Top 3 Sheep Breeds That Actually Make Money.

Today on The Rational Rancher we're talking about the top three meat sheep breeds. These sheep breeds are proven to make you money. We've had experience with all three and we're here today to rank them for you. So if you're new, just getting in to meat sheep, or you're a veteran in meat sheep, stay tuned, learn about these top three breeds, let us know what you think, and maybe we'll convince you to dive in to the sheep industry. Number three for the most profitable meat sheep breed is the Sulfox. Now this is probably the sheep you think about when you think about a sheep. They're the very traditional white with a black head, big woolly bodies. They are a wool breed of sheep and they're probably one of the best known breeds of sheep across the world. And what makes these so great is that they're considered the heavy hitters. This is one of the biggest breeds of sheep and they get up to one of the heaviest market weights. In six to eight months these puppies can get up to 140 pounds. They pack on the pounds and that is what they're known for. They're known for fast growth and they are at extremely high demand. A lot of high-end restaurants, a lot of people that are connoisseurs of sheep meat really like the Sulfox, the breed, the taste of the meat. The reason why they're not number one is they have some downsides. One of the biggest downsides is their maintenance costs. This breed of sheep has to be sheared annually to maintain its health. And back in the day that used to be a good thing because you could make extra money from selling the wool. But in today's market, especially here in the Ozarks, it ends up costing more money to shear the sheep than you get for the wool. There are some people around here that will still shear sheep. We contacted them. They charge between $20 and $30 a head to shear. So that's a huge extra expense. Another negative about them is they eat a lot more. They grow faster, they grow big, but your feed cost is going to be more expensive. So Suffolk Spree, great breed of sheep, many high qualities. They are the biggest on our list, the biggest heavy hitter, but they also have a little more maintenance cost and at least for our operation, we didn't want to have to deal with shearing. Number two on the list right behind me, around me. This is what we raise. We raise Katahdin Hare sheep, meaning they do not produce wool. They shed their winter coat every year so you don't have that maintenance. But why do we pick Katahdin? We pick Katahdin because there's a few factors that we really like about the Katahdin sheep. First and foremost, they're known for being excellent mothers. And in the sheep breeding and how you make money with sheep is you have lambs. So if you have a sheep that's a good mom, that equals more lambs to sell in the fall. And so that's probably the biggest reason we love our Katahdins is their mothering ability. Next one is they're known for being parasite resistant and having good feet. Does this mean they'll never get parasites or you'll never have to trim their feet? No, absolutely not. But they're a little bit better than some of the other breeds. Another thing about them is they're fairly fast growing. They reach their market weight which is around 100 to 115 pounds. So they're a little smaller than the Sulfix, but they reach that market weight pretty fast within five to seven months whereas the Sulfix are six to eight months. So they're fast growing. They convert pasture to meat at a good rate and they're a little lower maintenance. But what's bad about the Katahdin? What is bad about the Katahdin is they're not really as well known as the other two breeds on our list. You say Katahdin hair sheep, a lot of people have no idea what you're talking about. And they're the smallest of the top three. Top three. So they're not going to make you quite as much money per head as the Sulfix or our number one. And the number one meat sheep breed here in the Ozarks and I would venture to say in the U.S. is the Dorper. The Dorper is probably more like the Angus of the cattle industry. The Dorper sheep are big, they're bulky, and they have a great reputation for being an amazing meat sheep breed. Why are they so great? They grow fast. In four to six months they're going to reach their market weight of around 120 pounds. That's two months faster than the Sulfix, about a month faster than the Katahdin. That's where you're making your money. You don't have to keep them as long, you don't have to feed them as long, and they are the powerhouse of the meat sheep industry here, especially around us in the Ozarks. So that's what's great about the Dorper. What's a little negative about the Dorper breed is they're not known for being amazing mothers. In fact, they kind of have a reputation for not being the best mothers of the top three. That can be a negative. It means you're going to have to pay a little more attention to them. You're going to have to make sure that mom's taking those lambs. Another negative is they're not known for being the most parasite resistant or having the best feet. That doesn't mean you can't find a herd of Dorpers that