Keeping tup lambs

[M-J-G]

If you were going onto a pure ewe with a 3/4 ram I wouldn't worry, but onto a X ewe I guess you'd have an element of variation in your lambs, so it really depends if that bothers you.

 

[valtraman]

You're missing a trick then. Stockmanship is important but there are some things which your eyes can't tell you.

Well we have managed this far and doing fine.it’s a bad job when u have to look at a bit of paper with made up shite before u buy something even though it looks like a donkey !!! Have seen many a bull at a sale look horrific and there saying it has tremendous figures. Still wouldn’t buy it.

 

[Hilly]

Well we have managed this far and doing fine.it’s a bad job when u have to look at a bit of paper with made up shite before u buy something even though it looks like a donkey !!! Have seen many a bull at a sale look horrific and there saying it has tremendous figures. Still wouldn’t buy it.

Aye livestock was very good before all recording but it’s just another tool to help it’s no substitution for stockman though .

 

[Woolless]

Well we have managed this far and doing fine.it’s a bad job when u have to look at a bit of paper with made up shite before u buy something even though it looks like a donkey !!! Have seen many a bull at a sale look horrific and there saying it has tremendous figures. Still wouldn’t buy it.

As @Hilly says, it's another very useful tool but has to be used in conjunction with your eye.

 

[Agrivator]

Keep tup lambs out of your best tightest-skinned ''Texely'' ewes.

Try to mark the ewes they cover, and either keep or cull them as shearlings. Unless they've died first, in which case it's not as bad as losing an £800 bought-in shearling.

 

[M-J-G]

You're missing a trick then. Stockmanship is important but there are some things which your eyes can't tell you.

Aren't you running Highland cattle and calving down dairy x heifers.

 

[Woolless]

Aren't you running Highland cattle and calving down dairy x heifers.

Well, I've one Highland heifer (my son's really). What's your point?

 

[M-J-G]

Well, I've one Highland heifer (my son's really). What's your point?

What are their EBVs?

 

[Woolless]

What are their EBVs?

Ah, I see. You think I should be calving Stabiliser heifers, maybe? Well, you might be right. My Hereford heifers were partially chosen on EBVs, which salved my conscience.

 

[M-J-G]

Ah, I see. You think I should be calving Stabiliser heifers, maybe? Well, you might be right. My Hereford heifers were partially chosen on EBVs, which salved my conscience.

Calve what you want to, its your choice.

It's more that I was curious as to why the OP is missing a trick by using unrecorded sheep yet it's not a problem to use cattle with little in the way of EBVs.

 

[Bury the Trash]

Calve what you want to, its your choice.

It's more that I was curious as to why the OP is missing a trick by using unrecorded sheep yet it's not a problem to use cattle with little in the way of EBVs.

Ye old native breeds argument i guess.

 

[Woolless]

Calve what you want to, its your choice.

It's more that I was curious as to why the OP is missing a trick by using unrecorded sheep yet it's not a problem to use cattle with little in the way of EBVs.

I use unrecorded tups sometimes myself, if I think they will add something to the flock. However, the OP is dismissive of using EBVs at all as they seem to think you can know everything about an animal just by looking at it. Not true.

My choice of those heifers has been more about encouraging a spark of interest in the kids than anything else.

 

[Agrivator]

I use unrecorded tups sometimes myself, if I think they will add something to the flock. However, the OP is dismissive of using EBVs at all as they seem to think you can know everything about an animal just by looking at it. Not true.

My choice of those heifers has been more about encouraging a spark of interest in the kids than anything else.

Surely the only test for a tup is a progeny test. In other words, you can't predict anything about a tup until you see his offspring.

Proper shepherds have been using the progeny test since shepherding was invented.

 

[Ysgythan]

I’m just about to start lambing predominately scotch mules but have some texels about twenty in the mix . These are not pure bred texel mainly bred out of scotch mules . Good size of sheep and good shapes. They were run with my pure texel tups and I’m thinking about keeping the lambs entire to see what they turn out tup wise for my own replacements. Has anybody kept similar or should I be breeding of pure texels ?

look, I’ll sell you a tup.

 

[CopperBeech]

Ive been buying recorded rams for a few years now, albeit only of one breed. Ive been fairly strict with myself, sat down and gone through the figures, made a selection and then gone in and had a look at the various rams and what I liked and hoped they matched up. To be fair they mostly do, but I got to admit they dont really look like they are worth the money, but it comes out in the lambs. Ive seen direct gain in the areas I've selected for year on year and its been fairly rapid with buying in the best I can every year. Each year my lamb crop is better than the last. I could mess about and try to keep back lambs and try them, but over say 1500 ewes, buying a couple or so tups every year which last a few years its not that great a saving on tups per ewe cost and the potential for a f**k up is highly possible and would be fairly costly.

 

[Woolless]

Surely the only test for a tup is a progeny test. In other words, you can't predict anything about a tup until you see his offspring.

Proper shepherds have been using the progeny test since shepherding was invented.

Progeny test is obviously useful. Narrowing down those that that you give that chance to by weighing at various stages and backscanning to assess fat and muscle depth is also fairly useful.

 

[PhilipB]

Ive been buying recorded rams for a few years now, albeit only of one breed. Ive been fairly strict with myself, sat down and gone through the figures, made a selection and then gone in and had a look at the various rams and what I liked and hoped they matched up. To be fair they mostly do, but I got to admit they dont really look like they are worth the money, but it comes out in the lambs. Ive seen direct gain in the areas I've selected for year on year and its been fairly rapid with buying in the best I can every year. Each year my lamb crop is better than the last. I could mess about and try to keep back lambs and try them, but over say 1500 ewes, buying a couple or so tups every year which last a few years its not that great a saving on tups per ewe cost and the potential for a f**k up is highly possible and would be fairly costly.

Out of interest, what are the traits you've been selecting for?

 

[jamesy]

Out of interest, what are the traits you've been selecting for?

Ears & nostrils. Bright eyes too

 

[PhilipB]

Ears & nostrils. Bright eyes too

Interesting.

I wouldn't know what to look for in a sheep's nostril.

 

[Nithsdale]

Due to the virus a neighbor decided to keep a ruck of tup lambs (he leaves the balls on everything anyway) instead of going to tup sales...

Texel lambs out of TexXmule ewes. Some to be fair liked good tups. He's killed them all now after using them... he starts lambing around same time as me. I'll let you know what the lambs are like