Cheviot Mule vs NofE Mule

hill shepherd

Member
Livestock Farmer
The top priced sheep may be from high farms but often the ewes with ewe lambs are moved to lowland pastures. If the ewe has a wether lamb aswell thats often taken off and reared as a pet so that you can get a good big ewe lamb. Often Lambed earlier in March these days. That's the stuff you have to do to get top prices. Tow law sale not as good at Hexham. Alot of refugees now not quite good enough for Lazonby. Some of the better ones have moved to Middleton
Yes, I know folk that do all this
 

jendan

Member
Mixed Farmer
Location
Northumberland
Surely there’s a touch of the grey stuff crossed in up there?? A fell swale takes no harm from a good herdwick crossed in every few years.
if @hill shepherd is a purist though I do apologise!
Wrong side of the M6 i think but high hill farming i know little about.Its why i ask questions on here.Fascinating how the weather is coped with. Above 600m,or 1800 feet or so,and its a whole different ball game.
 

egbert

Member
Livestock Farmer
Situation,situation,situation.😊
spot on.
There's limestone pavement running over 1500' in the North that would fatten beasts, while a fella I met who was in the Lammermuirs (is that right?) breeding blackies, but had less rain than my cousins in NSW.
It's all relative.
I get scoffed at for being a southern nancy, but Northern eyes glaze over when I mention the Blackies and Galloways are currently out on hill that took 11' of rain last year.
One gauge 2-3 miles SW took 144"


Likewise the feeding.
Give em more hard feed, and you get bigger lambs/drafts.... there's a surprise!
But it then masks other shortcomings.....

I fear that trodax and trace element boluses are masking failings in the ewes as well.
 

hill shepherd

Member
Livestock Farmer
The lady asked for opinions on two sheep breeds not who farms higher.
My suggestion would be to buy a dozen theaves and try them without going all in at once. They are big and strong.
Didn't mean to hi jack the thread, apologies to the OP. Yes just try a few of each would be a good idea
 

Agrivator

Member
East fellside in cumbria, our part of the fell is near to cow green reservoir with cross fell ( the highest point on the pennines) just to the north. They live off heather and rocks

Do they snort if someone surprises them? I always thought it was a characteristic of a real hill sheep.

I've never heard an inbye sheep do it.
 

Anymulewilldo

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
Cheshire
Hell of a lot of the shearling mules for sale have w the majority of their lives in softer southern farms / estates, acting as parkland lawn mowers .......
I bet it’s close on 80% maybe 90% of mule (if not all non hill bred) shearlings have summered on the “soft” land. My dry hoggs summer on the roughest ground I’ve got as punishment for not lambing but it’s still not “hard” by fell standards.
 

Agrivator

Member
Do they snort if someone surprises them? I always thought it was a characteristic of a real hill sheep.

I've never heard an inbye sheep do it.
In that case 50% of beltex tups must be real hill sheep…

It's a sharp short healthy sneeze, which is far different from the wheeze of many Beltex tups.

And have you ever been on hill ground in a thick mist, when sheep look like Buffalo, and grouse the size of turkeys.
 

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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