Docking before lambing?

[exmoor dave]

Given the reduced wool value (& same shearing cost), do you think it would pay to just buy in a nucleus of shedders and multiply them up instead, rather than breed up from the existing flock?
Serious question, as always hassled by sorting shearing for little real return, so always open to the idea of shedding sheep.

In a ideal world yes, but it depends how quick progress you want and how much money you're prepared to spend to do it.

My full shedders are bred up from a flock of 30 wilts I bought, progress was slow so I started grading up mules.

But the momentum of those wilt derived ewes has snowballed now so hopefully the number of 1st cross mule/exlana will be reasonably limited...... well apart from the flock growing faster than expected the last two years and next year at least.

 

[GTB]

Buying in females was never an option here for three reasons. There wasn't enough females available at the time, the cost of purchase and the need to keep our own replacements to protect the immunity of the flock to ticks and other things relevant to hill farms plus of course we didn't want to buy any nasty diseases. Basically bought in sheep just don't do on a hill farm.
In your case @neilo and at the present time you might well be better off buying in females as there are plenty about now and your flock isn't hefted and so on, not to mention the years of breeding and shearing you'd avoid by going straight in rather than breed up.

 

[neilo]

Buying in females was never an option here for three reasons. There wasn't enough females available at the time, the cost of purchase and the need to keep our own replacements to protect the immunity of the flock to ticks and other things relevant to hill farms plus of course we didn't want to buy any nasty diseases. Basically bought in sheep just don't do on a hill farm.
In your case @neilo and at the present time you might well be better off buying in females as there are plenty about now and your flock isn't hefted and so on, not to mention the years of breeding and shearing you'd avoid by going straight in rather than breed up.

Hmm, IF I did it, i’d Be keen to keep the genetics i’ve Spent many years selecting for, so would personally be quite keen to breed up. However, there must be a significant cost to doing so, from the extra hassle of managing several grades of shedders at once, and the low value of the half fleeces from those part way there, with all the costs of woolly sheep still intact. Hence my questions.

 

[alwayslearning]

A sheďer cross highlander or Romney will be a messy sheep 1st cross mules were bad enough