[Ash Field Farm]

hi i have been reserching sheep breeds for my area iam oxon/ northants border  i have found one that ian quite keen on its the oxfordshire down breed i found out that  the rams of the breed where crossed with other sheep breeds to create the comercial breed nowerdays used they are known for having very strong lambs and big lambs that gain weight quickly  i wanted local breeds as much as possable  what breeds do u have  waht advice can u offer for a sheep keeper novice i have help lambing but i was 12 lol now 22  so i need back to basics  how many would u surgest to have would  it be best to get a ram as well ??
 i was thinking of haveing no more than 10  for the time being ??
  has anyone got experiance with this breed ?
 would anyone recomend a breed ti start with if iam unsecsessful of trying to get some of the oxfordshire downs
how much would u expect to pay for ewes of breeding stock pedagriee  , what bout rams  how mcuh are they
what age would u breed from them
a feed question what feed would u give them throught the year  and over winter as iam trying to grow fodder crops this year trying to work out how much to grow ?
sori 4 all the questions i get excited about farming and waffle on

[farmerswag]

Hiya

You sound just like me!! I had wanted to be a vet when I was younger and had spent a few easter holidays lambing. 

Last year I bought 20 LLyen ewes in lamb, all at least having had one crop of lambs so at least they knew what they were doing   This year I bought a tup, kept all my ewe lambs and have put 6 to the tub this year, keeping the rest to sell as gimmers next year.  I have 18 ewes left from the original lot - put 2 ewes down the road  Just bought some more so I have 40 running with my tup right now!!

I have reg pure breeds bought due to the breed having easy lambing characteristics and good maternal instincts.  Had v few problems to be honest, ewes lambed without many problems, wedders made a good price when sold and they were sold of grass.  The second pick are being fed lamb finisher at the moment to get them fat.  Neither myself or my other halfs family consisting mainly of farmers have had any experience with your choice of breed so can't offer any advice on that.

I just bought 10 gimmers at £90 each and 1 crop ewes for £70, 2 crop for £65. Our tup was 1200 gns as they sell rams up here in gns rather than £, think that is case everywhere.

Unless you can get your ewes in lamb by AI or can borrow a tup that only had a few to cover then your only option is to buy a tup, I think.........

As for feed mine are on grass all year except at lambing when they get cake and sugar beet but I have loads of grass and lamb finisher to get them fat if needed.

There is lots of really helpful ppl on this site, I have just joined and everyone has been really good 

[ballingall]

known for having very strong lambs and big lambs

Remember big lambs still have to be born..... you don't want a breed that will have trouble lambing because all the lambs are huge....

[Castle Farm]

I keep LLeyn as well..Brilliant mothers, very easy lambers and a good medium sized ewe to handle.
I had 200% off mine this year and the wethers went off grass and returned me just over £50 each...(Direct to Farm Fresh Ltd).
I can thoroughly recommend them to anyone getting into a few sheep.Very good market on this breed.