New Sheep

We're getting some new additions to our farm soon! We're hoping to get a "seed flock" of sheep. The breed of sheep is Finnsheep, or Finnish Landrace (as they are known in their country of origin). These guys are amazing! 

Finnsheep with Litter of Four

Most breeds of sheep have 1-2 lambs once a year after reaching maturity at 6-8 months of age. Lambing with several sheep, especially "meat-breeds" such as Suffolk or Hampshires can be difficult, too, because not only can there be many delivery problems, but "meat-breed" sheep can be poor mothers and not recognize the fact that they now have lambs to care for. Finnsheep reach maturity as young as 4-7 months, they lamb easily and are good mothers, can lamb 3 times every 2 years, and best of all, average litters of 3-4 lambs. The lines of sheep that I'm getting have had as many as 6 lambs at one time! Generally speaking, the mothers of Finnsheep can nurse 3-4 lambs without intervention and produce an excellent, wholesome milk that is just fabulous for cheesemaking.

We hope to get the ewe on the bottom.

Finnsheep, especially the natural-colored ones that I'll be getting, seem to have simply gorgeous fleeces--beautiful and soft. It also does not have to be treated harshly to remove excess lanolin, because it is not a "greasy" wool. I guess I'll be having fun over the coming years learning how to shear, skirt, card, and spin wool. I'm actually pretty excited about that. Now to get a spinning wheel...

While it is true that lambs reach only about 90-100 lbs by market age (as opposed to the 100-120 lbs of "meat-breeds"), Finnsheep, when bred to "meat-breed" sheep gain weight just like the "meat-breeds." This is why we'll also be getting a Dorper ram-lamb in the next year or so.

Dorper Ewe Shedding Naturally

Dorpers are excellent sheep, too. They were bred by the South Africans from Middle Eastern breeds, such as the Blackhead Persian Sheep, to gain weight in hot, semi-arid environments. This is what Dorpers excel at! They are perfect for raising in Kern County. They can handle the heat, the lack of good pasture, and don't even need to be shorn! That's right, Dorpers are a sort of sheep know as "hair sheep." Hair sheep are really neat meat-breed sheep. Hair sheep can breed out of season, just like the Finnsheep, they average 2-3 lambs per lambing and are good mothers, they're resistant to most of the internal parasites that molest most sheep, and they shed their own wool so that they don't need shearing. An added bonus for me is that they're descended from the fat-tailed sheep of the Bible!

Anyway, we're hoping to sell fleeces/yarn, cheese, and milk from the Finns within the next few years, as well as some registered Finnsheep lambs. We're also hoping to sell "locker lambs" (lambs that people buy wholesale at a price per pound live weight that they take to a butcher or have the farmer take to the butcher for the butchering fee) of Dorper-Finn crosses. Eventually, we will also have a few registered Dorpers as breeding stock, too.

For now, though, we hope to get 2 Finnsheep ewes and a Finnsheep ram, as well as a Dorper ram. More news to follow as we get them!