Scanning 2021

AftonShepherd

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
East Ayrshire
I put 1 ram in with 150 ewes, first 10 days 120 served and they did 157%, put another ram in on day 11 and the remaining 30 did 131% 🤷🏻‍♂️. All bought off 1 farm which is a closed flock I buy from every year, all had same treatments and all were 1 bunch until the day the rams came out.
Did you swap rams, or add a second? Although can't see any possible hassling each other affecting litter size, only increased chance of missing one.
 

steveR

Member
Mixed Farmer
First time scanning here with the "experimental" Easycare starter flock. Gone to EC Myomax tups.
All 3/4th lambers

4 Barren. Red
8 Singles. Blue
20 Twins
14 Trips. Green
1 Quad. 2 Green
47 Total. 200% Scanned.

Herself wants to know what is "Easycare" about them, "so many bloody triplets...." :)

I said we will pull some ewe lamb trips, and rear them as cades so as to have some quiet sheep in the flock in 2 years time, for when we get Old!! As in EVEN older!! :rolleyes:
 
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Herb9

Member
Livestock Farmer
Well scanned my swales today and it was a massive tail of two halves the half that went to the swale tups ave 183% which I have to say I was pleased with as there daft ewes.
Then I scanned the ewes with the bluefaces the one tupped in first 3 weeks were 153% which was bad enough for me and then the second lot tupped in last 3 weeks was 99% which is a disaster never had as poor a scanning since moving away from draft blackies. Shall be testing all tups next year pre tupping.
That reads as though the ones with the blues were younger sheep? I had a disastrous scan on a batch of younger sheep a few years ago and I put it down to keeping too much terminal blood while trying to push numbers up. I did wonder since if a younger sheep subconsciously reacts more to stress/weather/too thin/too fat ie she has a few more goes at producing lambs so plays it safe and releases one egg, whereas the draft will give it her all under similar conditions.
 

Dachie

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
east Ayrshire
That reads as though the ones with the blues were younger sheep? I had a disastrous scan on a batch of younger sheep a few years ago and I put it down to keeping too much terminal blood while trying to push numbers up. I did wonder since if a younger sheep subconsciously reacts more to stress/weather/too thin/too fat ie she has a few more goes at producing lambs so plays it safe and releases one egg, whereas the draft will give it her all under similar conditions.
I only have daft swales this is the first year I have used swale tups to breed some of my own replacements so all are the same age ewes.
 

Dachie

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
east Ayrshire
Well scanned my swales today and it was a massive tail of two halves the half that went to the swale tups ave 183% which I have to say I was pleased with as there daft ewes.
Then I scanned the ewes with the bluefaces the one tupped in first 3 weeks were 153% which was bad enough for me and then the second lot tupped in last 3 weeks was 99% which is a disaster never had as poor a scanning since moving away from draft blackies. Shall be testing all tups next year pre tupping.
Tried to edit the post but can't seem to but the ewes that went to swale tup scanned 193% not 183% so even happier with that sheep with blues averaged 125% still pee'd at them.
 

AftonShepherd

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
East Ayrshire
If they were both a mix of new and old ewes and managed similarly then it almost has to be the tups.

Looks like there's a 50% chance you'll be retained as my Swale adviser, but we won't know until mid to late February.
 

hill shepherd

Member
Livestock Farmer
Tried to edit the post but can't seem to but the ewes that went to swale tup scanned 193% not 183% so even happier with that sheep with blues averaged 125% still pee'd at them.
So what's the overall % then, about 160%? Still good for swales, they don't all scan like mulemans. When you start tupping your shearlings you'll not want any where near that. Whats made you change from buying drafts to breeding your own?
 

Dachie

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
east Ayrshire
@hill shepherd
My normal scanning is normally 170% to 180% for the swales with the blueface liecsters.
My theory on breeding my own replacements is that I breed the mules for my own use and sell off the extras as gimmers and have got the mules to the point I am only needing to produce 70 or so a year for my own use so if I can produce 50 or 60 home bread swales in a two or three years it will reduce the draft ewes I am buying by about 75% as I will have a younger flock of swales which should in theory last longer than the drafts I buy reducing the cost of production of my mules.
 

hill shepherd

Member
Livestock Farmer
@hill shepherd
My normal scanning is normally 170% to 180% for the swales with the blueface liecsters.
My theory on breeding my own replacements is that I breed the mules for my own use and sell off the extras as gimmers and have got the mules to the point I am only needing to produce 70 or so a year for my own use so if I can produce 50 or 60 home bread swales in a two or three years it will reduce the draft ewes I am buying by about 75% as I will have a younger flock of swales which should in theory last longer than the drafts I buy reducing the cost of production of my mules.
The only down side to this is that you'll also produce 50 or 60 swaledale wethers
 

Dachie

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
east Ayrshire
Why don’t you just buy ewe lambs off hard hill farms? They never seem over
The main reason is the hard hill farms keep the best of there lambs for there own replacements and only sell there second/third draws where as producing my own I can keep the top draw and select the best ewes and buy the tups to make the best type of lambs for my flock and also the less I can buy in the less likely I am to buy in someone else's problems.
 

AftonShepherd

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
East Ayrshire
Tried to edit the post but can't seem to but the ewes that went to swale tup scanned 193% not 183% so even happier with that sheep with blues averaged 125% still pee'd at them.
What parts of the farm were both lots on? Spoke to someone today that was told by a scanner that there have been a few disappointing scans in D&G but a lot of good ones in Ayrshire.

(This is tongue in cheek but you never know lol)
 

SFI - What % were you taking out of production?

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Red Tractor drops launch of green farming scheme amid anger from farmers

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As reported in Independent


quote: “Red Tractor has confirmed it is dropping plans to launch its green farming assurance standard in April“

read the TFF thread here: https://thefarmingforum.co.uk/index.php?threads/gfc-was-to-go-ahead-now-not-going-ahead.405234/
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