Broken mouthed ewes on twitter

[neilo]

I’ve just realised what a tangent this thread has headed off down. We are discussing the merits, or otherwise, of various shedding sheep breeds/composites,and how cr*p, or otherwise, mules are, rather than discussing the original post about how shocking tooth retention appears to be on Aberfields (a comment I’ve seen from quite a few tbh).

Do we have an Innovis Inc. plant here, diverting attention from that pertinent fact ahead of the sales season?

 

[Nithsdale]

Maybe you should tag @Keepers too?

They do look a tidy bunch of ewes, but when I saw it I couldn’t help but think of @JD-Kid , remembering a post where he wasn’t happy about folks with black spots in fleeces. I guess it doesn’t matter at all if there’s no wool value to downgrade though.

I was lookering my little group of dry Exlana hoggs this evening, who are running with my dry (shorn) Highlander hoggs. I have to say that it’s very difficult to tell which is which without checking the tags tbh, and have to admit that several of the Exlanas are better bodied sheep just now. You just have to keep remembering that you are effectively looking at recently shorn sheep every day, rather than a ‘chunky’ ewe, with 3” of wool on either side.
I’ve certainly no regrets getting them anyway...other than the price of course.

I hadn't realised/made the connection

@Keepers hope you don't mind me lifting your post. They're a bloody good mob of ewes

 

[Ysgythan]

I’ve just realised what a tangent this thread has headed off down. We are discussing the merits, or otherwise, of various shedding sheep breeds/composites,and how cr*p, or otherwise, mules are, rather than discussing the original post about how shocking tooth retention appears to be on Aberfields (a comment I’ve seen from quite a few tbh).

Do we have an Innovis Inc. plant here, diverting attention from that pertinent fact ahead of the sales season?

Is an Innovis plant a tomato x cabbage?

 

[Nithsdale]

I’ve just realised what a tangent this thread has headed off down. We are discussing the merits, or otherwise, of various shedding sheep breeds/composites,and how cr*p, or otherwise, mules are, rather than discussing the original post about how shocking tooth retention appears to be on Aberfields (a comment I’ve seen from quite a few tbh).

Do we have an Innovis Inc. plant here, diverting attention from that pertinent fact ahead of the sales season?

It's just like the MSN suddenly banging on about immigrants again to take the heat off how much of a f**k up this Government is making of everything

 

[Tim W]

Exlanas running on good ground

View attachment 900136View attachment 900137

Charmoise lambs at foot... the lambs maybe don't do anything for me, but fair play to her. They're good stock all the same @Tim W

@Keepers is a damn good flockmaster and she makes sure her stock always perform to best of their ability
We try to supply her with the genetics to do that job

 

[Nithsdale]

@Keepers is a damn good flockmaster and she makes sure her stock always perform to best of their ability
We try to supply her with the genetics to do that job

She certainly is, I follow her on Insta - didn't know until tonight she's a fellow TFFer though

 

[NZDan]

Sounds like they’d be better putting a Finn or Inverdale over them.

The best think to put over a Soay is a Soay. The lambs throw to the Soay not to the other parent.
That particular flock the Soays were weighted one year and average 24kg. the BFLx Soays average 35kg.

 

[Ysgythan]

The best think to put over a Soay is a Soay. The lambs throw to the Soay not to the other parent.
That particular flock the Soays were weighted one year and average 24kg. the BFLx Soays average 35kg.

yet people want small ewes to produce quick growing lambs...

 

[NZDan]

yet people want small ewes to produce quick growing lambs...

Smaller, not small.
To be fair I've yet to see much variation in the lamb weight/ewe weight ratio about 45% at 12 weeks seems to fit nearly every set of data I've seen.

 

[Ysgythan]

Smaller, not small.
To be fair I've yet to see much variation in the lamb weight/ewe weight ratio about 45% at 12 weeks seems to fit nearly every set of data I've seen.

The sire plays a role too. It’s the average of parents weights. Fine put a big ram on a small ewe...ah...

 

[gwi1890]

I can’t help it, when I see Easycares on good ground I just think it’s a waste.

But you can keep twice as many to the acre and put then to texel tup or any other terminal and still sell lambs at 21kg dw or sell them live as “peelers”

 

[Ysgythan]

But you can keep twice as many to the acre and put then to texel tup or any other terminal and still sell lambs at 21kg dw or sell them live as “peelers”

I understand the theory, and I’m not claiming it’s an objective viewpoint, but there we are.

 

[Keepers]

Maybe you should tag @Keepers

I hadn't realised/made the connection

@Keepers hope you don't mind me lifting your post. They're a bloody good mob of ewes

Cover blown no worries at all!

Although at the moment the ground they are on is very poor, The ewes themselves have done very well, even the ones rearing triplets.

I don’t understand why anyone would only want to run them on the crappest ground if the potential to keep them as a highly productive ewe is there you may as well put them on good ground or if you have poor ground manage it in a certain way to get the best out of it. If I ran a mule on crap ground it wouldnt do (as well) or do at all as a mule run on good ground...

