birth, they look like a nicely shorn wool sheep once they shed their winter coat. The non-existant need for shearing makes them our top reason for picking them.


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## Zeet_Cranberry (Jan 11, 2011)

Lots of breeds thrown around here so I'll ask...where would California Reds fit in the spectrum???


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## wendle (Feb 22, 2006)

Out of season breeders helps you get earlier lambs , which would be larger at show time. Dorsets and Katahdins both breed out of season. There are a lot of way too slight built Katahdins out there for a good Fair lamb, but there's also some nice ones out there. You need something pretty meaty or they won't even look at it. Around here if it isn't Suffolk it's nothing. Dorset is more likely to be a nice 4H fair prospect. Cheviots , though nice are very seasonal breeders. You might also look into Dorpers, they have a better carcass than Katahdin , but sometimes can be a little wooly for a hair sheep. Not sure of their vigor.


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