The Beltex is supreme.

unlacedgecko

unlacedgecko

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
Fife
JSmith said:
Regarding Shetland ewes on low cost system, isn’t this what you do! Was just giving an example, thought you’d be along to sing there praises 👍
Click to expand...


Thank you for the tag. Slightly different. I'm using Shetlands for the base ewe of a shedding low input high output composite. Eventual ewe characteristics -

LW 55-60kg at 3.5BCS
Sheds fleece
Excellent feet and teeth
High maternal, rear lambs in big mobs on daily (or more) moves
Scan 200%+ off grazed forage only
Be able to wean triples off grass only

Shetland has a poor carcass and small litter size. I'm incorporating double myomax and inverdale to mitigate both.

received_392342095568590.jpeg


F1 easycare/Shetland gimmers. Some shed completely and almost all are clean on belly and breech.

There's 200 for sale. If they don't go these will be tupped by Exlana this autumn. I expect all the F2 to cleanly shed.

received_270464704504856.jpeg


Stud gimmer. She's easycare (performance recorded flock bred up from blackies) X inverdale (from @MJT). This autumn she'll go to a double myomax shedder (from @Woolless).

IMG_20210619_081903777.jpg

Inverdale tup (single myomax)

IMG_20210619_082014771.jpg

Double myomax shedder


If I didn't have such an aversion to wool I suspect a very useful ewe could be made a lot faster by just putting an inverdale tup on the Shetlands directly.

Additional Shetland "con" is their unique character. You'll soon see how good (or not!) your dogs are, as they don't flock properly. They light in the paddock, but heavy in the pen. And they've a wanderlust unmatched in any other breed. I've met the whole district!
 
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unlacedgecko

unlacedgecko

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
Fife
Once I've fixed my ewe type, lower age classes not needed for replacement breeding can go to a terminal of choice. My preference is Charollais. Wean at 8 weeks and prioritise lamb feeding. Gives plenty of time to get the ewes back into good nick pre tupping.

Back on topic, I think a beltex is the wrong tup for a Shetland. Growth will be too slow. I helped draw some beltex x Shetland lambs before. There were some that wouldn't be 18kg dead by May.
 
M-J-G

M-J-G

Member
Location
Sunny Scotland (But I wasn't born here)
JSmith said:
Is there anything with wool on that’s worthless at the minute!! I’ve seen lambs that are dead on there feet making £40 in recent weeks 😲! I’ve got some shetlands and some Hebridean that run some rough ground, hardly ever touch them, found that a llyne ram on them suits us, no horns and most lambs come white, most have two lambs and I’m about to kill most lambs next week for £80 plus, they’re so long lived if you had a pound apiece for them as culls they’d still of earn’t there keep!! Simples 🤷‍♂️
Click to expand...
Some friends who I help to lamb sometimes have about 100 of them alongside Blackied and ShetlandXCheviots.
They put them to the Beltex, most lambs go fat after new year, very efficient sheep, very little bother with lambing etc.
Very few escape, but they know how to hide when gathering and they love a scrap with the dog.
Like you've said they last so long that even if you were giving them away at the end they'd probably still depreciate less than most others.
 
unlacedgecko

unlacedgecko

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
Fife
neilo said:
Do you think crossing them with an Easycare (essentially a Welsh x Wilt) will calm them down?
Click to expand...

This is why I detest the term easycare. (Yes I know I used it in my original post).

My tups are from a flock of commercial shedding hybrids. Their base ewe was a lleyn which had the wool bred off using exlana. There's also a dash of NZ texel in their breeding.

But so far, yes. F1 ewes flock better and don't seem as escape prone as their pure Shetland mothers.
 
neilo

neilo

Member
Mixed Farmer
Location
Montgomeryshire
unlacedgecko said:
This is why I detest the term easycare. (Yes I know I used it in my original post).

My tups are from a flock of commercial shedding hybrids. Their base ewe was a lleyn which had the wool bred off using exlana. There's also a dash of NZ texel in their breeding.

But so far, yes. F1 ewes flock better and don't seem as escape prone as their pure Shetland mothers.
Click to expand...

