Breeds

This isn’t a deep dive on each breed—we’re not writing a sheep encyclopedia. This is just my rough breakdown based on what I’ve learned the hard way over the years.

We’ve raised Katahdin, Dorper, Barbados Blackbelly, St. Croix, Shetland, and Soay.

For a small farm focused on self-sufficiency, the smaller heritage breeds have worked best for us. Here’s why:

1. Thrive on weedy pasture
We don’t spray the fields. That means more weeds than your average lush green postcard pasture—but the smaller breeds do just fine. In fact, they seem to prefer it.

2. Smaller = Lighter = Easier to Handle
Anyone who’s been run over by a panicked 100-lb ewe knows—less weight means fewer bruises and busted knees. Small breeds are just easier to manage, especially solo.

3. Lower winter feed costs
Smaller sheep eat less. That’s less hay, fewer pellets, and more money in your pocket when the grass stops growing.

4. Resilient stock
No parasite blowouts. No hoof rot drama. The heritage breeds we’ve run have done great on our rough land with minimal intervention.

5. Home butchering is realistic
Smaller animals mean no slaughterhouse bills. One person can process a sheep without needing a winch or half a day. And you won’t need to buy an extra freezer just to store the meat—plenty of room in a standard freezer, and it’s never sat long enough to risk freezer burn.

The Downside: Wool

Here’s the kicker—most of these small breeds are wool sheep. If you don’t want to shear, this is your sticking point. For anyone breeding to sell lambs as pets or breeding stock, hair sheep are easier to market.

Some Soay sheep naturally shed, but not all. If they haven’t dropped their fleece by end of June, you’ll want to shear them.

What We're Doing About It

Here at Stone Circle Hills, we’ve started crossbreeding larger hair sheep with Soay. The goal? To create a smaller, low-maintenance hair sheep that’s perfect for homesteads like ours—easy keepers, no shearing, hardy on weeds and hills.

We’re not there yet, but it’s in motion.