Dairy Sheep can be a self sufficient wanna-be's dream come true

[big brown horse]

Katahdins are quickly becoming known as a dual purpose breed of sheep also, as they are very "milky". Of course, no quality wool to speak of but this is a plus to some folks, as they won't need shearing. Nice meaty frames and quick growing lambs due to the high milk production.

Katahdins are very heavy milkers for a meat breed, easy lambing capabilities, no seasonal only breeding times and known for multiple births. Parasite resistant, cold and heat hardy, like to browse as well as graze, low winter feed consumption and milk just fine on good quality legume hay and graze.

Thanks for sharing Bee. You mean they won't have to eat considerable amounts of alfalfa while lactating?

This is good news as I have a Katahdin ewe too!

The lady that is selling me my E. Friesian cross was the first person to introduce dairy sheep to the state of WA. That was only 12 years ago!! It was only 5 years ago that a couple of commercial sheep dairies sprouted up.

How did you find that out about the Kats? I am running into brick walls when it comes to finding info on dairy sheep or milking sheep in general. :/

My biggest question is does their milk differ much from breed to breed other than the amounts? Is there a huge taste difference between sheep breeds? If not why am I struggling to get an all dairy cross herd?

I brought up the fact that my border cheviot was a dual breed known for milk etc. and I got shot down over "there" for even thinking of milking her. :/ It is so frustrating. (Eta: also I got zinged for saying she had useable wool that is well known for its "hand spinning" qualities.)

 

[freemotion]

Don't worry about it, BBH. What is right for a factory and what is right for YOUR homestead can be two very different things.

I had a very hard time finding out about the milk production of various goat breeds when searching for a suitable buck for my girls. It turns out that the difference is ounces per day, which adds up in a dairy but is meaningless here. Likely the same for your sheeples. What is perfect for the small family farmlet is not ideal for the big production facility. So what. Do what makes YOU happy!

 

[Beekissed]

Sally, alfalfa is a legume hay and it seems to be sufficient to keep them healthy while lactating. Now, if you are wanting high production levels on a commercial basis, then folks would suggest to add a grain ration. This would probably defeat the purpose of trying to be more SS, wouldn't it? Unless, of course, you could grow your own grains.

I've read numerous articles on the Kats and I'll have to see if I can find the one or if I have saved the one that mentions that they make great milkers. They don't have the huge udders like the Friesians, of course, but still considerably larger than your typical meat sheep.

People always shoot down free thinkers, Sal. They don't like to be challenged in their narrow views and even more narrow perspectives on animal husbandry and life. If they haven't tried it, they have no basis of knowledge that it just won't work. The only way to really know is to go out and try it.

Here is a general article about dairy sheep and I think you will find it interesting!

http://www.countrysidemag.com/issues/89/89-2/J_D_Belanger.html

Here is an article I saved about St. Croix sheep as a dairy option...it is quite surprising. My gals are half SC/Kat, so this was informative for me. They discuss breeding SC over EF to produce a hair type milker.

http://www.stcroixhairsheepbreeders.org/Dairy.html

I've searched my archives and can't seem to find the thing I read on Katahdins being a dairy potential sheep...must have been in a book I've read. Sorry.

 

[big brown horse]

Don't worry about it, BBH. What is right for a factory and what is right for YOUR homestead can be two very different things.

I had a very hard time finding out about the milk production of various goat breeds when searching for a suitable buck for my girls. It turns out that the difference is ounces per day, which adds up in a dairy but is meaningless here. Likely the same for your sheeples. What is perfect for the small family farmlet is not ideal for the big production facility. So what. Do what makes YOU happy!

Ok, see, that is what I needed to hear! Thanks to you both, Bee and Free.

For a minute there I was second guessing myself. Honestly I am also second guessing my decision to get that fancy dancy E. friesian cross ewe too. I mean, I would love to have her, but that money could be going to something else.

I think I'll stick with my original plans to just breed my two spinster ewes (border cheviot and kat.) then sell off some of their offspring and use the money for buying another ram and having Oliver casterated. He has the most beautiful fleece, so far, it would be a waste to butcher him!

