- Location
- Dumfries & Galloway
Dressing tups for sale
- Thread starter Macsky
- Start date
easyram1
Member
- Location
- North Shropshire
or the inside of a new/newish Ivor Williams and I assume other trailers
- Location
- East Sussex
Ah the annual beauty parade.
I don't care whether a Tup is dressed or undressed as long as it hasn't been stuffed with food (other than grass if you have any) and it has meaningful EBV's.
I would suggest that if it has proper EBV's and fed on grass to achieve them then a lot of time can be saved doing the dressing up bit!!
I don't care whether a Tup is dressed or undressed as long as it hasn't been stuffed with food (other than grass if you have any) and it has meaningful EBV's.
I would suggest that if it has proper EBV's and fed on grass to achieve them then a lot of time can be saved doing the dressing up bit!!
dogandstick
Member
- Location
- on the horizon
Why not ban all colouring and trimming to really level the field 
- Location
- Montgomeryshire
Why not ban all colouring and trimming to really level the field
Who bans it and enforces that ban?
Some breeds don’t allow trimming if sold at Society sales. Texels are a good example. Sold outside Society rules, like at Kelso, they can all be trimmed, then you get folk saying that Kelso gets better sheep.
BlueTexels can be trimmed and you get loads of folk suggesting that they’re better carcasses than their untrimmed white cousins. If you lay your hands on many, you’ll find that they are certainly no better, and often p*ss poor…. but a pretty colour of course. The same is true of that latest pyramid scheme sheep, the Dutch Spotted.
Ultimately, as long as farmers bid up for bigger, fatter, trimmed, orange sheep, they will get them presented.
- Location
- Dumfries & Galloway
Why not ban all colouring and trimming to really level the field
Disagree...
They should all be fully trimmed (clipped) 3-4 weeks before sale then left alone. (and of they don't sell at that sale, they should be full shorn again and go to the next sale bald!)
That's the only way to really level the field.
However that isn't the world we live in, so preparing rams - and females - for sale is what the industry does
- Location
- Montgomeryshire
No, it's what 'some' of the industry does, to supply 'some' of their customers that will pay a premium for it.
How many rams are Innovis, Easyrams, Logie Durno and others selling annually now? A trade built up in a relatively short time, mostly from buyers that have grown disillusioned with the circus of ram auctions in the UK.
- Location
- Dumfries & Galloway
Agree but IMO it's still a small % of rams compared to the thousands sold at society sales and local ram fairs up and down the country
Then there's the countless thousands of ewe lambs and Gimmers spruced up for sale
- Location
- Dumfries & Galloway
You asked a legit question IMO.
Selling at local auction is a fair way to go. Maybe if you do it a few years and build a customer base you could switch to selling private and not bother with dressing etc... but you need to get the customers first and you need to know how to turn the tups out
As I said, I'll be needing to learn how to do it in the coming years
shedders dont even need that .
i really cant see how intelligent busy people can waste time washing sheep's faces
CopperBeech
Member
- Location
- A Welsh man lost in England
You produce what your market wants to buy. It really is that simple.
easyram1
Member
- Location
- North Shropshire
I assume you are selling Cheviots so specific advice from those selling other breeds is probably a bit irrelevant so what I am about to say is probably a bit meaningless!! I would think you were best giving a call to one of the better/more successful vendors at the sale to will be selling at. 2 general points. Timing of shearing in sale year ( assuming you are selling shearlings or older) would appear to me to be really important as too much or too little wool are a definite no no. Secondly we would have always been really wary of shampoos of any sort as certainly with the Suffolks back in the day you just ended up with a fluff ball after the grease had be removed by the shampoo. As a general rule we would put the sheep initially through a dip of clean water and repeat this a hour later and possibly again. The general muck and grime would rise up and get shaken out as the sheep shook themselves after leaving the dip and the second dipping would take a lot more out than the first. The final dipping would again be into clean water to which we would add colouring and some wool mix ( youngs show dip with lots of sulphur used to be the treatment of choice 40 years ago. Finally we never got to card/trim till the wool had settled down after the 'dipping'
easyram1
Member
- Location
- North Shropshire
It depends what and where you are selling. Probably being the 'Brave Outlier' at a public sale/auction is not very intelligent either.
Who bans it and enforces that ban?
Some breeds don’t allow trimming if sold at Society sales. Texels are a good example. Sold outside Society rules, like at Kelso, they can all be trimmed, then you get folk saying that Kelso gets better sheep.
BlueTexels can be trimmed and you get loads of folk suggesting that they’re better carcasses than their untrimmed white cousins. If you lay your hands on many, you’ll find that they are certainly no better, and often p*ss poor…. but a pretty colour of course. The same is true of that latest pyramid scheme sheep, the Dutch Spotted.
Ultimately, as long as farmers bid up for bigger, fatter, trimmed, orange sheep, they will get them presented.
damn it I wanted to put an OH NO YOU DIDNTTTT gif in here but it won't let me.I can feel all the DSS breeders prickling and shouting come at me bro
Just for the record I didn't say anything about anyone being "not very intelligent", infact the opposite is what i consider @Macsky to be .
'producing what is right for the market' yes absolutely right.and difficult to argue with .....on the face of it....
but when you start to think about it deeper not so much so , a lot know that anyway so it can be preaching to the converted
idont know about or speak for the industry as a whole of course just my small corner nor am i a ram breeder .
and at least never not wasted is the discussion in the modernday especially surely.
Last edited:
- Location
- N.Lincs
Clipped early March. 'Squared' their tails off the day before the sale - job done.
Definitely NO washing, blow drying or painting orange (or purple or brown) or the wool won't look like this
Maybe that's why we can only sell 3 or 4 tups a year
Perhaps I should enroll on a hairdressing course
Definitely NO washing, blow drying or painting orange (or purple or brown) or the wool won't look like this
Maybe that's why we can only sell 3 or 4 tups a year
Perhaps I should enroll on a hairdressing course
maybe, and could practice on @Tim WPerhaps I should enroll on a hairdressing course
and could be a better future prospects,( for a young person at least
)...bit like undertakers they will always be needed .....
- Location
- Fife
