best type

[jabers34]

Hi my name joe and would like to get few sheep . was just wondering which breed would the best to start out with. and what breeds make best cross breds or should a person just stay with pure breds . any imformation would be great . I live in New Brunswick

[cakadu]

Hi Joe. Welcome to agri-ville and to potentially purchasing sheep.

There are as many sheep breeds and reasons for keeping each particular breed as there are shepherds, which is no different than the cattle business.

The place to start is what your ultimate goal(s) for having the sheep is or are.

What do you want to get them for - diversification on the farm, to keep grass down, to sell as breeding stock, direct marekt to customers etc.

If you're going to sell them as breeding stock, then there is the choice between commercial sheep and the purebred breeding stock that others will buy from you for their herds.

Commercial flocks are those that generally use a purebred ram with crossbred ewes, which gives you hybrid vigor or better growth.

If you are going to market to customers, who is your target, what are they willing to pay, how much do they want and when -- is just the start of what you need to determine.

Perhaps if you could give us a little more detail on what you are trying to do, we can all give you suggestions and pointers. You'll find many of the contributors in the sheep chat room are very helpful and informative.

[jabers34]

there is some what call here for a fresh market here . and one of local stores said they would be interested in fresh lamb. so i guess i'm looking for a good meat producer. like to get a breed that has good gain, and easy birthing.so i guess i would go with cross breds ?. i use have cattle but got out of it about 4 years ago. got about 60 acres of clear hay and pasture ground, some least ground . what would be a good number to start with. what is the best lambing time . i like have them comeing all year long if possible. and help i can get on this would be great.