# Polypay sheep questions?



## farmwife (Jan 6, 2006)

If you had these can you tell me pros and cons of them?


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## Ross (May 9, 2002)

Fast growing meaty lambs, very hardy, excellent in a cross breed, suitably prolific. Down sides, a tad aggressive with other sheep, too much wool and its not great quality for spinning. I'd have them exclusively but they're not as easy to find here as I'd like.


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## eieiomom (Jun 22, 2005)

Have only had them in my crosses, up to 50%.
Very hardy and great for crossbreeding.

Their tendency to be very prolific might be a downside to those not wanting to mess with little ones- requiring that extra attention needed for a good start.
Each fleece can vary in characteristics, due to the four different breeds involved in the make up of the Polypay breed.


 Ross -Very interesting about their temperament, I notice the higher % Polypay do tend to be pushier (snottier) among their flock mates.


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## Ross (May 9, 2002)

Maybe its the Ramboullette in them? I really wouldn't discount them because they were tougher than the wimpy Rideaus we have or the Hamps or Dorsets. No Polypay ever shoved the Suffolks around.


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## eieiomom (Jun 22, 2005)

I would put bets on the Rambouillet too.
I have had some purebred Rambos and I could not wait to get rid of them, always would go the opposite direction of the rest of the flock and very skittish. 
Have had Targhees, really like those and Dorsets along with the Rideau crosses. Don't know much about Finns but know they have a part in the make up of the Rideaus too..... 


I would definitely give my vote for the Polypay breed, have heard positive things and have extremely pleased with their crosses who seem to add to the quality of the Friesian crosses in their overall hardiness and quality production of meat, wool and milk.


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## veme (Dec 2, 2005)

I don't like polypay's. 
They don't do well on my farm.

In fact somebody tried to give me one in the grocery store parking lot a few years ago & I refused to take it because I know better 

I don't like how the carcasses dress out. 
More bone than I like.
also had foot troubles with polypays because the hooves can't stand up to my wet ground.
Black hooves do better for me.

I lost money on the lambs. 
Packers at the sale barn in my area don't care for them and they don't bring top dollar.
Not to mention that some lambs were puny & needed a bottle.
I won't ever have them again.


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## eieiomom (Jun 22, 2005)

veme said:


> Granny-Too funny
> 
> 
> Maybe they serve better in a cross breeding program, at least with the crosses I have ? :shrug:
> ...


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## Ross (May 9, 2002)

I had Hampshires for a while, absolutely first class sheep. Didn't fit in at all.


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## sewtlm (Mar 22, 2006)

They were bred for our region of the US so they do really well here. 

They can produce 2 sets of lambs per year and they recomend culling any ewe that doesn't have multiples.

Since they dress out better than most of the other white faced breeds and many of the commercial sheep ranchers here are looking forward to purchasing rams from DD first group of lambs.

Our first bag of wool was of good quality but wasn't a hand spinners dream. I think next years stuff will be sent to a specialty spinner or for quilt bats and felting.


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## mawalla (Oct 28, 2002)

I've got a 10 year old 1/2 polypay ewe that I retired last season. She gave me 20 lambs in 9 years. Her ewe lambs that we've kept have also been prolific. I get a lot of triplets and quads from that line so I watch them closely during pregnancy. They all have been excellent mothers. They have lots of wool, but not of a high quality for spinning. I really like them.


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## therealshari (Jul 10, 2007)

We have Polypay blood in our sheep to help with yielding multiple offspring. Any ewe that gives us less than twins is gone. Since the majority blood in our flock is Suffolk, we have crossed this year with a Merino ram in hopes of developing a new blood line that will yield multiples but with better wool.

Around here, on the SW Utah desert, most folks raise Polypay or Suffolk/Polypay cross and add Merino as necessary to up the quality of the wool. Our sheep are very hardy, able to successfully survive the hot, dry summers (average or 97 degree or better for more than 60 days) and cold, snowy winters (lucky to be above freezing from December-February), as well as the high winds in the winter/spring.

The big folks move their sheep around, from the mountains east of Cedar City, to the desert, to still another site in Nevada, depending upon the weather. They return here to lamb, though.


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