What breed for outdoor lambing

[firther]

We ditched Suffolk crosses for Texel crosses in the early-mid nineties. That was with mostly homebred ewes lambing indoors, and the difference in maternal ability was quite staggering. If you want to stick with buying your replacements in then that would be the obvious first step.
Plenty of dopey Texels about now though too, as too many breeders have been lambing them under heat lamps, tubing every lamb born, etc, all of which keeps the lazy ones in the gene pool.

Moving to a maternal breed (bred from those Texels) when we changed to outdoor lambing was a revelation again.

not to mention thinking a c section is natural birth

 

[paul&mandy]

To be fair the probability have the worst breed of ewe to be outside lambing. Anything is better and a Suffolk cross with a texel lamb on it for outside lambing. I’ve got mule, nz Suffolk x welsh and pure welsh for outside lambing and they are all fine.

Definitely agree with you, it's not like they are born weak, all been good strong lambs just the mother not doing her bit to get them stimulated and on the teat, not like they are kicking them off or anything just stand there all gormless or go off eating.

 

[JHT]

It’s mad and just shows the difference within breeds / types. All of mine are great mums and we will lamb them in 200-250 twin ewes in a group and 400 singles and they are good as gold for sticking with their lambs, finding them if lost etc. I lambed a big hung single this morning, ewe was wild as hell until I caught her with the dog and lambed her. Once her lamb was at my feet she was licking it that intentlly she was letting me scratch her head etc. With the enzo problem we are having now, finding ewes standing where their lambs died up to a week later calling for them, and will take a skin lamb after a week if I get desperate etc. Never kept such maternal sheep I’d never change breeds.

Mine are Easycare’s- all bought in and now breeding our own replacements which do seem a bit quieter. Sounds like an Exlana ram would be the way to go?

 

[Jameshenry]

View attachment 952621
Classic example, lamb is alive and well. Ewe, fudgeing useless. I'm parked I've 100 yards away now lamb is almost up but ewe hasn't even moved an inch

Rifle job

 

[paul&mandy]

Rifle job

I was joking to my wife that number 86 yesterday wasn't its number it was its max speed when it pee'd off away from its lambs after 2 laps of the field trying to catch it due to a head out. Was worried id run out of fuel 1st before it was recaught....

 

[paul&mandy]

We got a layer of snow currently, lambing fun... At least I did the early and it was lovely. kicked the wife out into the blizzard.

 

[Bluesman]

4 sets of twins born during the night or early this morning, all Lleyns to a Lleyn tup, all up and about this morning in the snow. Only had 2 ewes this year that didn’t want their lambs out of nearly 90 ewes, one was a twin and she only wanted one and the other was a ewe lamb that really didn’t have a clue as to what to do; a couple of hours in a pen and she was fixed and back out to grass in 48 hours all paired up and a great mum.

 

[Tim W]

Mine are Easycare’s- all bought in and now breeding our own replacements which do seem a bit quieter. Sounds like an Exlana ram would be the way to go?

Delivering to your area this September

 

[Tim W]

Yesterday evening

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=930208717814993

 

[Tim W]

And this morning ---- happy as

 

[neilo]

And this morning ---- happy as View attachment 953878

No snow?

 

[Tim W]

No snow?

Unfortunately not ---any moisture welcome at the moment i think?

 

[neilo]

Unfortunately not ---any moisture welcome at the moment i think?

This was lambing rounds here this morning:

I’ll happily take dry for another week or so...

 

[paul&mandy]

Great weather for these bone idle sheep.

 

[Farmer_Joe]

Nice here this morning,

still one sheep managed to push both her new lambs in the stream...
She’s in adopter now but took a triplets lamb just in trailer she was so desperate for her lambs poor lass.

 

[Estate fencing.]

And this morning ---- happy as View attachment 953878

They look hungry. Has she got any milk?

 

[toquark]

Ours are easycares. We need something to fit around two full time jobs and a family and they work away just fine.

Certainly less input and time demanding than the TexX things we had before. I wouldn't go back to a wool breed or anything that spits out soft lambs, they're just not worth the hassle in my view.

A few things to bear in mind:
1) You'll never win a show.
2) If you get a kick out of topping the market, forget it.
3) If you like your fences looking spik and span, look elsewhere.

But... I think you'll do well to beat them for profitability, once inputs including time are taken into account.

 

[Tim W]

They look hungry. Has she got any milk?

Yes---they were a few days early being born but she's milking well now--I tagged them this morning
We had a bad dog attack back in Jan/Feb and i'm getting quite a few that are lambing a bit early/have reabsorbed 1 lamb /lost condition from infections as a result of bites etc

 

[Green farmer]

Sheep lambing away here mostly without issue. A few years ago I realised my job equals whatever the ewe doesnt do. With this in mind I've been culled hard in anything that stands out from the flock or created me hassle. A few years on and 98% of the ewes are doing their own thing. Running the lleyns atm, but putting easycare and charolais lambs to them. Using easily lambed Gene's from both parents is paying dividends. Will never top the lamb sales , but working out fine for me. Next year, first of the easycare x ewes will be first lambing as 2 yr olds, so waiting to see how they work out. Dont think it's as much about one breed over the other, but rather culling anything that doesnt fit in, is the key to a reduced stressed lambing experience.

 

[Estate fencing.]

few years ago I realised my job equals whatever the ewe doesnt do

That’s a really good way of looking at it. Why make your self work, make the sheep work for you.