Swaledale Ewes @ What Breed of Ram?

Anymulewilldo

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
Cheshire
Whilst I’m on my high horse, there’s lot of Texel blood in Beltex, the ones that can walk anyway...
I’d have said it was all texel blood, just a different type as you say. I agree with types within a breed. But when people talk of Texel tups they usually mean the big rangy gormless headed things. Hence why I was a bit more specific in saying that I prefer the slightly more compact, better shaped, smaller headed versions. Around here there are very few breeding pure texels like that. They prefer the other ones! So I have too go for the beltex influence if I don’t want too travel miles and miles for tups.

Btw I’m only a few miles away from Paul Slater so that’s where the majority of my crossbred tups come from. I know some folk don’t rate his tups but they’ve never done me any harm at all.
 

Anymulewilldo

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
Cheshire
We’ve had Slater tups for 20 years now. Between 1 & 4 per year depending on requirements. We’ve never had one melt and die on us. He feeds beet pulp, not high protein concentrates. Unlike texels we buy in the sales of which 1 in 4 will shrivel away too nothing in the first year! My main issue with Slater tups is they are total tw*ts for fighting!! I’ve had more than one pasting from a slater tup. Bloody things.
I’ve tried pretty much every combination he does, all for various different ewes and jobs. Apart from the price (everyone else has clicked on he’s got the goods now, look at his production sale averages) I couldn’t be more satisfied.
 

andybk

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
Mendips Somerset
We’ve had Slater tups for 20 years now. Between 1 & 4 per year depending on requirements. We’ve never had one melt and die on us. He feeds beet pulp, not high protein concentrates. Unlike texels we buy in the sales of which 1 in 4 will shrivel away too nothing in the first year! My main issue with Slater tups is they are total tw*ts for fighting!! I’ve had more than one pasting from a slater tup. Bloody things.
I’ve tried pretty much every combination he does, all for various different ewes and jobs. Apart from the price (everyone else has clicked on he’s got the goods now, look at his production sale averages) I couldn’t be more satisfied.
glad to hear it , need more people selling the same ,
 
Location
Cleveland
We’ve had Slater tups for 20 years now. Between 1 & 4 per year depending on requirements. We’ve never had one melt and die on us. He feeds beet pulp, not high protein concentrates. Unlike texels we buy in the sales of which 1 in 4 will shrivel away too nothing in the first year! My main issue with Slater tups is they are total tw*ts for fighting!! I’ve had more than one pasting from a slater tup. Bloody things.
I’ve tried pretty much every combination he does, all for various different ewes and jobs. Apart from the price (everyone else has clicked on he’s got the goods now, look at his production sale averages) I couldn’t be more satisfied.
Good sheep his
 

Heatgereater

Member
Livestock Farmer
Char is an excellent cross for Swales, lambs will do R grade all day long.Look the part as stores too. Swale ewes pop lambs out like shelling peas and milk them well. We use char on all the Swales that don’t make the grade to cross to a BFL and to sweep up hill ewes on second cycle end of December/January
 

Agrivator

Member
Texel cross Swaledale is a common cross in the Yorkshire Dales.

The ''unfed'' wether lambs are far more saleable than unfed Mule wethers, and they are very uniform. The females are often kept for breeding, and run on ground that would normally carry older Swaledale ewes.

I don't think a Charollais x Swaledale ewe would keep condition to the same extent as a Texel cross. And of course, it's much easier to buy a decent Texel tup, and almost impossible to buy a decent Charollais tup.
 
Texel cross Swaledale is a common cross in the Yorkshire Dales.

The ''unfed'' wether lambs are far more saleable than unfed Mule wethers, and they are very uniform. The females are often kept for breeding, and run on ground that would normally carry older Swaledale ewes.

I don't think a Charollais x Swaledale ewe would keep condition to the same extent as a Texel cross. And of course, it's much easier to buy a decent Texel tup, and almost impossible to buy a decent Charollais tup.
Living up to the name still
 

johnb5555

Member
Location
Co Durham
Char is an excellent cross for Swales, lambs will do R grade all day long.Look the part as stores too. Swale ewes pop lambs out like shelling peas and milk them well. We use char on all the Swales that don’t make the grade to cross to a BFL and to sweep up hill ewes on second cycle end of December/January
Did same for first time this year, those not good enough for pure or crossing or had been lame.
Lambs are brown faced, few with wooly top knots, not as much as a Hampshire.
Been run on rough ground with fell twins, mid April born, prob all go in run up to xmas
 

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Red Tractor drops launch of green farming scheme amid anger from farmers

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As reported in Independent


quote: “Red Tractor has confirmed it is dropping plans to launch its green farming assurance standard in April“

read the TFF thread here: https://thefarmingforum.co.uk/index.php?threads/gfc-was-to-go-ahead-now-not-going-ahead.405234/
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