TexX ewes - which Tup to use?

[Nithsdale]

What do the hurdles cost roughly @Nithsdale Farmer , are they 6ft?

Sorry, just seen your comment.

Alligator hurdles are all 5 foot and are £142+vat each. That price includes a pin

 

[Nithsdale]

Not sure if I'm being smart or just asking for trouble

I'm thinking my ewe lambs are looking very well. A good % will be big enough to tup, the rest wouldn't be too far away... seriously considering feeding them on over the next 6-8 weeks and then turning tups in with them

Quite fancy using Beltex. Being up next door, they'd need to manage without too much work from me. So the tiny lambs at birth really appeal. They should turn out to be very smart and I'd punt them away store as soon as I could. Don't want to be sore on the hoggs, but if I can get another modest 100 lambs (theres 140 ewe lambs) it would always help cover the wintering costs...

Have I lost the plot

 

[Bill dog]

No , you’ve seen sense ! They’ll make better ewes havIng a lamb next spring. And getting some lambs off them helps them pay their way !
Now for a Tex x ewe lamb , which Tup to use thread !

 

[Boydvalley]

I have a very simple ewe lamb rule. 45kg and they go to the ram. If I don’t they are to big as gimmers ( think that’s what you call them). Under and they don’t quite make it as a ewe. Tex x mule.
Got loads over 50kg already this year. Don’t know what’s gone right.

 

[Nithsdale]

No , you’ve seen sense ! They’ll make better ewes havIng a lamb next spring. And getting some lambs off them helps them pay their way !
Now for a Tex x ewe lamb , which Tup to use thread !

I dunno!
I got on OK, but nothing amazing, when I used to lamb the hoggs.. some always did very well but some were ruined by it. But that was running them at home, on too tight ground and expecting big things from it...

I have a very simple ewe lamb rule. 45kg and they go to the ram. If I don’t they are to big as gimmers ( think that’s what you call them). Under and they don’t quite make it as a ewe. Tex x mule.
Got loads over 50kg already this year. Don’t know what’s gone right.

Is that 45kg when you put the tup in? If I fed/pushed the lambs for the next month and a bit, I could probably get them all upto that weight...

 

[Green farmer]

I hope they've sold well - I got myself a 2-for-1 deal to pay for... the 2 Hondas are away tae feck for another King Quad 500. Good riddance
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Well wear, what didn't you like about the Hondas ?

 

[Boydvalley]

Is that 45kg when you put the tup in? If I fed/pushed the lambs for the next month and a bit, I could probably get them all upto that weight...

Yes when they go in. Always put them Older grass for the first cycle and touch wood don’t get too many twins. Then on to good going but I don’t hard feed before lambing. I’m also thinking of a Beltex for this time.

 

[Nithsdale]

Well wear, what didn't you like about the Hondas ?

They were the old shape 420. Just a very soft bike. We owned them from new, one was 7 and the other 9. They've been the 2nd and 3rd bike for the last 6 years doing very little work but they're constantly needing repairs - bearings, hubs, rear axel, bearings again... relays, fuel pumps... it was endless. Never had such unreliable bikes - and that includes my "awful" diesel!

They were both in 1 piece and working properly so we took the chance and got rid of them!

I might curse the Suzukis in a few years, but they are lightyears ahead of the Honda (even the new 520) for ride quality, comfort, power...

 

[hubbahubba]

I would never go back to not lambing hoggs. Only problem can be if they put lamb bed out it can be fatal ime. I dont realy weigh mine pre tupping, no point being 45kg and rolling in fat, better with 45kg and more frame. I put a lleyn, bleu du maine and nz texel over mine. Used beltex in past but never find a huge difference in birth size, always get the few oversize lambs. Tried leaving some with 2 the other year but i wont be doing that again.

 

[Nithsdale]

I would never go back to not lambing hoggs. Only problem can be if they put lamb bed out it can be fatal ime. I dont realy weigh mine pre tupping, no point being 45kg and rolling in fat, better with 45kg and more frame. I put a lleyn, bleu du maine and nz texel over mine. Used beltex in past but never find a huge difference in birth size, always get the few oversize lambs. Tried leaving some with 2 the other year but i wont be doing that again.

I've an abundance if Lleyn and NCCxLleyn rams running... I used to lamb the hoggs to Lleyn and they did fine - it'd be a life, but I thought the Beltex would be a desirable lamb to sell store

 

[S J H]

I would never go back to not lambing hoggs. Only problem can be if they put lamb bed out it can be fatal ime. I dont realy weigh mine pre tupping, no point being 45kg and rolling in fat, better with 45kg and more frame. I put a lleyn, bleu du maine and nz texel over mine. Used beltex in past but never find a huge difference in birth size, always get the few oversize lambs. Tried leaving some with 2 the other year but i wont be doing that again.

I’d agree with the weight, I don’t bother, just go with size of them. Used a pure Beltex last year and they were a dream, i always keep them very tight just run them with singles.

 

[Nithsdale]

I’d agree with the weight, I don’t bother, just go with size of them. Used a pure Beltex last year and they were a dream, i always keep them very tight just run them with singles.

Running them tight isn't an option

 

[Jim75]

I look forward to lambing time commentary on here

 

[Aspiring Peasants]

Have tupped ewe lambs for many years. Our rules of thumb are
1. 45 kgs plus at tupping
2. Use a small type Beltex tup
3. House in order to control feed intake in the 6 weeks up to lambing
4. Don't leave any twins on

I appreciate point 3 will not suit your system but if you can keep them on bare ground outside, with your more maternal lambs than ours (ours are mostly 3/4 or more texel/beltex) I would have thought it would be OK. If you have the room they are ideal lambs to run round and sell April/May. Expect 3 fig sums for them!

 

[Nithsdale]

I look forward to lambing time commentary on here

Offt now we have gone back 4-5 years to when first I broke the news I bought Suffolks tups

 

[Ysgythan]

Offt now we have gone back 4-5 years to when first I broke the news I bought Suffolks tups

Weren’t you trying to get into somebody’s knickers? Or have I confused that with another breed?

 

[AftonShepherd]

I look forward to lambing time commentary on here

Will @Nithsdale Farmer have time for commentary if he's lambing hoggs?

 

[Nithsdale]

Weren’t you trying to get into somebody’s knickers? Or have I confused that with another breed?

I haven't the foggiest what you mean




That was another breed/thread

 

[primmiemoo]

They do look well, Niths.

It's the percentage of the breed's mature weight that gets looked at here for ewe lambs, along with the individual's growth rate - birth weights are recorded.
So generally, it's ewe lambs that are 36kg+ that run with the rams. Rams are known easy lambing Charollais (shorter gestation with them), or known easy lambing Lleyn.

That way, the more prolific lines are not discriminated against, and the milkiest lines are selected for.

 

[Jim75]

Will @Nithsdale Farmer have time for commentary if he's lambing hoggs?

no he’ll be drinking himself into oblivion saying wtf am I doing here.