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south east Indiana | Hair sheep will not have the wool to insulate them from the shock so generally yes. I use lots of electric fene but it is Premier Electric Netting - they have a web site you can check out. I have not been successful keeping in sheep with plain electric fence but some peope are able to.
I would call your local sale barn that handles sheep as to the market. Generally speaking hair sheep are a bit discounted. The market for lambs is high around easter drops off slowly, lowest in the summer and gets better again in the fall. So see what lambs sell best and when and go from there.
I have both wool and hair sheep. The katahdins will lamb out of season, seem to tolerate the heat and humidity better than most woolies, seem to be a bit more resistant to parisites and don't need shorn. Mothering, lambing rates milking ect I do not see much difference a good sheep is a good sheep. I also dont dink around if they are not, they go to town.
If I were going hair sheep I would go Katahdin ewes and either a dorper ram or a wool terminal sire like a texel or dorset. The wool sire gives more value to the pelt and can give the lambs more muscle, meat.
Certain breeds are more season breeders and the larger breeds seem to better on feed rather than pasture and no grain. There are some that are more suited to a pasture lambing and grass fed than others, a big part of that is selection on your part along with the right genetics.
There is a great discussion forum - Edgefield sheep forum - has lots of folks from across the country and some from Iowa on there.
Thats only my 2 cents, others will have a different opinion | |
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Hair Sheep vs Wool
