Hi all, I've been reading this section of the forums and I haven't found any information/opinions about Southdown sheep. We are trying to pick a breed to start a few sheep on our 8 acres in zone 6b/7a in West Virginia. We're hoping to do a multi-species rotational grazing system with
chickens (we have ~60) and ducks (we have 10) and 3-5 sheep that we would be able to breed for meat and possibly 2 goats to keep down the woody things.
We went to our county fair recently and there were three breeds there, almost all of the individuals were Suffolk. Asking questions at the fair I learned that Suffolk are very grain dependent and Southdowns barely need any grain according to the farmer we talked to about that breed.
Do any permies have
experience with Southdown sheep? Also we are getting a great pyr puppy in a couple of weeks and would love to have him grow up with lambs. Is it possible to get them at this time of year or are they only available in he spring? Do people get specific breeds from further away if they aren't available locally (does that work well or is it too stressful to the animals)?
Thanks in advance for your help to a sheep newbie!
