Can you milk non-dairy breeds of sheep?

Can you milk non-dairy breeds.

As the interest in Dairy sheep grows in our country, many are shocked at the limited breeds listed as ‘Dairy sheep’ and are even more shocked at the price and availability of these sheep in the USA.

One of the most common questions I get is, “Well I’m actually interested in (insert breed name) sheep… but I want milk. Can I milk (breed name of sheep)?”

The desire to milk a non-dairy breed of sheep is not a bad thing. It is actually the epitome of the Homesteading Spirit - do with what you have. Would it surprise you to know that our predecessors in Agriculture felt the same way?

Let us take a look at Jolly old England and the shepherds of previous centuries there.

British shepherds did not own the breeds currently listed as ‘for dairy.’ Awassi, East Friesan, and Lacaune sheep were not imported into Britain at that time. They did have a breed developed called ‘British milk Sheep’ but that was not what the common crofter or smallholder (British words for Homesteader) used. Rather, they used the local breed of the county they lived in. Breeds such as Cheviot, Black Welsh Mountain, and Border Leicester provided enough milk for the homesteading family.

Were they mass producing cheese as a major homesteading income stream?

No.

Were they selling herd shares to their neighbors and so harvesting, storing and distributing large amounts of milk?

No.

Rather, they were making enough milk for their own needs from the surplus they gathered from their own flocks. Sheep were kept for meat, milk and wool. The main income for a homestead was from wool. Britain built its wealth off the backs of sheep - or rather, the wool off the sheep’s backs. They wanted quality wool to export, and as a sheep ages her wool will decline in quality. Or she may succumb to disease, predators or inclement weather. Good shepherds know to have a few more sheep in the flock than they absolutely need as insurance, and so they bred. This led to a nice side product of extra sheep - which provided meat for the family. England was known as ‘beef eaters’ but that was more the higher classes. Lower classes liked to eat sheep. When one breeds sheep, one is familiar with the exhilarating dance with death the lambing season brings. As a result, shepherds were familiar with ewes who had lost a lamb or two and needed help with their udders to prevent mastitis. Even in healthy lambing, shepherds would take over milking during weaning season when lambs were turned into paddocks with other lambs and ewes were separated to give their bodies a break to replenish their nutritional stores before breeding again. As a result, sheep milk was something that danced in and out of the crofter’s cottage larder.

It is important to note that it was seasonal and it wasn’t a set amount. This was before the days of Walmart and Instacart. The family did not calculate how many children were present, how many glasses of milk they consumed and then tallied it up to calculate exactly how much milk they would want to have flowing in and out of the house hold. They worked with their animals and did with or without as the case may be.

If you would like to find out more about this dance that country peasant farmers and sheep had in the UK, please read N. S. Rose’s “Coping with Sheep”, John Lewis-Stempel’s “The Sheep’s Tale” and  Sally Coulthard’s “Follow the Flock” These books are not only informative but written in a very engaging manner and are a delight to read.

How does this trip down a historical nerd’s musings help the modern homesteader you ask?

Because we are the modern version of these historical crofters, small holders, and freemen. And it is important to learn from the past in order to improve our present.

While an East Friesan or Awassi ewe WILL provide more consumable milk in one milking session than say, a Cheviot or Tunis, you must remember what it took to get to the point of that bucket of milk.

While you may think the first step is purchasing the East Friesan ewe, that is actually not the case. First you must find an East Friesan ewe for sale. They are still very rare in our country. You may have to travel across several states to get to that ewe. Will you be the one driving to get them or are you paying for livestock transport? If you are transporting the sheep, do you have appropriate vehicles to put sheep in and drive? I personally have put just weaned lambs in large dog crates in the back of my SUV, and also put cattle panels covered with a tarp on the back of a flatbed trailer from Tractor Supply. The first leads to a rather odiferous adventure, and the second leads to high gas prices and screams from PETA-lovers on the interstate.

Then you must pay for that East Friesan ewe, and they are on the more expensive scale on the sheep-cost-spectrum. You must also check to see if your breeder follows the same feeding regimen that you want to have on your farm. You may have to purchase some inputs to transition the animal from their routine to yours.

You also need to check if the sheep is used to being shut up for the night in a barn. If so, you cannot simply toss them into the elements and expect them to thrive. If the ewes are used to shelter you must either provide that for them or risk losing expensive sheep.

Finally what are the additional products to milk that these sheep bring to the homestead? East Friesan wool is something I personally enjoy spinning and knitting into homestead winter work wear for my family, but there isn’t a huge market for it in fiber circles due to its listing as ‘coarse’ wool. Our market currently prefers predominantly soft wool thanks to the abomination of Acrylic “softie’ skeins at craft stores, or the less-nefarious fibers such as alpaca that has taken the market by storm. While I do love a good alpaca garment for going to church, I far prefer my coarser cardigans from dairy ewes for bumming around the homestead during chore time. That being said, there isn’t a ready market for this wool like there is for other breeds of sheep. So you will have to be creative in what you are going to do with it every year after shearing. And if you say ‘throw it away’ I will go into a corner and cry my heart out… so don’t do that.

The meat from East Friesans is very good, but after all the investment of acquiring these very friendly critters are you going to have the heart to butcher the offspring? If you want to sell them, do you have a ready market for them? I know you and I think dairy sheep for sale is a wonderful thing, but I will tell you that most of my neighbors and immediate surrounding area thinks we’re nuts for milking sheep when there are some nice dairy goats available on Craig’s List regularly.

It may seem like I am trying to talk you out of a dairy specific breed and I promise I’m not - I just want to make sure you realize that there is more input to a dairy breed of sheep than a bucket and stanchion.

They are an investment on several levels. A worthy investment, to be sure, but more complex than stopping by your local Sale Barn and picking up a few head of sheep and getting milk in a few months.

Acquiring some sheep of a breed that was historically milked may put you in a better spot due to their higher numbers in our country. Cheviot are currently classes as a ‘meat breed’ with wool as a byproduct for hand spinners. Tunis are also a meat breed of sheep with incredible hardiness, their wool is eligible for the “Shave em to Save em’ program from the Livestock Conservancy, and they can be friendly enough to be milked with nothing but a rope around their neck and the shepherd kneeling on the ground. Furthermore these sheep will cost far less for a starter flock than a starter flock of East Friesans.