Does the hill shepherd get a fair share of the pie?

Anymulewilldo

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
Cheshire
You’re also right about the dying - pick up far more dead swale ewes and whethers down here as well. And those hump backs, they just look poor even when fleshed. Blackies have a nice bit of shape to them. But ironically my best paying draft ewe of the year was a Kerry Hill 😂
Don’t diss the Kerry Hill! 😂 I keep wondering wether too buy the son and heir a few as a hobby. (Not trying to brainwash him or anything... 😁)
 

LTH

Member
Livestock Farmer
You’re also right about the dying - pick up far more dead swale ewes and whethers down here as well. And those hump backs, they just look poor even when fleshed. Blackies have a nice bit of shape to them. But ironically my best paying draft ewe of the year was a Kerry Hill 😂
The north of england mule is by far the best of all the mules, they're all good sheep id have any mule over any other commercial breed, but with the North of England mule you get, high scanning percentages, milk, good mothering ability, and good lambs from any terminal sire they have the best skins and rarely get stuck on their backs, The Swale will produce more lambs per crop than the blackie so is the ideal draft for producing gimmer and wether lambs, our inside ones scanned at 200% with no geld. mule shearlings to 2 crops 207% 3crops upwards 219% caan be 230% some years
 

hill shepherd

Member
Livestock Farmer
They may well be but I won’t swap you.
Swales are all leg, hump backed and narrow gutted. The biggest thing about them is the horns!

Why do my blackie wethers make £20 for than the same weight swale? Modern Swales generally have no width, no shape. And they die far worse than blackies when we get them down here too grow. I’m afraid you couldn’t give me swale wethers. But I’ll drive 400 miles too buy blackies all season long.
Totally agree with your comment about modern swales, trying to buy a decent tup is a nightmare, maybe its time for a cross with something else, end product will still be a mule though
 
The north of england mule is by far the best of all the mules, they're all good sheep id have any mule over any other commercial breed, but with the North of England mule you get, high scanning percentages, milk, good mothering ability, and good lambs from any terminal sire they have the best skins and rarely get stuck on their backs, The Swale will produce more lambs per crop than the blackie so is the ideal draft for producing gimmer and wether lambs, our inside ones scanned at 200% with no geld. mule shearlings to 2 crops 207% 3crops upwards 219% caan be 230% some years

I would disagree but each to their own. If it works for you that’s grand.
 

LTH

Member
Livestock Farmer
Totally agree with your comment about modern swales, trying to buy a decent tup is a nightmare, maybe its time for a cross with something else, end product will still be a mule though
you can get good dark tups still at st johns and sometimes kirkby, but good luck at hawes!
 

LTH

Member
Livestock Farmer
ARCY0694.JPG
 

LTH

Member
Livestock Farmer
Yea, a bit of scotch through them to give a bit of hybrid vigor wouldn't do them any harm, but i wouldn't have pure scotch. they can be soft, but disagree that they're sh!t and basically obsolete without the mule, even though that is a good enough reason on its own for them.
 

LTH

Member
Livestock Farmer
Leicesters, Mules and Swales are my interest basically. had a set of herdwick cross lambs this morning from a neighbors tup hog that was on the fell. they do make decent ewes and have a decent enough mule lamb do the herdwick crosses.
 

yellowbelly

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
N.Lincs
Leicesters, Mules and Swales are my interest basically. had a set of herdwick cross lambs this morning from a neighbors tup hog that was on the fell. they do make decent ewes and have a decent enough mule lamb do the herdwick crosses.
I'll just leave this picture here.....
20200826_165752.jpg

...for those of you with Blackies, Swales and Cheviots to make of it what you like.
 

Anymulewilldo

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
Cheshire
Totally agree with your comment about modern swales, trying to buy a decent tup is a nightmare, maybe its time for a cross with something else, end product will still be a mule though
I’ve had some really smart strong mule ewe lambs from outfits crossing a Hexham type blackface tup into their Swales... it looks a good sheep, oldest ones are 3 shear now and I’m very pleased with them.
 

Anymulewilldo

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
Cheshire
Those tups are a credit too you! They actually have a good width too the chest and it seems too follow through! How a swale used too be! I hope that the society gets a rude awakening soon and stop chasing these tups that are basically ewes with balls and go back to this type of sheep! No wonder you’ve been on good crack for your wethers. Not many are bred that way anymore. Mores the pity.. 😭
 

Anymulewilldo

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
Cheshire
I'll just leave this picture here.....
View attachment 947216
...for those of you with Blackies, Swales and Cheviots to make of it what you like.
We’ve had herdwick draft ewes in the past, grand sheep. Put too the texel and kept plenty of ewe lambs back. The last bunch I had wouldn’t stop anywhere, they were that busy rambling they wasted their lambs too nothing. When I shut them up too settle them they just stopped eating. That was the final straw, they all went on the fat and I never bothered replacing them.

But still got some herdwick x ewes knocking about!
 

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