For some time now, we’ve been thinking of adding sheep to our farm. This has come mainly from my interest in using milk to make cheese, and wanting to learn to make several different kinds of cheeses. Never mind that I have not yet even attempted to make a hard cheese.
The plan was to look around and, when the opportunity presented itself, get a couple sheep that we could milk. The cheesemaking skill will come when it comes, sometime after I start making soap with the goats’ milk. I have a long to-do list, believe me.
So, while sheep were in the plan, I wasn’t actively looking for them. Then I saw a listing on Craigslist for sheep that had been milked. They weren’t a typical milking breed, but they had gotten used to being milked. That counts for a lot.
We ended up getting 3 ewes. One is a California Red. She is the tamest and the one that has been milked the most. The other 2 are Icelandics, one of the oldest breeds of sheep.
One of the Icelandics was bottle-raised after being born very small, so she is pretty tame and she has been milked. The smallest one is a little more wary of us, but she will come close if the others do. A handful of oats is enough to get them close, and we are establishing a friensdhip.
The Icelandics are a triple-purpose breed, raised for meat, fiber and milk. I”m thinking that milking a sheep is kind of like milking a goat, so no worries there. Shearing, now that is a different story. Something else to add to the list.
I’m excited for you! I’ll keep an eye to see how this works for you! I may rethink the breed I’m looking for!
You might want to try Texels, they are great and leaner meat with great growth and vigor and they cross well with Suffolk