shetland sheep for dummies

Moors Lad

Member
Location
N Yorks
We had a Shetland "visit" a swale ewe of ours (unknown!) - she scanned for 3 - had first 2 late at night - they had horrible brown legs - I was so disgusted I left her to it (legs like that don`t go down well in swale circles!!) . Next morning ( now realised the parentage!) there was FOUR of the little bu**ers, they`d all sucked, were full and VERY active!! The guy that owned the tup had a ewe that used to "get about" a bit - I remember seeing him in the front passenger seat of a car with her in front of him after one of her expeditions....... she was known locally as "cuddles" after that.. ;)
 

yellowbelly

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
N.Lincs
If you're looking to get some fresh bloodlines into you Narfuk Hurdlers then look no further @spin cycle - we've got 3 Herdy tup lambs that 'evaded' the elastrator and the old bitch is getting fed up with having to return them to their allocated field :facepalm:
At least she can get 'em there without me having to go and open the feckin' gates....
 

unlacedgecko

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
Fife
don't ask why/how :rolleyes: but i find myself looking at a shetland ram for lets say 'niche' purposes :rolleyes:......might he though be any good as a maternal though

No.

The only use for a Shetland tup is breeding pure Shetland ewes. If you’ve got a better ewe, why debase her/devalue the lambs by introducing Shetland blood? Just use pure maternal on your maternal ewe lambs, you’ll speed genetic gain.

i pre-lamb sheared my Shetland drafts last year. Imagine my surprise when 2 of the scanned empty ewes turned out to be broken mouth wethers, double tagged as ewes. All ewes were warranted as free from mastitis, and these boys were I suppose 🤷‍♂️

One jumped out the pen repeatedly and didn’t get to see a shearer, he became dog food on the spot. The other was clipped and marked with a large red “W” on each side, then returned to the ewe flock. He was never seen again from that day to this. In my mind he’s a legend among the ewes. Almost like a Shetland sheep King Arthur, gone for now, but with the promise he will return when his people need him most.
 

Jockers84

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
Caithness
I've heard of folk using a good quality white shetland tup over there ewe lambs for a cycle when trying to build numbers quickly. Hard to beat a shetland x hill cheviot ewe if you can work with them.
 

Gator

Never Forgotten
Honorary Member
Location
Lancashire
Dont do it:eek:, ive only got one ewe and the bloody thing wont die😆, does what it wants goes where it wants, ive been told it as to die here, wish it would bloody hurry up, its had no teeth for 3 year, lambed it 7 years and managed to keep away from the tups for the last 3 but it still keeps going:facepalm:

Dont ya just love her🙄
20200125_141947.jpg
 

delilah

Member
You need to take a step back Spin Maester.
Why do we keep sheep ? For some it is the wool. For others is the milk. In some parts of the World (Wales, Derby) it is for the 'companionship'. All valid reasons to keep a sheep. But for most of us, it is the taste.
Step forward the Portland. Nothing, bar nothing, beats the taste of Portland.
If only there was a ram lamb for sale somewhere...
Your lucky day, I reckon I can fit him in a Hermes box (y) .

portland ram lamb.jpg
 

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