Good to hear, but everyone I’ve spoken to that runs Exlanas alongside ‘normal’ sheep remarks on their ability to seek out gaps in hedge bottoms too. Hopefully the laid back NZ Texel blood will help make them more ‘shepherdable’ for you.👍
 
firther

firther

Member
Location
holmfirth
unlacedgecko said:
Thank you for the tag. Slightly different. I'm using Shetlands for the base ewe of a shedding low input high output composite. Eventual ewe characteristics -

LW 55-60kg at 3.5BCS
Sheds fleece
Excellent feet and teeth
High maternal, rear lambs in big mobs on daily (or more) moves
Scan 200%+ off grazed forage only
Be able to wean triples off grass only

Shetland has a poor carcass and small litter size. I'm incorporating double myomax and inverdale to mitigate both.

View attachment 981884

F1 easycare/Shetland gimmers. Some shed completely and almost all are clean on belly and breech.

There's 200 for sale. If they don't go these will be tupped by Exlana this autumn. I expect all the F2 to cleanly shed.

View attachment 981885

Stud gimmer. She's easycare (performance recorded flock bred up from blackies) X inverdale (from @MJT). This autumn she'll go to a double myomax shedder (from @Woolless).

View attachment 981887
Inverdale tup (single myomax)

View attachment 981888
Double myomax shedder


If I didn't have such an aversion to wool I suspect a very useful ewe could be made a lot faster by just putting an inverdale tup on the Shetlands directly.

Additional Shetland "con" is their unique character. You'll soon see how good (or not!) your dogs are, as they don't flock properly. They light in the paddock, but heavy in the pen. And they've a wanderlust unmatched in any other breed. I've met the whole district!
Click to expand...

some cracking sheep there
 
Orkneyboy

Orkneyboy

Member
Location
Orkney
Longlowdog said:
I think if I had an upland farm, fenced but no fell I'd try a bunch of multi crop Shetlands or something not much bigger and put the Beltex to them and sell stores. How many Shetlands can you keep to the acre compared to whopping great flashy terminal cross ewes if you are not carrying lambs over winter?
Less winter feed and ewes that know how to scavenge for every bit of nutrition.
Lamb later when there is a chance of some grass.
Stores away whilst there was a chance of building up a bit of grass to carry in to winter.
Lambs sold to someone with winter grass or a big shed.
I can't say I even vaguely know how those stack up in a practical or financial way but I've often thought low input, low cost, hardy ewes and no lambs to look after during a hard winter would make for an easier life.
Click to expand...
Pretty much sums up my entire system but swap beltex tups for NZ Suffolks!
 
Aspiring Peasants

Aspiring Peasants

Member
Location
North Pennines
Results by breed from Kirkby last night

Breed Price Pence per Kilo

Beltex £123.12 306p
Texel £101.83 242p
Blue Texel £105.82 246p
Suffolk £112.51 238p
Charrolais £98.55 233p
Cheviot £100.33 255p
Mule £100.84 222p
Swale £68.86 186p
 
MJT

MJT

Member
neilo said:
I know it makes no difference if you value seeing your name in lights, but would the Suffolk/Charollais/Texel lambs born at the same time not have been gone a month ago, given the same chances, leaving more grass for the rest, and the ewes?
Click to expand...
But then you’d probably have less lambs to sell from the other breeds once the Suffolk lambs haven’t bothered to get up and suck , the texels have had their heads hung for a couple of hours so died and the Charolais curled up and died when it got to minus 1 . :sneaky::ROFLMAO:
 
Aspiring Peasants

Aspiring Peasants

Member
Location
North Pennines
neilo said:
I know it makes no difference if you value seeing your name in lights, but would the Suffolk/Charollais/Texel lambs born at the same time not have been gone a month ago, given the same chances, leaving more grass for the rest, and the ewes?
Click to expand...
No one system is right to the exclusion of all others. You have to do what you enjoy and what suits your farm and system. The reason I put the Beltex prices up is because people slate the breed when they try and make it do something it's not bred to do or claims to do. The breed is developed to produce a high value carcase for which there is a big export demand, it is not bred to rough it and tup 100 ewes. All I'm trying to illustrate is why people put the extra effort in that is required for this type of system. When we had mules and used Texel tups we would get some lambs away in July, whereas now it will be August before we start selling. In terms of grass I don't notice any difference especially when you can stock at a higher level anyway
 

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