Mashams

[Sandpit Farm]

Absolute b*%^*"ds to shear we go to a farm at shearing time with 700 I always dred going wool comes of a treat just getting them to sit still is the issue! Lambs are very wooly and seem to make less when sold live weight than that off a mule

I think the spine is on a swivel so their back feet can always touch the ground! The key to shearing is to trick the ewe into thinking they are restrained.... and there is no tricking these little blighters!!!

 

[Old Tip]

Loving this thread, remember used to have a couple of near pure Teeswater ewes, crossed them with a Suffolk one year, never seen lambs as big before or since. They had lugs like donkeys and enough skin to cover themselves twice, wrinkly wasn't the word for it. They grew like mushrooms and weighed like lead, never had a Suffick tup since as preferred Charleys on the Cheviots as lambed so much easier. But boy those lambs were monsters

 

[Shearer stu]

The key to shearing them is to do it as fast as you can to get it over with Have always found them to be good combing tho oh and most old boys round here don't like it when you take the top knot off don't know why it make any difference

 

[beardface]

So they can tie an nice pretty price of cotton in it at the sales ( before applying lipstick and slipping back legs into wellies ). Brother once sheard some real wooly sheep think they might of been hampshire or oxfords or something, anyway farmer was busy with something else at the time so he cracked on, head wool and all. Apparently farmer nearly cried when he got back.
Agree with @Old Tip enjoying this thread, getting me all dewy eyed and sentimental, might end up doing something daft like buying a pen full at the back at end of the year..........

 

[Old Tip]

There are always a fair few pens of top quality Mashams at Bentham in the autumn sales. The top pens make daft prices but good sheep are still available at fair money and they are great to see all dressed up with their Curley coats

 

[Poorbuthappy]

Agree on the good mothers bit. Worked for a guy 20 years ago that kept 600 or so. He lambed his hogs outside and one year had trouble with several having dead lambs. I was checking them with the bike and can remember getting hogs to follow their dead lambs on the bike across 2 fields back to shed. Brought 2 in at once a few times like that.

 

[BELOWAVERAGE]

There are always a fair few pens of top quality Mashams at Bentham in the autumn sales. The top pens make daft prices but good sheep are still available at fair money and they are great to see all dressed up with their Curley coats

We bought 80 out of Bentham about 10 years ago, they grew in to big sheep, lambed themselves and were excellent mothers, really good sheep, but when we came to sell them as hogs and lambs they didn't make what they were really worth.

 

[Wids]

Still plenty about in North Yorkshire and Lancashire. Otley has a good sale and Bentham as well in the autumn. Quite a few masham breeders are now producing dalesbred x blue faced Leicester to make the dalesmule. Good breeds for ease of care, outdoors left to it!

We call em 'Mad Mashams' but they settle down after they lamb!

 

[dazza b]

@ oldtip both just had triplets coincided very well with 2 others having singles though so happy days. Also had 2 mashams cast in bentham tonight @ £104 so not lost owt on them happy days

 

[Old Tip]

Well done @dazza b next time your in Bentham let me know and we can have a brew together

 

[matty]

View attachment 122168View attachment 122170 @ oldtip both just had triplets coincided very well with 2 others having singles though so happy days. Also had 2 mashams cast in bentham tonight @ £104 so not lost owt on them happy days

Thanks that's nice to see a picture just as I remembered them..

Takes me back when I was young and care free......Oh happy days

 

[Jackson4]

2 neighbours of mine breed them using the dalesbred, was speaking to one recently, he said his father bred them so he breeds them.. other guy has them on .00000000001 of a mm of grass for the entire year (when theyre not running round the village) Its like a father to son tradition.

 

[Sandpit Farm]

This is my only masham ewe. Her lambs seem to be in the lead so far for growth. I will be weighing everything at 8 weeks so I will report back how she has done.

Didn't calm down though!!

 

[Old Tip]

Nice photo, she's a bit browner in the face than most Mashams but sounds like she is just as stubborn

 

[Will 1594]

@Wids Do liddles at armcliffe Cragg still breed them my uncle was shepherd at Linley hall above otley and where big mashsam men back 40 years ago Will ask him for a copy of some pictures of his sheep and the prize winning pen of the mashams. One went lame so they only had a lighter faced one so he boot polished it's nose to match it up with rest and went onto win at show with them

 

[Old Tip]

Be great to see those photos @Will 1594

 

[Will 1594]

@Old Tip just been talking to him and going on Sunday he is going to dig out some pics. He was also telling the tale of his old shepherd boss taught him 60 year ago to dig " the worm" out of sheeaps heed used to scrape skull away with sharp knife till down to brain and flick a slug like worm out and a bit of stockholme tar on wound. Ist the one where it made them walk round in circles with kneck bent round Cannot remember what he called it But he has some good pics of him as a young fella with his swaley and masham lambs land his dogs

 

[Old Tip]

The sheep worm is called Sturdy round here and is passed on from dogs I believe. Don't see it much now as I guess folk worm their dogs more and modern sheep wormers must help. It was like a cyst on there skull, I was taught to crush if with my thumb and that usually worked.
Be great to see the photos : )

 

[Wids]

@Wids Do liddles at armcliffe Cragg still breed them my uncle was shepherd at Linley hall above otley and where big mashsam men back 40 years ago Will ask him for a copy of some pictures of his sheep and the prize winning pen of the mashams. One went lame so they only had a lighter faced one so he boot polished it's nose to match it up with rest and went onto win at show with them

Based at Stainburn near armscliffe yes they do still breed mashams, see them sold at the breeders sale at wharfedale auction mart.

 

[Will 1594]

@Old Tip Could only get one pic as his daughter has all the rest as they have decorators in and have boxed a lot of stuff up. This pic is of Chris in early sixties a big fit brute of a man back then now he is a work worn old lad waiting to go and shepherd away up there as he calls it And still to date has descendants of the dog in pic i