Lambs this year were born between mid April and last week of May, although a few in June...
Lambed on old pp with a massive dose of thistles, No clovers nothing.
First draw in July, I picked a fair few lighter lambs at 34-36kgs, but sent up to 43kgs as the price was good but still averaged 17.8kgs dead, (Up to 22kgs dead) mainly U’s, some E’s and some R’s, some of those were pure maternal wethers
2nd draw last week, slightly heavier bottom end draw average, 18.8kgs, same grades again, some pure wethers again

I can’t really complain there! From lambs who have had 1 worm dose and the woollier ones (crossbred) have had click, still rotating around the ground they were born on

The Charmoise x lambs are butt ugly but I don’t have to pull any and they are lively and kill well so they might not suit everyone but they suit me and my system

Yes they have a lot of paint, they come up the race bloody fast and I can’t see small marks behind their heads

Young lambs

Exlana ewes overwintered on good grub

But anyway... back to aberfields and losing teeth

 

[sheepwise]

Cover blown no worries at all!

Although at the moment the ground they are on is very poor, The ewes themselves have done very well, even the ones rearing triplets.

I don’t understand why anyone would only want to run them on the crappest ground if the potential to keep them as a highly productive ewe is there you may as well put them on good ground or if you have poor ground manage it in a certain way to get the best out of it. If I ran a mule on crap ground it wouldnt do (as well) or do at all as a mule run on good ground...

Lambs this year were born between mid April and last week of May, although a few in June...
Lambed on old pp with a massive dose of thistles, No clovers nothing.
First draw in July, I picked a fair few lighter lambs at 34-36kgs, but sent up to 43kgs as the price was good but still averaged 17.8kgs dead, (Up to 22kgs dead) mainly U’s, some E’s and some R’s, some of those were pure maternal wethers
2nd draw last week, slightly heavier bottom end draw average, 18.8kgs, same grades again, some pure wethers again

I can’t really complain there! From lambs who have had 1 worm dose and the woollier ones (crossbred) have had click, still rotating around the ground they were born on

The Charmoise x lambs are butt ugly but I don’t have to pull any and they are lively and kill well so they might not suit everyone but they suit me and my system

View attachment 900290
Yes they have a lot of paint, they come up the race bloody fast and I can’t see small marks behind their heads

Young lambs
View attachment 900293

Exlana ewes overwintered on good grub
View attachment 900294

But anyway... back to aberfields and losing teeth

Your sheep look well and are a credit to you. I must admit your exlana ewes have more shape than I imagined but their doesn’t look to be many E or U grade lambs in that photo. Certainly not at the abattoirs we would work with.

 

[gwi1890]

Your sheep look well and are a credit to you. I must admit your exlana ewes have more shape than I imagined but their doesn’t look to be many E or U grade lambs in that photo. Certainly not at the abattoirs we would work with.

but that’s the point of really isn’t it? You get a self replacing ewes so you put % of them to the exlana or easycares or whatever, then the rest to a terminal, If you where breeding your own mules out o a hill flock you wouldn’t be selling any E grade U would you but you probably would on the next cross.

 

[Ysgythan]

Cover blown no worries at all!

be thankful it’s only your cover that’s blown, he’ll be pulling off his rams again before we turn around...

 

[Ysgythan]

If I ran a mule on crap ground it wouldnt do (as well) or do at all as a mule run on good ground...

grade 4-5 here...

 

[Keepers]

Cover blown no worries at all!

Although at the moment the ground they are on is very poor, The ewes themselves have done very well, even the ones rearing triplets.

I don’t understand why anyone would only want to run them on the crappest ground if the potential to keep them as a highly productive ewe is there you may as well put them on good ground or if you have poor ground manage it in a certain way to get the best out of it.

Lambs this year were born between mid April and last week of May, although a few in June...
Lambed on old pp with a massive dose of thistles, No clovers nothing.
First draw in July, I picked a fair few lighter lambs at 34-36kgs, but sent up to 43kgs as the price was good but still averaged 17.8kgs dead, (Up to 22kgs dead) mainly U’s, some E’s and some R’s
2nd draw last week, slightly bottom end draw average, 18.8kgs, same grades again.

I can’t really complain there! From lambs who have had 1 worm dose and the woollier ones (crossbred) have had click, still rotating around the ground they were born on

TheCharmoise x lambs are butt ugly but I don’t have to pull any and they are lively and kill well so they suit me and my system

View attachment 900290
Yes they have a lot of paint, they come up the race bloody fast and I can’t see small marks behind their heads

Lambs a frwView attachment 900293

Exlana ewes overwintered on good grub
View attachment 900294

grade 4-5 here...

sorry when I refer to “run on land” I mean fed entirely off it, so no supplementary feed year round

I also have run mules on grade 5 land, they got through a fair bit of cake pre and post lambing otherwise they wouldn’t have done

 

[Ysgythan]

sorry when I refer to “run on land” I mean fed entirely off it, so no supplementary feed year round

I also have run mules on grade 5 land, they got through a fair bit of cake pre and post lambing otherwise they wouldn’t have done

It’s possible to run mules solely off grass but you need fewer of them, buy them as ewe lambs, off winter them and lamb later. That’s not necessarily playing to their strengths though.

 

[Keepers]

It’s possible to run mules solely off grass but you need fewer of them, buy them as ewe lambs, off winter them and lamb later. That’s not necessarily playing to their strengths though.

Exactly my point, they won’t do as well under the same conditions, they need more care, more mollycoddling etc

which is fine if that’s what folk prefer to do, but I myself don’t