excels at both of those traits, but in general they're not as well as the Katahdin in that aspect. But overall, if you're just looking to get a breed of sheep that's going to grow fast and is going to make you money, I think the Dorper is probably the number one breed. Trying to get some of this sunrise. So that's the top three breeds. The Suffolks, the Katahdin, and the Dorper. With that said, these top three breeds, the most important thing with any livestock operation, especially with sheep, is define the breed that suits your needs. It's not going to be a one-size-fits-all. So, you know, you might love the Dorper, you live in an extremely cold climate, and the Suffolks is just a better fit for your operation. You might love the Suffolks, but you live in a very hot, arid climate. They're not going to do well. The Katahdin might be best for you. So take this information with a grain of salt and do your own research for your personal area. Why I don't have Dorpers? I love the Dorpers. I love the way they look. I think they're beefy. I think they're beautiful. But I couldn't find a reputable Dorper breeder around us. And we were able to find a gentleman that raised Katahdin sheep the way we wanted to raise sheep. And it was just a better fit at that moment in time for our operation. So be flexible. Think about where you're going to raise your sheep, how you want to raise your sheep, and then pick from the top three. Or if you got another one in the running, let us know. An honorable mention in our list, it didn't make the top three, is the St. Croix breed. This is probably the most popular breed around here in the Ozarks as far as the homesteaders go, or the small farms, or small ranches. This breed is known for its parasite resistance, good feet, tough. They can just survive out here in the harsh Ozark weather, in the heat, in the cold. They are a great breed. The problem with them, in my opinion, feel free to comment if you think differently, is they're not very big. And their market weights are very small compared to the top three. The market weight for these guys after six to eight months is 60 to 90 pounds. You're leaving a lot of weight on the table there. It depends on your operation and what you plan on doing with them, if those are a good fit for you. But they are honorable mention for sure, but they don't make our top three. Another thing I want to mention is, is it that important that you have one of these breeds? No. You can find good meat sheep anywhere. And one of the practices, it's probably a best practice, is called cross breeding. When you take a Sulfix and cross it with a Katahdin or a Dorper and cross it with a Katahdin to get the best of both worlds. And behind me here, introducing our new flock of 20 Royal White Hare sheep. Now the Royal Whites are a more recent breed. They were created down in Texas by crossing Dorper with the St. Croix. And it's a 75% Dorper and 25% St. Croix breed. And they are beautiful young ladies right here. That's one of our older, she's a Dorper Katahdin cross, Minnie, she's coming here. But we're going to try them. We're going to try this cross breeding thing with the Royal Whites. We've been very impressed with them. They're very calm, very affectionate. They seem to like people, which is good for us. It makes easier to move. So you don't necessarily have to have purebreds. And in fact, I don't recommend registering your sheep or keeping track of it. Because in my experience, we did that with Kiko goats. We tried it with Katahdin sheep. The market for them is so great. You're not really going to make much more money selling registered stock. But cross breeding, you can really gain the best of both worlds. With that said, for what it's worth, here in the Ozarks, raising meat sheep. There is no magic breed. Any of those top three breeds I think are great. You'll make money with them. But they're not a magic pill. It's not you pick one and run with it and you're going to be a millionaire. It's still going to take a lot of work, a lot of selecting. You're going to have to call for bad animals, only keeping the best. But overall, if you go in that general direction, start your meat sheep operation. You know, we've been making a lot of sheep videos. We just made one on the sheep shortage here in the U.S. 300 million pounds of lamb is imported every year. It's a huge opportunity for American farmers to produce more sheep. That's why we bought 20 more Royal Whites to increase our herd size and try a little bit of cross breeding to see what it looks like. We want to thank you all for watching. If you're interested in meat sheep, I say jump in with both feet. You're going to learn a lot. The investment, that's why we like sheep here better than cattle for beginners because the investment is so much less. We spent less than $300 a head for these beautiful Royal White ewes and I think we're going to make all our money back and more the first time they land, which will be next winter. Thank you for watching. Hope you learned something. If you didn't know about these three breeds, hope you enjoyed it. Thank you for spending a few minutes with us and next time we'll talk to you later.