@farmerclare would be after you docking that tightSee why I am breeding them with bare bums, @hendrebc?View attachment 681622
Dorper X on the left is a keeper not much extra wool on her.
@farmerclare would be after you docking that tightSee why I am breeding them with bare bums, @hendrebc?View attachment 681622
Dorper X on the left is a keeper not much extra wool on her.
I did for a bit GUTH had palpitations, remember?You have them inside in the middle of summer ? how very progressive
Sounds like my finishing skillsThey are round, they are about 600kg
How much has trade dropped?I did for a bit GUTH had palpitations, remember?
Well, its still the same bedding but unfortunately its time has come. Thanks to all the seaweed juice etc and being dried right out, it doesn't smell at all, but it is getting a layer of manure that is now sitting on the crust and that says it is time for a dung-out
I plan to not remove all the chip this time, I have access to a little skidsteer so plan to just take it down to the clean chip and then try some woodshavings from the local mill. It was about 14 inches deep.
Will keep you posted (not an intentional pun) on how it goes - it is basically planings from when they buzz the planks, so should be more absorbent than chip but not go as gluggy as sawdust, hopefully.
Time will tell, it is only $20/cu. metre so I will get a load and try it.
If it gets wet, I'll try more!
Still unsure about these cattle.
They are round, they are about 600kg... but given the beef price has dropped and I can't get them killed........ I don't know whether to just hang onto them until spring and buy calves then? Or quit them now?
Price will go up in spring. Same with calves, I expect, and money is made by buying right
Don't dig it up and reseed just go out in the spring when its wet and either harrow or very shallow disc it until its black. Broadcast some new seed across it and roll shut. One it will stand horses or cows without poaching and fits with Groundswell principles of not destroying the underlying mycelial fungi etc.Cow's seem to go for it here, not sure of the different varieties other than narrow leaf & broad leaf plantain. Will check if a variety of plantain is listed on grass mix.
Enough to trim down a fairly slender margin...How much has trade dropped?
Did you have an interesting chat? Any ideas yet on likely price per head?
Have tried working to permaculture ideas for several years but just don't seem to get good results.Don't dig it up and reseed just go out in the spring when its wet and either harrow or very shallow disc it until its black. Broadcast some new seed across it and roll shut. One it will stand horses or cows without poaching and fits with Groundswell principles of not destroying the underlying mycelial fungi etc.
Just introduce some more productive grasses/clovers without destroying the benefits of what you already have.
I see what your getting at nowView attachment 681766
@farmerclare will like the fact that she is dead right re. tail length...
This group were the 'butt' of an experiment as docking is something I want to eliminate as part of my holistic management plan. I thought some shorter than ideal tails would help us assess the lack of wool around the tail, and tail width a little better if I could see from afar.
But as you can see, these rams stay pretty clean even undocked, thanks to the breeding and selection I think it can safely be said docking is unnecessary in future.
The ewes are bred to have that clean patch, and these rams have never seen a dosing gun or a needle - this is the way I want to go... a bit like the current "machinery too dear" thread the cheapest thing to do is try to avoid doing work where possible... especially sheep work and tractor work. Sheep returns dictate that the lower your input, the better your hourly rate and margins are- sure a good year is nice but not something I rely on.
If I can cut my tractor hours, my animal health bills, and my time spent covered in lanolin then I will go for it!View attachment 681770
Woolly sheep are good, in that they don't get sunburnt or freeze, but it really doesn't pay to have sheep with it in the wrong places unless dag score is low, I would be a hypocrite if I bred shitty sheep that needed monthly wormers and injections to perform, wouldn't I?
A good farm system should not need band-aids, I don't need medication to be healthy and so why should my livestock?
I shouldn't need to have short lush pastures for my sheep, at the cost of my soil either, they need to fit MY system or they can go.
I just can't count on decent enough weather to lamb them - unless it's middle of summer, and that would interfere with my busy time for contracting etc.I see what your getting at now
Why not go for shedders ?
I have found worms to be here today, gone tomorrow, back next week! They actually do migrate behind the grazing stock if you graze areas close to each other, but I have often been surprised when digging.Have tried working to permaculture ideas for several years but just don't seem to get good results.
Spreading clover seed on with composted manure was probably the most successful.
I do lightly disc a sacrifice field every couple of years to get seed into it but still doesn't achieve the same results as a full reseed.
Have tried chain harrowing until there's a bit of a tilth but didn't find that successful.
Sad to say I've gone back to ploughing a small acreage every year , the difference it's made to the livestock is amazing.
I've been on farms where they have bare patches (or more space between plants) so can see overseeding would work on those farms. (I don't seem to get bare patches).
Also this spring I've been taking lots of soil samples for the local Ag college & I have more worms per hole dug in this springs reseed than 25yr old leys!? Why would that be?
the few shedders that weve got ... lambed out in the snow and frost this year and with the now good weather = long sunny days / strong sunlight in my part of the world there is no skin problems.... ExlanaI just can't count on decent enough weather to lamb them - unless it's middle of summer, and that would interfere with my busy time for contracting etc.
So I like some wool on them just because it can snow anytime from.... well anytime NZ is hugely unpredictable.
If I lambed inside it would be different but I plan to have a big bunch of calves inside instead - sheep are just a necessary part of my system, not my main focus
But they would be ideal, if I could combine the right traits from these and still have their fertility and worm resistance, I will try a Wiltshire in there at some point too.
These lambs are currently handling about 3000 EPG, last FEC I did.
Last thread I read on here folk were reaching for the dosing gun at 250
Must be plenty of money around, is all I can say.... easily bred for. It just takes time and the ability to not intervene IMO .
Do the exlana lambs have a decent birth coat? That would be my main worry with themthe few shedders that weve got ... lambed out in the snow and frost this year and with the now good weather = long sunny days / strong sunlight in my part of the world there is no skin problems.... Exlana
Yes most definitely. I was pleasantly surprised .Do the exlana lambs have a decent birth coat? That would be my main worry with them
Thats another vote in tjeir favour for here then. Any bad things you can think of about them? Always good to hear domeones opinion who isnt totally biased one way or another. So far they are amazing (shedding sheep breeders) or sh!t (usually sheep shearers)Yes most definitely. I was pleasantly surprised .
Thats another vote in tjeir favour for here then. Any bad things you can think of about them? Always good to hear domeones opinion who isnt totally biased one way or another. So far they are amazing (shedding sheep breeders) or sh!t (usually sheep shearers)