recording mothering ability

[spark_28]

following on from some of the threads on here i was wondering how people score their sheep?

 

[Woolless]

I tag the recorded lambs at 12-24 hours. Maternal ability assessed by how close the ewe stands when you tag them. +1 close by, 0 stands back but goes nowhere, -1 buggers off. Goes in lambing book with tag numbers and ease of birth and suckling assessed similarly. Having the lamb that you're not working on in the trailer sometimes complicates this but you get the idea. Some of the old stagers you have to shove them out the way.

 

[Skintagain]

I tag the recorded lambs at 12-24 hours. Maternal ability assessed by how close the ewe stands when you tag them. +1 close by, 0 stands back but goes nowhere, -1 buggers off. Goes in lambing book with tag numbers and ease of birth and suckling assessed similarly. Having the lamb that you're not working on in the trailer sometimes complicates this but you get the idea. Some of the old stagers you have to shove them out the way.

Useless mothers get their head sprayed red. That’s lambing inside. I have about 10 marked so far, for no milk, ignoring lambs, been generally useless.

Had a mule lamb triplets all gimmers on her own other day, pinned the lambs down with her chin whilst she was on with lambing the next one each time bags of milk turned out with three as she reared three well last year too, if only all sheep were capable of that. Three lambs marked as keepers.

For outside lambers usually running dry at shearing tells enough imo, kill at that point!

 

[Woolless]

Just to clarify, most of my lambs are born and tagged outside and the criteria refer to that.

 

[Woolless]

Useless mothers get their head sprayed red. That’s lambing inside. I have about 10 marked so far, for no milk, ignoring lambs, been generally useless.

Had a mule lamb triplets all gimmers on her own other day, pinned the lambs down with her chin whilst she was on with lambing the next one each time bags of milk turned out with three as she reared three well last year too, if only all sheep were capable of that. Three lambs marked as keepers.

For outside lambers usually running dry at shearing tells enough imo, kill at that point!

Do you buy your mules in? Are you replacing them with homebred?

 

[Skintagain]

Have bred previously but I now buy a few to retain tex x ewe lambs from. Just keep ewe lambs from good mothers that milk well and lamb theirselves with no problems. Not as robust as breeding all my own sheep throughout but I try to keep the best back I can. Only have 10% mules then the rest are their daughters form the texel put to a beltex or Charolais.

 

[Nithsdale]

Keep it simple.

Everything lambs outside here. I have 2 flocks - the pure ewes which I breed replacements from, and the commercial ewes I kill all lambs from.

If a pure ewe I intend to breed from has a problem which I need to intervene with... she gets moved into the commercial group. Her line ends there with both her lambs killed fat. If its a serious issue she gets an extra tag in her ear.

Any ewes with the extra tag at weaning is automatically sold cull.

 

[neilo]

Lambing outside, I tag & record all potential female replacements (by maternal sires) at birth. If the mother is any way a pillock, the ewe lambs don't get tags so don't ever get considered for retention. I'm not particularly concerned with recording scores, just in making sure those ewes' daughters don't get a chance to continue the line. Thankfully there are very few in that category.

 

[Woolless]

Keep it simple.

Everything lambs outside here. I have 2 flocks - the pure ewes which I breed replacements from, and the commercial ewes I kill all lambs from.

If a pure ewe I intend to breed from has a problem which I need to intervene with... she gets moved into the commercial group. Her line ends there with both her lambs killed fat. If its a serious issue she gets an extra tag in her ear.

Any ewes with the extra tag at weaning is automatically sold cull.

If you're not recording and your sheep are non-pedigree, then your system is as good as any.

 

[Macsky]

Keep it simple.

Everything lambs outside here. I have 2 flocks - the pure ewes which I breed replacements from, and the commercial ewes I kill all lambs from.

If a pure ewe I intend to breed from has a problem which I need to intervene with... she gets moved into the commercial group. Her line ends there with both her lambs killed fat. If its a serious issue she gets an extra tag in her ear.

Any ewes with the extra tag at weaning is automatically sold cull.

What breed do you run pure?

 

[Woolless]

Lambing outside, I tag & record all potential female replacements (by maternal sires) at birth. If the mother is any way a pillock, the ewe lambs don't get tags so don't ever get considered for retention. I'm not particularly concerned with recording scores, just in making sure those ewes' daughters don't get a chance to continue the line. Thankfully there are very few in that category.

The score come in more for selecting tup lambs for sale/use. Any issue with birth/suckling in particular, then they don't make the sale pen. Still need weighed and backscanned, though. Having said that, there's a lot of back data for females which I could make more use of. Nearly up to numbers in the recorded flock now, so the axe will start to fall more readily.

 

[Nithsdale]

What breed do you run pure?

