Setting up a closed flock and Keeping It Simple (Stupid!)

[slackjawedyokel]

I’m well on the path to setting up a closed Easycare flock, so I was just wondering whether any of you good people have practical ideas on flock identification and easy management.

BACKGROUND:
I was indoor lambing ~400 mules and texelXs which was fine but I started getting a few dead ewes in the summer of Covid and had OPA diagnosed in the flock. Turned out it had come in with my mule ewes lambs, which I’d bought from the same farm for maybe 15 years. I decided I didn’t want to manage it continually, so I ran the flock down then got rid completely last summer. Two things that I didn’t like about my system were the indoor lambing (weeks of work to put the sheds together and dismantle, difficult to find good staff etc) and shearing (waste of time and money), so I took the opportunity for a hard reset.

I brought in ~500 easycare ewe lambs a year ago, after I got rid of my previous stock and was careful not to cross-contaminate them with OPA. I’ve got about 350 pure easycares from an excellent source and I’ve got another 150 wool shedding easycare-types (with a bit of Texel thrown in)- again good sheep but from a local source.

I had a much reduced lambing this year (just picked a few of the larger easycare lambs and put them with easycare tups)- went well enough considering the weather in April, and I’m very happy with the lambs, some of which I sold through the ring in August for decent money. Next year, I’ll be into lambing proper; doing the 500 outside.

I’m now wondering how to best manage them as a closed flock (buying only tups). I’m NOT into keeping records, I don’t have a stick reader and I don’t particularly want to own one.

I’m assuming that my biggest issue is that I must never put a ewe back with her dad?

To ensure that, I’m considering splitting the flock into FLOCK A and FLOCK B (Initially, the pure easycares as A and the ‘easycare types’ as B). I’m not bothered about selling easycare ewe lambs, so ewes from flock A can join flock B and vice-versa.
I will probably end up with tups from a few different farms, so maybe I decide I will only ever use tups from farm farms U, V and W on flock A but not flock B, and tups from farms X,Y and Z on flock B but not A.

Identifying ewe lambs will be an issue. When I draw them (having kept lots separate), I’m thinking I could use visually different types of tags - maybe lambs from flock A get the usual plastic strip tags that wrap around the edge of the ear (I’ve been using Shearwell tags), whereas lambs from flock B get those two- part plastic tags that are like mini cattle tags, or button tags. Maybe I can find a make of tags where I can get the same colour in different tag types so I can use tag colour as an age identifier across the flock.

I hope that makes sense. Practical suggestions for a simple, robust system of flock identification/maintenance are welcome. Any idea on tag makes/types etc?

Thanks.

 

[Hill Ground]

We're slowly moving in the same direction.

Im planning on tagging ewe lambs with a different colour every year, then only put the young tups to the young sheep, hopefully they shouldn't ever meet their dad then.

 

[Guiggs]

I just tag the ewe lambs with the same colour tag as the sire.
Failing that just pick a different colour tag and allocate it to a certain tup, will require writing it down if you are likely to forget.
I guess that relies on having enough different colours if you have a lot of tups.
At this stage I swap my tups out after a couple of years as I retain almost all the ewe lambs to increase numbers so I'm not struggling with having enough colours myself.

 

[Aspiring Peasants]

I’m well on the path to setting up a closed Easycare flock, so I was just wondering whether any of you good people have practical ideas on flock identification and easy management.

BACKGROUND:
I was indoor lambing ~400 mules and texelXs which was fine but I started getting a few dead ewes in the summer of Covid and had OPA diagnosed in the flock. Turned out it had come in with my mule ewes lambs, which I’d bought from the same farm for maybe 15 years. I decided I didn’t want to manage it continually, so I ran the flock down then got rid completely last summer. Two things that I didn’t like about my system were the indoor lambing (weeks of work to put the sheds together and dismantle, difficult to find good staff etc) and shearing (waste of time and money), so I took the opportunity for a hard reset.

I brought in ~500 easycare ewe lambs a year ago, after I got rid of my previous stock and was careful not to cross-contaminate them with OPA. I’ve got about 350 pure easycares from an excellent source and I’ve got another 150 wool shedding easycare-types (with a bit of Texel thrown in)- again good sheep but from a local source.

