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[roly]

Can sum one tell me the best commercial sheep to have for Saskatchewan
and the best mart or man to get them from I have Suffolk in the UK

[WoolyBear]

Just a quick note for you.... Try
www.mbsheep.ca/index.html
http://www.sksheep.com

Both of those sites have classifieds and breed directories.

I'll write more this evening after chores.

[Smithy]

Nice to see someone talking, I was starting to think there were no shepherds left on this site.

I have some suffolks in northern BC and they do well here. I also have texels and finns and the finns need a little extra protection from the cold when they are lambing as some of those babies don't have a lot of fat to keep them warm. I am lambing out an early batch right now and I am sure glad it is warmer than usual.

If you are in northern Saskatchewan maybe you need some real woolies

[WoolyBear]

We're really impressed with our Rideau Arcott ram. But then again he's just working well with the ewes we like too. They are primarily Dorset x Suffolks, or Suffolk crosses. We also have a dozen RA ewes that were bred Ile de France. Most of them were triples. The lambs are smaller, but with the milking of the ewes, they grow well. Our ewe lambs are bred to a NC Cheviot, and hopefully will result in a spunky lamb or two.

If you want something meaty (like a Suffolk) Canada has lots of options for that...... Canadian Arcott, Texel, Charolais, Ile de France. Lakeland College and several other stakeholders are conducting a Carcass Sire Project comparing the various crosses to see how they fit with the Western Canadian markets. Sue Hosford is the Project Manager in charge. Sorry I don't think they have a website that I have found anyway.

[WoolyBear]

Hey smithy..... I reread you note. I was a little concerned about our PB Rideau x Ile de France lambs when they started to arrive. While we were accustom to 10 to 12 lb lambs (as twins) in the Suffolk cross x Rideau ram, we were getting 6 - 8lb lambs with these ones. Several of them cooled off while looked after lambs #2, 3 and even #4. The PB Rideau definitly do need a better barn, and more frequent checking.

ANYWAY we did some reading and found somewhere that the Finns, and Rideaus tend to have more internal fat deposits, as opposed to on the back. Could someone tell me if thats because of their prolific nature, or their dairy traits? The Rideau has East Fresian in their make up (as well as Suffolk) and several other breds.

[roly]

Thank you Agra-frends
Iike suffolk but i think they are soft for Canada

[WoolyBear]

Hi Roly..... remember that winter here is a "Dry Cold", unlike the British Ilses. I don't think you will find ANY breed that would last long when its cold with a wind without some kind of barn.

The suffolks are one of my favorits as far as looks go. I good friend of our us to raise a really good herd of suffolks, but has decided to focus more on a dual purpose herd and is leaning now to a correidale blend of his own creation. He has some NCheviot influence in there and his lambs are generally market toppers. Well put together I think.

We use the Rideau and Dorset crosses to try for a higher lambing %, and more reliable out of season breeding. The best growing lambs of this bunch though still has a small percentage of Suffolk or Hamp in their ancestory.

[Rodjam]

We have a few Romanov Suffolk cross here in central Alberta. They need some shelter to lamb but once dry they are fine. So far we have only had two single births in the last 5 years so they are plent productive.

[roly]

Hello Rodjam i am not familiar with Romanov sheep what are thay like

also does enyone know of a British Suffolk breeder with some females for sale, just a handfull

[roly]

PS
I dont mean a British breeder i mean a breeder with British Suffolks

[Rodjam]

They are a larger frame size sheep known for multiple births. Good milk production and we have they cross very well with the Suffolk. Very hardy sheep that do well in our praire winters as well as the heat of summer when we get it. Here is a link of a local breeder.
http://www.romanovsheep.com/hdf.htm