What ram for hoggs
- Thread starter GB1
- Start date
- Location
- north Wales
Chamoise is in vogue at the moment.
I've used primera and a couple of texel ram lambs the last few years, think I'll stick with texel when the primera goes.
I've used primera and a couple of texel ram lambs the last few years, think I'll stick with texel when the primera goes.
- Location
- Aberdeenshire
Now...I may just be a teeny weeny bit biased but yep Beltex would be a good choice. Small, teat seeking missiles that will grow on to be in demand lambs at the mart. Furthermore they don't grow at the miraculous rates some folk claim for other breeds so they won't suck the life out of and condition off of your hogg mothers.
- Location
- Cheshire
Beltex all the way nowadays. Just make sure he's not got those horrible bouncy back legs and you will be cooking with gas
- Location
- N.Lincs
What those last two said ^^^^
which edition , ive looked right thru and i cant see them....
- Location
- Montgomeryshire
- Location
- Scottsih Borders
ime a Beltex will throw you a small lively lamb (although the Suffolk in the back pedigree mightaffect that a bit), that will grow so slowly as to not draw the Hogg down too much. It will be a slowgrowing lamb, but it will be a premium lamb, partially counteracting the lack of weight.
But Beltex crosses weigh far heavier than they look.
The first Beltex tup I ever saw was at Kelso. It looked like a cross between a turtle and a natter-jack toad. Little did I know that our farsighted and very able pedigree breeders would turn it into the outstanding terminal sire it is today.
MDL POWERUP
Member
Depends if you want to make hoggs out of hoggs or sell lambs off hoggs?
- Location
- Aberdeenshire
I'll second the 'heavier than they look' statement above. A few years back I sold a tup to a neighbour who began moaning around September time that his lambs were not growing so i suggested he weigh them. Nope 'no point gathering them' he said. I virtually begged him to weigh them, and lo-and-behold if the gnarly old git didn't book a float to take a load of lambs away because there were too many for his trailer fit to go. He'll never admit I was right but he can't look me in the eye when I gently tease him about it even after a few years have gone by.
- Location
- Mendips Somerset
One of my customers are moving back to charollais after using beltex on their hoggs for 5 years , too many lambs stuck at the shoulder for outdoor lambing , corvoids are eating tongues on the way out as well .
- Location
- Montgomeryshire
Maybe I'm just odd, but I prefer to use scales to weigh lambs, rather than going by what they look like. I'm well aware that some breeds will weigh 'heavier than they look', until you are accustomed to how a lamb should look, I have Charollais after all. Compared to the Texels & Suffolks you keep telling us are so marvellous, they are like balls of lead.
eyeball41
Member
- Location
- Midlothian
We normally lamb somewhere between 250/300 hoggs a year. Mainly scotch mule but a few Texel x
Tried most breeds over them but generally find the beltex and beltex x char work well for us.
Lambs generally have plenty of vigor at birth, grow slowly but nicely and when killing the lambs they hang up very well.
Tried a couple of blue Texels this year as a wee experiment. pleased with them Lambed well and looking well to date
Will start first draws of them shortly
Tried most breeds over them but generally find the beltex and beltex x char work well for us.
Lambs generally have plenty of vigor at birth, grow slowly but nicely and when killing the lambs they hang up very well.
Tried a couple of blue Texels this year as a wee experiment. pleased with them Lambed well and looking well to date
Will start first draws of them shortly
- Location
- Scottsih Borders
Maybe I'm just odd, but I prefer to use scales to weigh lambs, rather than going by what they look like. I'm well aware that some breeds will weigh 'heavier than they look', until you are accustomed to how a lamb should look, I have Charollais after all. Compared to the Texels & Suffolks you keep telling us are so marvellous, they are like balls of lead.
But if you haven't got your scales to hand, how do you estimate the weight of lambs?
- Location
- North Yorkshire
Another vote for charmoise here, we use them on all 1st timers.
They've such a will to live
They've such a will to live
- Location
- sw scotland
We have put all hoggs (Tex/Mule or Tex/LLeyn) to a Charollais for years and seem to lamb quite easily and mostly outside. Few heads sticking out but usually not too big to get a hand in to draw a leg too. Seem to have got away from tups which gave bare lambs which had to be inside.Maybe I'm just odd, but I prefer to use scales to weigh lambs, rather than going by what they look like. I'm well aware that some breeds will weigh 'heavier than they look', until you are accustomed to how a lamb should look, I have Charollais after all. Compared to the Texels & Suffolks you keep telling us are so marvellous, they are like balls of lead.
I agree that the Charollais lambs surprise us at the crate by being 2-3kg heavier than their Texel mate looks and generally make more per kg
- Location
- Montgomeryshire
You can’t, until you’ve got your eye in compared to your own (or market) scales.
To suggest Beltexes aren’t slow growing because they ‘weigh heavier than they look’ is crazy talk. Next you’ll be telling us we should keep big, strong ewes so that their Beltex X lambs grow fast enough.
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