TexX ewes - which Tup to use?

[Agrivator]

Long time ago when I worked in a well known
auction mart, my first job every fat cattle sale day was to zero the cattle scale with a 30 kg weight on it. Butchers loved it as their cattle killed 60 +% every week.
Not naming any names obviously but I reckon they would all be at it

I know someone who sells top quality fat cattle in a live mart, and who starves them of both water and feed for at least 24 hrs.

It helps to get the top price/kg in the sale report.

 

[Nithsdale]

And these are auctions that are supposed to be working for us at least they take commission off us never heard of them charging the butchers a buyer's premium

And that is why my lambs go on the hook.

The lambs in Dumfries will be the ones which make the dealers/processors the most, as they get them very cheap. And to add insult to injury the buyers hammer anything that isn't a Texel or Beltex

 

[Ysgythan]

So, I went abit daft... I've got 50 TexX ewes standing in isolation

Iv also got another 20 aged TexX ewes running amongst my commercials I bought one year I was short of numbers... so there's 70 in total!

The gimmers need vaccinated for Enzi. Got the vaccine this afternoon, doing them tomorrow. Theyl be clear to go to the ram asof 29th September, and I'm tempted to turn one in on the 1st October.

What tup do you all suggest? I'm cautious about using Texel - the existing ewes can be more problematic lambing then the Lleyns, don't mind helping the odd ewe - but not 70!! I could use a Lleyn, but terminal is the aim of the game...

Mind on, I'm lambing outside! So what do you all suggest? I've got my popcorn ready

Texel

 

[Nithsdale]

Texel

You must be bored if you're starting again

 

[z.man]

No he’s just making sure you get it right this year

 

[Nithsdale]

The Suffolks are still here. This will probably be the last year for the older of the 2 rams (but we will see how he fairs), as he is 5.

I do like the Suffolk. I really like lambing them. I've done 4 lambing with this group and I'll concede its worked well for 2 of those years (2017 and 2019) and not worked for 2 of those years (2018 and this year). The droughts holding the lambs back a lot, both years, despite being on creep.

Next year may be the decider, if I continue or try something else

 

[Ysgythan]

The Suffolks are still here. This will probably be the last year for the older of the 2 rams (but we will see how he fairs), as he is 5.

I do like the Suffolk. I really like lambing them. I've done 4 lambing with this group and I'll concede its worked well for 2 of those years (2017 and 2019) and not worked for 2 of those years (2018 and this year). The droughts holding the lambs back a lot, both years, despite being on creep.

Next year may be the decider, if I continue or try something else

there are good Suffolks just as there are bad Texels.

 

[Sheepfog]

The Suffolks are still here. This will probably be the last year for the older of the 2 rams (but we will see how he fairs), as he is 5.

I do like the Suffolk. I really like lambing them. I've done 4 lambing with this group and I'll concede its worked well for 2 of those years (2017 and 2019) and not worked for 2 of those years (2018 and this year). The droughts holding the lambs back a lot, both years, despite being on creep.

Next year may be the decider, if I continue or try something else

Get yourself to the Sandyknowe on farm sale next year. Good hardy tups, lambed outdoors themselves and reared on grass.

 

[Bill dog]

@easyram1 is your man for Suffolk rams @Nithsdale Farmer . No more dirty rear ends, and forage reared , so will not melt !
But as Scottish breed secretary, I expect you know all this . And as a man who travels the country, he’ll know the way to the land of pineapples and palm trees. Or Dumfriesshire as others call it !

 

[Bones]

The Suffolks are still here. This will probably be the last year for the older of the 2 rams (but we will see how he fairs), as he is 5.

I do like the Suffolk. I really like lambing them. I've done 4 lambing with this group and I'll concede its worked well for 2 of those years (2017 and 2019) and not worked for 2 of those years (2018 and this year). The droughts holding the lambs back a lot, both years, despite being on creep.

Next year may be the decider, if I continue or try something else

Good to keep on trying different things, ,lifes to short

 

[Green farmer]

Good to keep on trying different things, ,lifes to short

I enjoy trying new rams on the terminal side of things. Always exciting to see what type of lambs land in the ground each year.

 

[Nithsdale]

Gimmers fetched in for their 2nd/booster injection of Bravoxin10 and a Mayo Cobalt Master 3-in-1 bolus this afternoon... that's them all ready for tupping now - just 5-6 weeks to go! (where has the year gone?!?)

 

[Ysgythan]

Wouldn’t use Mayo boluses if you paid me.

 

[Nithsdale]

Wouldn’t use Mayo boluses if you paid me.

Good job I'm not paying you

I've tried various cobalt boluses and I think I got best response from Mayo last year. So im trying them across all the ewes this year

 

[Ysgythan]

Good job I'm not paying you

I've tried various cobalt boluses and I think I got best response from Mayo last year. So im trying them across all the ewes this year

all I’ll say is the metal bolus was the original delivery mechanism when the technology was developed. There’s a reason why people went to the effort of developing glass, wax etc. as alternatives.

 

[Nithsdale]

all I’ll say is the metal bolus was the original delivery mechanism when the technology was developed. There’s a reason why people went to the effort of developing glass, wax etc. as alternatives.

Well, when you search on here there's plenty using Mayo boluses and happy with how they perform

I don't think any bolus type is perfect, the glass ones in particular are bloody awful things. But we have cobalt and selenium issues. Show me another bolus which will work for upto 12 months

 

[Ysgythan]

Well, when you search on here there's plenty using Mayo boluses and happy with how they perform

I don't think any bolus type is perfect, the glass ones in particular are bloody awful things. But we have cobalt and selenium issues. Show me another bolus which will work for upto 12 months

forgive me but I won’t take weight of numbers of any opinion on here as any sort of proof

I’m not convinced it works particularly well at all so prolonging the inadequacy seems particularly counter productive.

having said that this is not the small hill I will die on...

 

[Kip]

Gimmers fetched in for their 2nd/booster injection of Bravoxin10 and a Mayo Cobalt Master 3-in-1 bolus this afternoon... that's them all ready for tupping now - just 5-6 weeks to go! (where has the year gone?!?)
View attachment 906370View attachment 906371View attachment 906372

Some moneys worth of sheep there, bet your glad you didn’t have to buy that lot in this year

 

[Nithsdale]

Some moneys worth of sheep there, bet your glad you didn’t have to buy that lot in this year

Very!
Going by the local sales averages, there's somewhere between £21,500 and £26,000 worth of gimmers stood there.

I'm glad I figured that out after working with them. I may have been scared to let the dogs loose on them if I had known that

 

[Nithsdale]

I had 77 lambs at Vivers yesterday for this morning kill. Just got the text now...

Average 18.58kg @ £84.29. Had hoped for a little more weight, but given the weather and they were coming off grass alone I'm very happy.