Cross Timbers Homestead
St. Croix sheep resting under their field shelter in tall green pasture at Cross Timbers Homestead

🐑 Sheep · St. Croix · hair breed

St. Croix lamb,
built for Texas.

A hair sheep breed bred for the Caribbean and South Texas — no wool, no shearing, no problem with heat. The meat is mild and lean. The sheep are the centerpiece of how we farm this land.

How we raise them

Pasture, rotation, no shortcuts.

St. Croix is a hair sheep breed (no wool, no shearing) bred for hot, humid climates like ours. The meat is milder than wool-breed lamb — closer to veal than to gamey mutton — and it's naturally lean. Entirely pasture-raised, no grain finishing, no routine antibiotics or hormones.

Naturally raised

Forage only. No routine dewormers or vaccines.

Most lamb, including plenty sold as "pasture-raised," comes from sheep kept on a schedule of grain, chemical dewormers, and shots. Ours aren't. The flock eats what grows on this land, and we let rotation and the sheep's own genetics do the work the chemicals usually do.

🌾 Forage only

Pasture and browse in the growing season, hay when the grass is dormant, and alfalfa hay or pellets for nursing ewes that need the extra. That's all forage. Never grain, not even to finish. Lamb raised on forage has a better omega-3 balance and more CLA and vitamin E than grain-fed. It tastes clean and mild, and it's never greasy.

🪱 No routine dewormers

We don't drench the flock on a schedule. Frequent pasture moves keep the sheep ahead of the parasite cycle, and we breed from the animals that thrive without help. St. Croix are one of the most parasite-resistant breeds there is. Fewer chemicals go into the animals and onto the land, and the dung beetles that build our soil keep working.

🌿 No routine vaccines

Our sheep aren't on a vaccine schedule. Crowding and grain create problems that then get covered with a needle. We'd rather build health from the ground up with clean pasture, fresh ground, low stress, and hardy, Texas-adapted genetics.

What that means for you

  • · Cleaner meat. Lamb from animals never given grain or hormones, and never put on a routine program of dewormers, vaccines, or antibiotics.
  • · Tougher stock. Feeder lambs and breeding animals that already hold their own on Texas grass, without a drench-and-shot program propping them up.
  • · Better land. Every lamb you buy supports a farm that builds its soil every season instead of using it up.

The same goes for all our livestock. None of our animals are on a routine deworming or vaccine schedule. Our goal is healthy animals bred to fit this environment, raised outdoors on rotated pasture the way they're built to live. Naturally raised doesn't mean neglected, though. If an animal gets sick, we treat it as needed. We won't let one suffer.

How shares work

You buy the animal. The butcher does the rest.

An animal share is what it sounds like: a portion of a single, live animal. You're buying the lamb, not packaged meat.

  1. 1. Reserve a share. Whole or half. We hold your spot with a deposit.
  2. 2. We deliver the lamb to a licensed Texas butcher. That's where our part ends.
  3. 3. You call the butcher directly. You specify your own cuts — chops, roasts, ground, organs if you want them — and you pay the butcher for processing.
  4. 4. You pick up your meat at the butcher. Vacuum-sealed, frozen, labeled the way you asked for it.

Whole and half shares available. Live feeder lambs and breeding stock as well.

Live animal sales

Feeder lambs and breeding stock.

There's real value in buying animals raised the way you intend to raise them. Ours have never had grain. They know electric fence and rotational grazing from the start. They were born and raised in Texas — on Texas grass, in Texas heat, with Texas parasites to push against. That's not nothing when you're starting or growing a flock.

  • · Feeder lambs. Weaned lambs ready to grow out on your land or take to your own processor.
  • · Breeding stock. St. Croix ewes and rams from our flock, well-adapted to North Texas conditions, when available.

Get in touch and we'll let you know what's currently available.

Pricing

Contact us for current pricing.

Share pricing changes year to year depending on feed, hay, and what the pasture gave us. Email us for a current quote — no obligation.

[email protected]

New to this? Read what a lamb share is · see how we farm · back to the homestead

FAQ

Lamb share FAQ

What does St. Croix lamb taste like? +
St. Croix is a hair-sheep breed, so the meat is milder and leaner than wool-breed lamb — closer to veal than to gamey mutton. Ours is entirely pasture-raised with no grain finishing.
Are your lambs given grain, antibiotics, or hormones? +
No. Our lambs are raised entirely on Texas pasture — no grain finishing, and no routine antibiotics or hormones.
Do you deworm or vaccinate your sheep? +
Not routinely. We don't deworm or vaccinate any of our animals on a schedule. We manage parasites with frequent pasture rotation and by breeding from the St. Croix that thrive without help. If an animal gets sick, we treat it as needed. Our goal is healthy animals bred to fit our environment.
How does a lamb share work? +
You reserve a whole or half share and a deposit holds your spot. We deliver the live lamb to a licensed Texas butcher; you call the butcher directly to specify your own cuts and pay them for processing, then pick up your meat vacuum-sealed and frozen. Full guide to lamb shares →
What's the difference between a whole and a half lamb share? +
A whole share is the entire animal; a half share is half of one. Either way you specify your own cuts with the butcher — chops, roasts, ground, organs if you want them.
How much does a lamb share cost? +
Share pricing changes year to year with feed, hay, and what the pasture gave us. Email [email protected] for a current quote — no obligation.
Do you sell live lambs? +
Yes — weaned feeder lambs to grow out on your own land, and St. Croix breeding stock when available.