Where
can I buy some sheep?
There
are two main avenues open to you. Buying privately
or at a Farm Sale/Market/Specialist Rare Breed Auction.
Much
the best way is to buy privately. Either through
an advertisment or by recommendation from another breeder.
You have ample time to examine the stock, ask questions
about them and their breeding and most importantly you
can see the rest of the flock, possibly siblings and
parents and get a view of how the owner keeps the sheep.
Does he/she handle them much? What is the health status
of the animal (injections vacinations etc up to
date?), looking at the rest of the flock why are these
sheep being sold?
Portland
sheep almost never come up for sale in ordinary markets
or farm sales. If they are in an ordinary market they
are almost always not registered and therefore worth
almost nothing. Specialist Rare Breed Auctions
are another matter. They do occurr but you really
do have to know what you are doing or take someone along
whose advice you can trust. There are always
all sorts of people at the sales willing to give advice
but be aware that opinions about what is a good Portland
can vary depending on who you are talking to.
In
our experience, the stock at these sales is pretty much
split down the middle. There are some breeders
who take a huge pride in bringing the very best they
want to sell and others who use these sales as a dumping
ground for indifferent stock. The problem as a
novice is deciding which is which!
Whatever
happens don't get carried away when you are bidding.
Put a limit on your bid before you start and stop
when you get there. There are many more Portlands for
sale than are at these Sales.
Are
Portlands easy to keep?
Yes and No!
There is no doubt that Portlands are a tough breed
with very well developed survival instincts and the
stocking rate is probably greater than for many of
the heavier breeds. However do not make the mistake
of thinking that they can be kept on small areas of
poor grazing, particularly if it is badly drained.
Two factors that can give problems are their horns
and long tails. Ewe lambs and sometimes ewes can get
their heads stuck in sheep fencing, sometimes losing
their horns and the long tails mean extra vigilance
is required with regard to 'Fly Strike'. They are
sometimes sold as the ideal smallholders sheep but in
practice they require every bit as much care and
attention as any other breed. However
don't let the foregoing put you off, we would not
have any other breed!
If it's registered it must
be okay?
Not always! There is no check on what
a sheep is like when it is registered. The owner
sends in a form and a registration number is issued
by the Rare Breed Trust. By sending in the form, the
owner is certifying that the sheep meets the breed
standard, but there are at present no independent
checks.
What
should I look for when buying Portlands?
This is an interesting
question. There are two distinct aspects. Are you
looking for a good Portland or a good sheep?
Hopefully both, but sometimes it can pose a dilemma
if you must have particular bloodlines.
As with all rare
animals, sometimes the rarest are not the best. We
tend to go down the route of looking for good animals
who will thrive under our care. If the sheep has a
bad mouth and cannot eat properly, not only is it
likely to pass that on to it's offspring but it will
always struggle to maintain condition. Others may
take the perfectly legitimate view that if it is a
rare bloodline it should be preserved at all costs.
Portlands are not big sheep
but on the other hand they are not a naturally small
animal. They should have some condition about them if
not, why not? Have they been kept on poor pasture?
are the rest of the flock on the slight side or just
the ones being sold
Our advice is to start with a
sheep with a good mouth, straight legs, horns that
are not growing into the head and a reasonable frame THEN
look at the finer breed points. If it is a
really good Portland but a poor sheep, it is still a
poor sheep!! There is no pleasure in keeping
poor animals. A flock of bright healthy Portlands can
cheer you up on the gloomiest day. In the scheme of
things, the price difference between poor Portlands
and good Portlands, particularly ewes, is not that
great. See the next section on breed points for
more information.
How much should I pay?
Not an area we would like to
stray into too deeply! There is no ' book of values'
like cars. Just because an owner is asking a
lot of money for a particular animal does not mean it is
automatically a good sheep. However the bulk
of owners are usually fairly sensible. quality is not cheap, but with Portlands as in
most things in life, you get what you pay for and in
the end it is worth it.
Lambs both male and female
are usually cheaper but if they have the potential to
become good adult animals they may not be worth much
less. After all why should an owner sell them for a
small sum when by keeping them until the following
year they are potentially worth much more.
Ewes very rarely fetch large
sums but a good quality rams are much rarer and to
those that appreciate that fact, they can be worth a
considerable amount. But don't get carried away.
Unless it is at an auction the price is only that
which the owner has decided upon and you have to use
your judgment as to whether it is worth it.
In our experience, good ewes are
easier to find than good rams. A ewe only has a
marginal effect on a flock unless she produces an
outstanding ram lamb. A good ram will improve
the whole flock but a poor one will introduce faults
that will take generations to breed out.
Many times we have seen people put a nice group of
ewes together and then seem to obtain a ram almost as
an afterthought, perhaps even borrowing a ram another
flock didn't want to use. Really outstanding rams are
very rare but there are good rams to be bought if you
look around. We would suggest that a ram's price
should reflect its potential value to a flock.
Some things to look for when
buying Portlands
Is it registered?
| Is the mouth
undershot or overshot? Are
the horns too tight?
Does it have any black
spots in the fleece or hair?
If the owner has trouble
getting near it, could you?
|