Lleyn. I play at using home bred rams, too, but bought 2 new boys in the autumn

 

[spark_28]

Lleyn. I play at using home bred rams, too, but bought 2 new boys in the autumn

thats the first of my lleyns from incheoch lambed. horrible wet and windy night last night so took her inside. followed me 150 yards through the croft and straight into the back of the horsebox. no problems. another set of twins this morning too and another really good mother so hope they all go that way. 4 males though.

 

[neilo]

The score come in more for selecting tup lambs for sale/use. Any issue with birth/suckling in particular, then they don't make the sale pen. Still need weighed and backscanned, though. Having said that, there's a lot of back data for females which I could make more use of. Nearly up to numbers in the recorded flock now, so the axe will start to fall more readily.

Yes, I can see that if you are retaining them for scanning, weights, etc (although I might be tempted to ring them to avoid temptation if they end up looking tidy).

I retained 10 Highlander ram lambs last year, all on the basis that their dams were great mums, milky and attentive, had equal sized twin lambs and reared them well. Any that have displeased me since, fell back to the slaughter pen, as did any that didn't come back double MyoMAX. I haven't recorded or scanned them though, but lack confidence in what Aberystwyth number crunchers are doing with the breed, so keeping my own rams now. Only got the best 4 now, and the only way I'd want to change them is if they didn't have wool.....

 

[spark_28]

ill keep a couple entire as im hoping to use them on some blackface to give me a good sheep to use on the hill

 

[Nithsdale]

thats the first of my lleyns from incheoch lambed. horrible wet and windy night last night so took her inside. followed me 150 yards through the croft and straight into the back of the horsebox. no problems. another set of twins this morning too and another really good mother so hope they all go that way. 4 males though.

Incheoch will be the best flock in the county, IMO.
My ones probably wouldn't do that... but they're not wild really. Well, the maiden gimmers can be!

I just let them get on with it in bad weather. Yours will be even better next year, once they know the land.

ill keep a couple entire as im hoping to use them on some blackface mules to give me a good sheep to use on the hill

Do you mean use them on Blackies, or on Scotch Mules?

I like the Lleyn out of the Blackie. There can be a fair bit of variation in the ewes, but they're good sheep and live off nothing.

The Lleyn from Scotch Mule is OK but it doesn't do enough to correct the BFL blood

 

[spark_28]

Incheoch will be the best flock in the county, IMO.
My ones probably wouldn't do that... but they're not wild really. Well, the maiden gimmers can be!

I just let them get on with it in bad weather. Yours will be even better next year, once they know the land.



Do you mean use them on Blackies, or on Scotch Mules?

I like the Lleyn out of the Blackie. There can be a fair bit of variation in the ewes, but they're good sheep and live off nothing.

The Lleyn from Scotch Mule is OK but it doesn't do enough to correct the BFL blood

theyve done well to come through this winter, been f**king horrendous. im feeding them concentrates though but have to do that here. Lambing too early too tbh, should maybe go a month later next year.

yeah the lleyn onto a blackie ewe, dnt know why i said blackface mule. Our hill here is fairly decent, would like to get a few old BF ewes and tup them and leave the LLxBF to their own devices on the hill and lamb them out to a cheviot in may.

 

[unlacedgecko]

Yes, I can see that if you are retaining them for scanning, weights, etc (although I might be tempted to ring them to avoid temptation if they end up looking tidy).

I retained 10 Highlander ram lambs last year, all on the basis that their dams were great mums, milky and attentive, had equal sized twin lambs and reared them well. Any that have displeased me since, fell back to the slaughter pen, as did any that didn't come back double MyoMAX. I haven't recorded or scanned them though, but lack confidence in what Aberystwyth number crunchers are doing with the breed, so keeping my own rams now. Only got the best 4 now, and the only way I'd want to change them is if they didn't have wool.....

it’s only 2 generations away

 

[Nithsdale]

theyve done well to come through this winter, been fudgeing horrendous. im feeding them concentrates though but have to do that here. Lambing too early too tbh, should maybe go a month later next year.

yeah the lleyn onto a blackie ewe, dnt know why i said blackface mule. Our hill here is fairly decent, would like to get a few old BF ewes and tup them and leave the LLxBF to their own devices on the hill and lamb them out to a cheviot in may.

The Blackie x Lleyn will be excellent for that. They look a bit like the Texel out of a Blackie. Mostly have excellent skins and are blocky sheep, be hard on them - they put condition on easily, and keep it!


My pures run on bracken/white Hill all winter, and the singles run on it through the summer. No issues, although we aren't high. My ewe hoggs run on Moor ground beside a windfarm their first winter.

 

[Tim W]

. Only got the best 4 now, and the only way I'd want to change them is if they didn't have wool.....

Glad to see you're getting the hang of it....?