 

[big brown horse]

Sally, alfalfa is a legume hay and it seems to be sufficient to keep them healthy while lactating. Now, if you are wanting high production levels on a commercial basis, then folks would suggest to add a grain ration. This would probably defeat the purpose of trying to be more SS, wouldn't it? Unless, of course, you could grow your own grains.

I've read numerous articles on the Kats and I'll have to see if I can find the one or if I have saved the one that mentions that they make great milkers. They don't have the huge udders like the Friesians, of course, but still considerably larger than your typical meat sheep.

People always shoot down free thinkers, Sal. They don't like to be challenged in their narrow views and even more narrow perspectives on animal husbandry and life. If they haven't tried it, they have no basis of knowledge that it just won't work. The only way to really know is to go out and try it.

Here is a general article about dairy sheep and I think you will find it interesting!

http://www.countrysidemag.com/issues/89/89-2/J_D_Belanger.html

Here is an article I saved about St. Croix sheep as a dairy option...it is quite surprising. My gals are half SC/Kat, so this was informative for me. They discuss breeding SC over EF to produce a hair type milker.

http://www.stcroixhairsheepbreeders.org/Dairy.html

I've searched my archives and can't seem to find the thing I read on Katahdins being a dairy potential sheep...must have been in a book I've read. Sorry.

Thanks!



Did I ever tell you how much I miss you?

 

[Beekissed]

I think you did! And I miss you as well.

I'm still having trouble with being stalked by my family on here...just got a mysterious PM tonight and don't really know which one it is from, so I'm still lying low on here and trying to mind my own beeswax.

I love it when you all talk sheep! My girls are mad at me right now because I have restricted their movements to rotational paddocks. They keep giving me dirty looks and keep their heads down when I approach....in other words, in sheeple language, I am the new enemy.

 

[patandchickens]

There's kind of two different things here.

One is "what breeds produce economically-efficient milk", which basically comes down to large amounts of milk per ewe. The dairy breeds are HEAD AND SHOULDERS above anything else, including the breeds that are sometimes called dual purpose. IIRC the average output of an East Friesian or British Milksheep is something on the order of 4x or more the output of even the milkiest nondairy breed, such as dorsets or polypay or icelandic.

The other thing is "what breeds can you milk". Which is AFAIK really anything that is "reasonably" milky, i.e. anything that regularly produces enough milk to ewe-raise twins. You will not get nearly as much milk, but if getting vast quantities of milk per sheep is not a big priority, that may be completely fine.

There seems to be QUITE a lot of fairly rapid breeding going on now, for developing dairy lines of not-traditionally-commercial-dairy breeds, so what was true a couple years ago may not be true now and what is true now will probably not be so true in the future.

For whatever it's worth, the guy I bought my shetlands from has posted on another forum that he tried milking one of his shetland ewes last month, shortly after she lambed, and was able to get 2 liters (quarts) per day from her and her singleton lamb still had enough for him. And that's from a *shetland*, albeit an unusually high-producing one.

I have not heard of there being much meaningful difference in milk quality among breeds. There probably is *some*, at least for the obscure traditional european and middle-eastern milking breeds that are not even available to north americans, but honestly I do not see it as being something to worry about on a practical level.

BBH, I will go back through my bookmarks and see if I can find some good milking-oriented ones for you, but it will have to wait til later today b/c it'll take a while (my bookmarks are a disaster area ) and we are flooding so I really need to go snip grass out of the ditches, sigh.

Pat

 

[big brown horse]

Thanks Pat!

 

[hwillm1977]

I dream of the day I can have a little herd of Icelandic sheep in my yard... from my research they seem to be a decent triple purpose breed, hardy enough for Canadian winters and perfect for a little homestead.

For now I just live vicariously through the other sheeple people on here

 

[Beekissed]

From the info I've read, the traditional dairy breeds have some difficulties with lambing and more general health problems. In an purely economical point of view, sheep breeds that require much vetting and do not reproduce well would be a poor trade off for increased milk yields to a backyard grower.

I don't think there is any question that the dairy breeds are udders above the breeds known for being "milky" but if one can get adequate milk for a family with a good dual purpose breed that also reproduces itself efficiently at low cost....I think I know what I would choose.