Sheep breeds why?

JP1

Member
Livestock Farmer
Portland, Manx, Dorset Horn, Wensley. Sell direct, Dorset as lamb but moving towards the Portland and Manx as hogget, hung for 12 days. Wont pretend it makes much money but that's a whole discussion about 'cheap' food.

edit: just as an aside, this year we put half the Dorset ewes to Dorset ram the other half to Portland ram, the difference in get up and go, survival rate of lambs etc was marked, which you would probably say is normal hybrid vigour but has really impressed.View attachment 966117
That Portland x twins ?
 

JP1

Member
Livestock Farmer
The Americans have genomic testing for tenderness based on shear test results. You can pick bulls based on the tenderness of their offspring. I wasn't lying when I said UK beef and sheep industries are decades behind when it comes to eating quality.
When you coming to shear some of my Galloway bulls or yearlings then. popcorn ready and that TikTok video man
 

delilah

Member
That Portland x twins ?

yeah, it has been interesting to see that the Portland propensity towards singles is clearly all on the female side, the scanning percentage of Dorset x Dorset and Dorset x Portland was identical (no doubt a geneticist will say that's wrong ?)
 

unlacedgecko

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
Fife
yeah, it has been interesting to see that the Portland propensity towards singles is clearly all on the female side, the scanning percentage of Dorset x Dorset and Dorset x Portland was identical (no doubt a geneticist will say that's wrong ?)

Females of whatever breed are what controls litter size.
 

Estate fencing.

Member
Livestock Farmer
When sheep are dear the breeding falls too sh!t anyway. People start tupping anything with 2 holes in the back end. “It’s a ewe lamb, it’s worth a fortune!” “No mate, I’ll give you £60 and send it for killing. Best end too it”
Has that not be the problem with the mule for 10 or more years. The best tupping lambs are very good sheep but there are a hell of a lot of smaller running lambs (that I'm very guilty of buying) that don't do that well until there second summer of doing nothing. Because they are so dear to buy we end up paying for what are really substandard ewe lambs out of ewes that are not really that good.
 

Anymulewilldo

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
Cheshire
Has that not be the problem with the mule for 10 or more years. The best tupping lambs are very good sheep but there are a hell of a lot of smaller running lambs (that I'm very guilty of buying) that don't do that well until there second summer of doing nothing. Because they are so dear to buy we end up paying for what are really substandard ewe lambs out of ewes that are not really that good.
Yes, quite agree. The bottom 20% of the ewe lambs should never make it too the ewe lamb sales. But they make ££‘s more than they do store value so why wouldn’t you take them? It doesn’t do the industry any use at all. At least with a strong Hogg trade a lot of that type of Hogg will have been killed now. Takes them out of the system.
I do buy them top end tuppers for the breeding flock, but when the job is on its arse I will buy a ruck of the other end and send them away too fatten. Ewe lambs always top up well!! 😉
 

hill shepherd

Member
Livestock Farmer
Yes, quite agree. The bottom 20% of the ewe lambs should never make it too the ewe lamb sales. But they make ££‘s more than they do store value so why wouldn’t you take them? It doesn’t do the industry any use at all. At least with a strong Hogg trade a lot of that type of Hogg will have been killed now. Takes them out of the system.
I do buy them top end tuppers for the breeding flock, but when the job is on its arse I will buy a ruck of the other end and send them away too fatten. Ewe lambs always top up well!! 😉
As a breeder of mule lambs I don't think its up to me to decide which are suitable to be bred from, that is up to the buyer, I offer my lambs for sale where I think I can get the best price if they're not suitable for breeding then only give me store price. My job is to select which pure female lambs to keep for my self and cull the ones that aren't suitable
 

Anymulewilldo

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
Cheshire
As a breeder of mule lambs I don't think its up to me to decide which are suitable to be bred from, that is up to the buyer, I offer my lambs for sale where I think I can get the best price if they're not suitable for breeding then only give me store price. My job is to select which pure female lambs to keep for my self and cull the ones that aren't suitable
I fully agree. Your bottom end lambs make far more as breeders for the outfits that want too run lambs too shearlings than they would do as store lambs. I’m saying that the bottom end shouldn’t enter the national flock at any point. But when trades up then people will tup any old crap!
(not that I’m saying you breed crap by the way! It just appears without us trying sometimes!)
 

unlacedgecko

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
Fife
I fully agree. Your bottom end lambs make far more as breeders for the outfits that want too run lambs too shearlings than they would do as store lambs. I’m saying that the bottom end shouldn’t enter the national flock at any point. But when trades up then people will tup any old crap!
(not that I’m saying you breed crap by the way! It just appears without us trying sometimes!)

And this is why I'm in favour of breeding my own females.
 

Ysgythan

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
Ammanford
when we wintered any Texel x mule ewe lamb that was multiple born, kept our own replacements, and sold the rest on we always did better selling the top and picking ours off the bottom.
 

neilo

Member
Mixed Farmer
Location
Montgomeryshire
The graph was actually taken from a pamphlet aimed at beef producers, and is generally applicable to whatever breeding you are doing.
Sorry to hear about your Exlanas though. I take it you bought females and not a ram to breed the wool off your current flock?
My selection was certainly ongoing and I definitely bred up from my best performing ewes.
They definitely suited my system but really only bought from two places, and one of those could only supply me with mostly sheep that performed very well, but didn't shed properly, so then put an Exlana ram over and bred up from that.
Personally, I think they like a bit of space to lamb in, run on at bcs 2.5 and generally want leaving alone, but you may already be doing this.

Both females and rams, and yes, already doing that.
 

SFI - What % were you taking out of production?

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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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