Ahhhh sorry
What to look in a hogget ram
- Thread starter Agri
- Start date
- Location
- Montgomeryshire
I would think a terminal sire ram would have to have an extremely bad topline to financially impact on the value of a fat lamb. The aesthetic point is very pertinent though, and reason enough.
In animals that are going to around longer (maternal breeds generally) I consider it would be far more important though.
Incidentally, I was once told, by somebody trying hard to sell a ram, that it wasn’t so much slack behind the shoulder, but it had such tremendous loin muscling that it bulged further back....
I would think a terminal sire ram would have to have an extremely bad topline to financially impact on the value of a fat lamb. The aesthetic point is very pertinent though, and reason enough.
In animals that are going to around longer (maternal breeds generally) I consider it would be far more important though.
Incidentally, I was once told, by somebody trying hard to sell a ram, that it wasn’t so much slack behind the shoulder, but it had such tremendous loin muscling that it bulged further back....
but it’s not one lamb though is it, the thing could sire >300 lambs in a career
- Location
- Aberdeenshire
Perhaps I should be glad to have my decades old pastures with their 'unprofitable' many varieties of native grasses. As of today my fields are still deeply covered with dark green leaves courtesy of pasture topping and never allowing them to seed. They are going to provide grazing for my flock whilst the going is good and field stored fodder(fogage) roughage in winter when I may supplement them with a mineral bucket.
I envy you. Our sales pattern militates against that system, but it would be great if it didn’t.
- Location
- Montgomeryshire
It would be interesting to know if the ryegrass proportion of the sward has increased under that management, as you are mechanically mimicking a rotational grazing system.
I have a 60ac block of pp that I have refenced into the original 16 fields and have rotationally grazed that for several years. 20ac of it has now been reseeded to prg/white clover following a root crop, but those fields aren’t significantly better than the others, just slightly higher yielding and a bit earlier to get going in the Spring. The composition of the old swards has changed over time, with the proportion of ryegrass increasing quite dramatically.
Everyone thinks we’ve reseeded it all and use lots of fertiliser, but we’ve just changed the management.
we’ve seen this.
- Location
- Perthshire, Scotland
Apologies to the op for going severely off topic
I agree with you @neilo to a certain extent, but IMO with intensive silage ground its very difficult to maintain or increase the ryegrass proportion of the sward without reseeding.
I have already seen a change in my grazing areas with only one year of paddock grazing and I won’t be entertaining a reseed program for that ground.
That’s because with multiple cuts of silage the weeds mature quicker and self seed, and you take away the ryegrass seeds before they mature and can self seed.
- Location
- Aberdeenshire
Even in my relatively late cut hay fields the rye grass is not becoming predominant. I personally believe the grasses nature placed there will thrive there and only intervention such as repeated. copious liming and fertilising makes a decent habitat for the new wonder grasses. The old natives just keep on keeping on doing what they evolved to do. In addition to testing in ideal conditions I'd like to see recommendations for grasses that thrive in sub-par environments like the soils round us that revert to 5.8ph without gross intervention.
not sure a bit of lime is gross intervention?
why the fixation with 2 balls?...seen a few one stoners sire plenty of lambs...and they're dirt cheap when it's announced at the tup sale!
^^^^^^ perfect
- Location
- Aberdeenshire
Ph adjustment of perhaps 1 in year isn't a natural phenomenon therefore it is gross intervention. Blackies thrive on an acid hill on grass that thrives within its environment. Has anyone ever been declined a sack of grass seed on the basis that it won't do the job? You phone your merchant, he takes your money and you plant the seed then take your chances.
Or...you breed a monster Blackie on lowland ground on the latest wonder rye grass that has been limed and fertilised and you take him to your wild hill ewes, how's he going to do? Tups/ewes of all breeds can be and are being manipulated all throughout the country hence my assertion that a purchaser needs to check the provenance of anything she/he plans to buy.
Or...you breed a monster Blackie on lowland ground on the latest wonder rye grass that has been limed and fertilised and you take him to your wild hill ewes, how's he going to do? Tups/ewes of all breeds can be and are being manipulated all throughout the country hence my assertion that a purchaser needs to check the provenance of anything she/he plans to buy.
yes, yes, but there are Blydi extremes and all.
- Location
- Mendips Somerset
Thoroughly agree with this , for maybe 40 years i have reared rams on very average pasture , simply because i cant improve or fert most of it as i get it free to keep it tidy , chunks around factories , various gardens , and a large proportion in various schemes ,
I believe my stock has evolved to do well on it , any new rams have to have +fat scores or daughters dont milk and lambs wont finish , many of the wonder rams ive bought in the past off good farms have simply been very average 12 months later . I bought one ram from a commercial farmer ,another member supplied his ewes and rams ,obviously grown under very tough regime didnt look much at purchase but bought on provenance , did a lot better than rams 4x the price
There is a lot in trial by fire , for longevity of a flock .
- Location
- Mendips Somerset
do you buy texels lol ?
clod hopper
Member
- Location
- SHREWSBURY, shropshire
No beltex breeder will do that for you!
Yes one a year and breed the rest ourselves. Charalais too