I had a much reduced lambing this year (just picked a few of the larger easycare lambs and put them with easycare tups)- went well enough considering the weather in April, and I’m very happy with the lambs, some of which I sold through the ring in August for decent money. Next year, I’ll be into lambing proper; doing the 500 outside.

I’m now wondering how to best manage them as a closed flock (buying only tups). I’m NOT into keeping records, I don’t have a stick reader and I don’t particularly want to own one.

I’m assuming that my biggest issue is that I must never put a ewe back with her dad?

To ensure that, I’m considering splitting the flock into FLOCK A and FLOCK B (Initially, the pure easycares as A and the ‘easycare types’ as B). I’m not bothered about selling easycare ewe lambs, so ewes from flock A can join flock B and vice-versa.
I will probably end up with tups from a few different farms, so maybe I decide I will only ever use tups from farm farms U, V and W on flock A but not flock B, and tups from farms X,Y and Z on flock B but not A.

Identifying ewe lambs will be an issue. When I draw them (having kept lots separate), I’m thinking I could use visually different types of tags - maybe lambs from flock A get the usual plastic strip tags that wrap around the edge of the ear (I’ve been using Shearwell tags), whereas lambs from flock B get those two- part plastic tags that are like mini cattle tags, or button tags. Maybe I can find a make of tags where I can get the same colour in different tag types so I can use tag colour as an age identifier across the flock.

I hope that makes sense. Practical suggestions for a simple, robust system of flock identification/maintenance are welcome. Any idea on tag makes/types etc?

Thanks.

Ear notching is fairly fool proof for simple identification

 

[slackjawedyokel]

Ear notching is fairly fool proof for simple identification

I nearly put something in about ear notching. The easycare ewe lambs I bought already have a fair variety of ear notches (different bloodlines), and I already have my own system of notching for the farm and for the year of birth of the ewe. Besides, I can’t read ear notches when they’re charging up the shedding race at 100mph

 

[hendrebc]

We're slowly moving in the same direction.

Im planning on tagging ewe lambs with a different colour every year, then only put the young tups to the young sheep, hopefully they shouldn't ever meet their dad then.

That's what I do. Have done forever shearlings go with new rams and maybe 4 tooth as well. Pick the best ewes to go with best ram maybe if I've got one very good one I want rams from.
The rest all goes in one bunch all ages and rams together. Chances of them going on their father are quite small with a pile of rams in together. It doesn't matter much anyway sheep don't care. It gets too complicated if you've got 4 or 5 different mobs of sheep at tupping time.
Just pick best ewe lambs from twin born ones then. Not that I'm particularly fussy about that I'll keep singles as well if I need more ewe lambs.

 

[ringi]

I’m assuming that my biggest issue is that I must never put a ewe back with her dad?

Each year putting the new rams with the youngest ewes will help.

Or use black head terminal rams for the first two lambing of each ewe, combined with culling problem ewes. Few of your rams from 3 or 4 years ago will still be alive by the time their offspring have had two set of lambs.

Or unless you are buying good proformance recorded rams, consider becoming totally closed and using mod breeding. https://thefarmingforum.co.uk/index.php?threads/mob-breeding-sheep.403809/

 

[Woolless]

My suggestion would be have a A flock you breed your replacements from and a B Flock from which you don't keep replacements from and which you can use a terminal sire over. Relegation from A into B by means of one easily identifiable ear notch for minor sins. Perhaps use Easycares over everything this time when they're all gimmers and keep your notchers handy. Next year after weaning add anything you're not keen on for whatever reason to those already notched.

I see that you already have a lot of notches, maybe use a cull tag of some sort instead. But they can come out...

Maybe keep a group of tups that go with the same age group each year? But TBH if you have enough tups and enough ewes in the tupping group, you shouldn't run into any problems.

 

[hendrebc]

If you've run out of ear notches and colours of tags you can complicate things again with coloured cable ties on tags.
Cable tie in a tag is cull here.

 

[Aspiring Peasants]

If you've run out of ear notches and colours of tags you can complicate things again with coloured cable ties on tags.
Cable tie in a tag is cull here.

We do same

 

[toquark]

I’ve got a closed Easycare flock. I don’t lamb them as hoggs (or if I do it’s to a little Dutch spotted tup). I just keep the easycare tups for two years max and keep them separate from the hoggs to make sure they don’t sire their daughters then sell them on. The difficulty is making sure when I buy a new tup he’s not too closely related.

