- Location
- Leicestershire
I use harnesses, MatingMark ones. Very good.
Tupping 2017
- Thread starter trewern
- Start date
- Location
- Dumfries & Galloway
I use harnesses.
Mostly just to see how the ewes are coming in/tupping... also gives you an idea of any tups which aren't pulling their weight.
CharcoalWally
Member
- Location
- West of Scotland
Agree with that. the Nettex ones are nicely put together but hate the pins used to hold in the crayon.
CopperBeech
Member
- Location
- A Welsh man lost in England
Some.
Mules are great if you buy the right ones, but obviously only for a flying flock.
The aberfield xs produced the best lambs.
The easy cares were the least hassle over all with all things considered.
The suf x ewes would have suited another system better, weren't bad but wouldn't repeat.
I'd stick to the charmoise with regard to tup choice for ewe lambs on our system.
End result - buying more easy cares and aberfield xs and putting them all to the charmoise. And establishing a large shedding ewe flock, using easy care ewes, with exlana tups, and grading up some of the woolys with exlana tups, and putting all the older ewes to Charolais and texel tups.
Just got to finish writing it all up!
- Location
- North wales
Looking forward to seeing this boys lambs,
- Location
- North Antrim
mighty sheep
- Location
- Lancashire
Chevi s in for a check up
Bought 4 Texels and a Texel x chari, will get some pics when I bring um home.
Bought 4 Texels and a Texel x chari, will get some pics when I bring um home.
- Location
- Montgomeryshire
Apart from in July, I only use the softer 'cold' crayons for the same reason. Marks are clearer and stay longer IME.
Friend of mine uses the softer kind. Come scanning never mind lambing the marks are washed off his. Have gave up saying get the harder crayons to him
- Location
- Olney, north bucks
4 more shearlings to lamb not tuped by me, hopefully in lamb. Bought for my two daughters who were smitten by these at a show. Got to keep the youngsters keen, swapped some Suffolk ewelambs as part of the deal so not too much cash exchanged.
FJ
- Location
- The North
my dad usually gets the tups from Skipton so im not sure, but my local market was a very poor show, im sure there will be some decent stuff here usually something for every pocket im lead to understand!
CharcoalWally
Member
- Location
- West of Scotland
Back to this thing about short sheep and weight.
I had a conversation with a Texel Society council member at the Highland Show back in the early 90's. Then, the Texel was a very short breed. Short, thick, squat. I raised this as an issue in the breed that put me off as a purchaser. For everybody that I knew that had tried them complained of the kilos lost through their lack of length.
Not at all, he said, the short sheep are the best. Short and wide gives great ends and no weight is lost. Well, I didn't agree and replied that that attitude would keep me buying Charollais sheep. And with that, we parted.
Fast forward 25 odd years and last Thursday saw me in Lanark mart. A quick stroll through the Texel pens showed just how much the breed has changed in the last quarter of a century. Gone are the short, thick sheep to be replaced by a much longer more streamlined animal. If the Texel people once thought that short and thick was a winner, then they've certainly changed their tune. Could it have been because commercial customers were complaining about a certain lack of weight perchance?
When I changed from working with the pure Charollais tup to crossing them with the Texel, I started off with a certain diversity in the lamb crop. I had short, thick lambs, and longer lambs. Run them over the weighs, and three guesses who was invariably heavier.
Length weighs.
I had a conversation with a Texel Society council member at the Highland Show back in the early 90's. Then, the Texel was a very short breed. Short, thick, squat. I raised this as an issue in the breed that put me off as a purchaser. For everybody that I knew that had tried them complained of the kilos lost through their lack of length.
Not at all, he said, the short sheep are the best. Short and wide gives great ends and no weight is lost. Well, I didn't agree and replied that that attitude would keep me buying Charollais sheep. And with that, we parted.
Fast forward 25 odd years and last Thursday saw me in Lanark mart. A quick stroll through the Texel pens showed just how much the breed has changed in the last quarter of a century. Gone are the short, thick sheep to be replaced by a much longer more streamlined animal. If the Texel people once thought that short and thick was a winner, then they've certainly changed their tune. Could it have been because commercial customers were complaining about a certain lack of weight perchance?
When I changed from working with the pure Charollais tup to crossing them with the Texel, I started off with a certain diversity in the lamb crop. I had short, thick lambs, and longer lambs. Run them over the weighs, and three guesses who was invariably heavier.
Length weighs.
Ive read somewere, possibly on a thread here about nz beltexes iirc, that length will be very important in lamb carcasses in future much more important than back ends. The loin is the most valuable part of the carcass so that makes sense. I think there were some processors working on a way to pay more for extra loin and less for leg or something too.
- Location
- Montgomeryshire
Loins have always been the most valuable cut, or at least for a couple of decades, yet pricing here is still based on the EUROP grid.
Nothing winds me up more than seeing weedy looking chops in a supermarket, with bugger all eye muscle area. It's no wonder folk think lamb's dear, when you only get half a scrap of neat on some of those chops.
If the processors rewarded better loins, then they'd get better loins. The technology & breeding is there already. If they pay premiums for bigots via EUROP, then that's what they'll get.