Mules are still supreme

[hally]

The bitterness on this thread,all because the mule is back at the summit is amazing!
[/QUOTE

Well no she didnt.. but there has been a bit of a craze of keeping fat lambs for ewes for a year or two,
Great to see the mule getting the recognition it deserves again.

I don’t know of anybody going back into mules around here but there are a few who have been keeping texel lambs for a few years are starting to keep a few mules to breed their own replacements as they are starting to get a bit too pure with their ewes. Is the mule any dearer this year than say the Cheviot mule or other breeds?
I can’t quite see the optimism, yes lambs are dearer but our old ewes are not that much up, the early lambing guys are not that much up and these brexit negotiations look a complete shambles, it can’t be all bounce back loan can it?

 

[irish dom]

Your over exaggerating everything i am easily getting 5 to6yrs out of my mules.I sell them to a lower stocked farm where they get another year or two.The mule is around for generations and has stood the test of time.How many mules are sold each year and how many lyens.

What everyone else is doing doesn't really concern me. How many farmers are making money or how many are doing what their dad's did and moaning about it to anyone who will listen. Fair play if you can get 5 or 6 years out of a mule but I really can't and I have bought and bred alot of them. On the whole IMO they are terrible but that's just my opinion. My land is not top notch and I like to stock it hard to pay the rent.

 

[hally]

What everyone else is doing doesn't really concern me. How many farmers are making money or how many are doing what their dad's did and moaning about it to anyone who will listen. Fair play if you can get 5 or 6 years out of a mule but I really can't and I have bought and bred alot of them. On the whole IMO they are terrible but that's just my opinion. My land is not top notch and I like to stock it hard to pay the rent.

Have to say our mules have their faults but longevity is not one, they last another year compared to our texels but as the texel has a lot better cull value does that really matter, depreciation is very similar.

 

[M-J-G]

The only reliable way of increasing the fecundity of a breed is to introduce a second more fecund breed - all the composites including the Cambridge have done that.

But if (in your words) "all those folk who select twins for replacements in the hope that they will be more fecund, are deluded" why would introducing a more prolific animal make any difference?

 

[M-J-G]

Well no she didnt.. but there has been a bit of a craze of keeping fat lambs for ewes for a year or two,
Great to see the mule getting the recognition it deserves again.

In NI lots of people have been keeping fat lambs for ewes for 25 years or more.
There is also a strong trend to keep terminal type heifers for cows too.
Neither tickle my fancy.

 

[muleman]

In NI lots of people have been keeping fat lambs for ewes for 25 years or more.
There is also a strong trend to keep terminal type heifers for cows too.
Neither tickle my fancy.

Silly keeping fat lambs for ewes...when or if subsidy disappears shepherds will have to run their flocks in a more cost effective fashion....it wont pay the bills to go to the auction with the single reared, c section delivered fancy shaped lamb....this is where the mule will really be able to hold its ground again.
Having said all this i must admit i do keep some terminal type heifrrs for cows!

 

[Tim W]

Is the exlana in the back of the photo, behind the two goats?

That was @neilo favourite line ----'till he saw the light & did the sums

 

[hally]

That was @neilo favourite line ----'till he saw the light & did the sums

There is more to life than money......you have to look at them everyday.
Sheep are a bit like women....the pretty ones are generally higher maintenance but which do you prefer?

 

[Tim W]

There is more to life than money......you have to look at them everyday.
Sheep are a bit like women....the pretty ones are generally higher maintenance but which do you prefer?

I like the ones that look after me ----

 

[hally]

I like the ones that look after me ----

Cant argue with that

 

[Will 1594]

Any one still have mashams , and dalesbred yows , uncle Chris at lindly hall early 70,s
Superb shepherd.

 

[Ysgythan]

I like the ones that look after me ----

they’re either desperate or after something...

 

[hally]

they’re either desperate or after something...

Sounds like most blokes tbh

 

[Anymulewilldo]

Any one still have mashams , and dalesbred yows , uncle Chris at lindly hall early 70,s
Superb shepherd.

Bought 45 masham ewe lambs out of Bentham last week. Pale of face but strong tupping lambs. Avg £90. Was very pleased as my cheviot mule tupping lambs stand me at £129 avg. until I came too shear them today. Mental wooly wriggling gits. But now they are clipped they look well. Used too run a couple of hundred alongside the Mules before I was taken by the Cheviot bug. Good mothers, milked well, cropped heavy. Just too much bloody wool!

 

[Purli R]

Yeah,masham still teks some beating,but try telling some of the old farts (did I say that out loud) in the Dalesbreds to breed some wool of them.

 

[Purli R]

Any one still have mashams , and dalesbred yows , uncle Chris at lindly hall early 70,s
Superb shepherd.

Nice lamb,old fashioned ewe even for 1970"s . Some masham"s still bred in that area nowadays

 

[dogandstick]

I like the ones that look after me ----

Not all the pretty ones are high maintenance any more than ugly ones are low.

 

[johnspeehs]

Are the mule breeders making any progress with bringing OPA (wheelbarrow disease) under control? Getting to be quite a problem here with a lot of people testing now.

 

[@dlm]

Apologies, I don't recall what you're saying.
How can runners have been so cheap the last 2 years, but only this year a profit and last year a loss? If there's a loss, they were too expensive.

If you're lambing them as hoggs, they are not runners...

Bounce back loans, SFP paid early, highest fat lamb prices ever (?) in August /September... its no surprise many have went daft this year with money burning a hole. This trade is not the norm.

IIRC 2017 was very good trade, 2018 was down quite a bit. Last year was up a very small way... this year is record breaking. There will be a big influx of ewe lambs next year due to this.

I'm only saying what has happened time and again when prices rise. Im just hoping Brexit is putting off a lot of the casuals from jumping on the

Apologies, I don't recall what you're saying.
How can runners have been so cheap the last 2 years, but only this year a profit and last year a loss? If there's a loss, they were too expensive.

If you're lambing them as hoggs, they are not runners...

Bounce back loans, SFP paid early, highest fat lamb prices ever (?) in August /September... its no surprise many have went daft this year with money burning a hole. This trade is not the norm.

IIRC 2017 was very good trade, 2018 was down quite a bit. Last year was up a very small way... this year is record breaking. There will be a big influx of ewe lambs next year due to this.

I'm only saying what has happened time and again when prices rise. Im just hoping Brexit is putting off a lot of the casuals from jumping on the sheep trade with lamb prices so good

As for the moaning, it's all you hear at the gimmer sale when prices drop and the dealers /runners loss their investment. Heard it too many times

Runners 2 years ago got down to 45 that a friend on here turned down in mart, would have killed as hoggets at over double that price ,thats why cheap, but people greedy and held on expecting more money on shearling sales that didnt happen, hope that explains why i think they were cheap yet only one year profit!! I am lambing them so aware not running lambs, dont recall me saying i kept runners. By buying tuppers i see it as only way of guarranteing a profit. Possibly you are right with bounce back loans/ sfp loan paid early, but as im sure you know this is papering over cracks, and will add to potential profit of genuine farmers long term if these hop into the business come crashing down?
sheep trade with lamb prices so good

As for the moaning, it's all you hear at the gimmer sale when prices drop and the dealers /runners loss their investment. Heard it too many times

 

[@dlm]

Sheep will never be a dear as they've been, so it crazy buying gimmering lmbs at 100+, surly around 80 is enough because they will be back 20£ a head next year. As said nice sweet faced smaller lmbs would grow fine threw the winter and summer time.

Last 5 years paid over 100 for mule tupping lambs, shown average profit of 53.80 on these. Why is this so crazy? Hope im right as waiting to unload another 110