 

[slackjawedyokel]

I’ve got a closed Easycare flock. I don’t lamb them as hoggs (or if I do it’s to a little Dutch Texel tup). I just keep the easycare tups for two years max and keep them separate from the hoggs to make sure they don’t sire their daughters and sell them on. The difficulty is making sure when I buy a new tup he’s not too closely related.

What do you do with your ‘used’ tups?

I’m not planning to tup lambs either now I’m up and running. Only about a third of those I tupped last year got in lamb (to easycare tups), but they lambed away fine!

 

[slackjawedyokel]

If you've run out of ear notches and colours of tags you can complicate things again with coloured cable ties on tags.
Cable tie in a tag is cull here.

I’ve got a system already. Flock mark is a notch out of the end of the right ear. Cull mark is another notch either side, which is fairly unmissable even to me

 

[puppet]

Different coloured tags each year for the replacements which are the best/biggest hoggs drawn from twins. We don't run separate flocks, just keep singles separate. Cull ewes with problems also separate and lambs not kept.
Each new tup can stay with the same batch each year or add in some older sheep to make up numbers.
Just need to record the tag colours and when each tup arrives

 

[toquark]

What do you do with your ‘used’ tups?

I’m not planning to tup lambs either now I’m up and running. Only about a third of those I tupped last year got in lamb (to easycare tups), but they lambed away fine!

Sell them on as working or aged tups. I quite often buy an old tup who’s still got a year or two in him.

I’m in two minds about lambing lambs. They’ve always done ok but I think it is hard on them.

 

[ringi]

Different coloured tags each year for the replacements which are the best/biggest hoggs drawn from twins. We don't run separate flocks, just keep singles separate. Cull ewes with problems also separate and lambs not kept.
Each new tup can stay with the same batch each year or add in some older sheep to make up numbers.
Just need to record the tag colours and when each tup arrives

So seperate topping and lambing fields for each age of ewes.

 

[puppet]

So seperate topping and lambing fields for each age of ewes.

We run 240 to 270. The ewe Hoggs go with 2 Charollais tups and their lambs all go fat. Those Hoggs will be off an older tup which will be back running with their grannies and great grannies.
Usually 120 older ewes running with 3 older tups, 80 of next generation running with 2 younger new tups then the Hoggs. So 3 groups.
Everything lambs together, singles shed to other fields and replacement Hoggs go to the Charollais again. So no chance they meet their father who will be Texel or Lleyn.
Hope that makes sense,

 

[slackjawedyokel]

My suggestion would be have a A flock you breed your replacements from and a B Flock from which you don't keep replacements from and which you can use a terminal sire over. Relegation from A into B by means of one easily identifiable ear notch for minor sins. Perhaps use Easycares over everything this time when they're all gimmers and keep your notchers handy. Next year after weaning add anything you're not keen on for whatever reason to those already notched.

I see that you already have a lot of notches, maybe use a cull tag of some sort instead. But they can come out...

Maybe keep a group of tups that go with the same age group each year? But TBH if you have enough tups and enough ewes in the tupping group, you shouldn't run into any problems.

What do you use as a terminal sire? I’m new to the easycare world so I want to avoid setting up a good system then fudging it up by putting on a tup with bigger shoulders etc and losing the ‘easy lambing’ element.
I’m probably going to stick with pure easycare for now. TBH I’ve been very impressed how the lambs have fattened this summer and they’ve had absolutely nothing spent on them, although they’ve had extremely good grazing compared to a normal year.

 

[Woolless]

@slackjawedyokel I've used Hampshires on them and found them good but I sell most of the lambs store now, so I'm using Texel/Beltex tups as the lambs are easier to sell. I buy off a friend and take his advice on what's going to be easiest to lamb. @Kingcustard has used NZ Suffolks. Charollais would be a consideration but hardiness lambing outside in your location would be a concern (as it is to me).

 

[neilo]

If you really want simple, look into what a few other Easycare breeders do…

Lob a bunch of tups out with the lot then cull after use. The next year, retain a bunch of the best ram lambs and lob them out with the lot. Repeat.

The chances of son on mother would be pretty slim, and the chances of retaining the result even slimmer.