farmer Les
Member
- Location
- I.o.M
Evening, how do people find the Hampshire as terminal sire compared to the texal or Suffolk? Easier finishing?
Hampshire sheep
- Thread starter farmer Les
- Start date
exmoor dave
Member
- Location
- exmoor, uk
Very easy finishing. They are prone to getting over fat. I believe they are quoted as the fastest growing breed. That's certainly what I've found.
Been using them for 5yrs now on my suffolk mules. Lamb in Feb. Selling 1st week of June (plenty would be ready may 20th onwards). No creep feed what so ever. All permanent pasture set stocked.
Really have been very impressed with them but I wouldn't go all hamp for my earlies. Half hamps and half sufftex. It's really just the fatness that holds me back.
It's not really so much keeping lambs to long (mine go bout 38-42kg, as the grader pointed out to me that a hamp will get fat at 30kg. But selling early (&live weight) seems to make the fat count less against you.
On the sedgemoor grading most would be yellow (best) and a number of reds (over fat). Very very few blues though.
Another point don't judge the lambs til you've weighted them. First year we had them, I ran them up the lane for first weighing, father and me looked at them and guessed they were bout 35kg- they were actually 45kg!!
Their like little lumps of lead.
One year we had a terrible spring. No grass. Then the lambs got hit hard by nemo end of April. I thought the lambs would fall well behind the normal. But come June they finished just the same.
For early-ish lambing to finish of grass- I wouldn't creep them cause you'll just be spending money to buy fat- they are excellent.
I've recently got some Hampshire x challolais rams. Should be interesting
Been using them for 5yrs now on my suffolk mules. Lamb in Feb. Selling 1st week of June (plenty would be ready may 20th onwards). No creep feed what so ever. All permanent pasture set stocked.
Really have been very impressed with them but I wouldn't go all hamp for my earlies. Half hamps and half sufftex. It's really just the fatness that holds me back.
It's not really so much keeping lambs to long (mine go bout 38-42kg, as the grader pointed out to me that a hamp will get fat at 30kg. But selling early (&live weight) seems to make the fat count less against you.
On the sedgemoor grading most would be yellow (best) and a number of reds (over fat). Very very few blues though.
Another point don't judge the lambs til you've weighted them. First year we had them, I ran them up the lane for first weighing, father and me looked at them and guessed they were bout 35kg- they were actually 45kg!!
Their like little lumps of lead.
One year we had a terrible spring. No grass. Then the lambs got hit hard by nemo end of April. I thought the lambs would fall well behind the normal. But come June they finished just the same.
For early-ish lambing to finish of grass- I wouldn't creep them cause you'll just be spending money to buy fat- they are excellent.
I've recently got some Hampshire x challolais rams. Should be interesting