Who uses a Beltex?

[johnspeehs]

Have a batch of char x mule shearlings and was thinking of buying Beltex rams to put to them, will the lambs grow big enough or would I be better stick to texel? Not wanting to start a row, just looking views from those who have used Beltex.

 

[Ysgythan]

I’d imagine a Beltex could do a job on them. If I had those ewes I’d be looking for a compact shapely Texel anyway.

 

[neilo]

If I had those ewes, I’d be looking to offload them to someone daft enough to lamb them...

However, if you’re stuck with them, they would have super lambs by a Beltex, but take a lot longer to get to market than those by a Texel would.
I’ve never really understood the sense of keeping big, high maintenance ewes, then crossing with a slow growing terminal sire. It seems arse about face to me.

 

[M-J-G]

Have a batch of char x mule shearlings and was thinking of buying Beltex rams to put to them, will the lambs grow big enough or would I be better stick to texel? Not wanting to start a row, just looking views from those who have used Beltex.

How are you finding the CharX ewes?

I tried them years back and ended up hating them.

 

[Ysgythan]

If I had those ewes, I’d be looking to offload them to someone daft enough to lamb them...

However, if you’re stuck with them, they would have super lambs by a Beltex, but take a lot longer to get to market than those by a Texel would.
I’ve never really understood the sense of keeping big, high maintenance ewes, then crossing with a slow growing terminal sire. It seems arse about face to me.

Some of the best early lambs I’ve seen were Beltex out of Poll Dorsets reared on rough bits of a dairy farm. On strong land in a mixed enterprise where the dry ewes are grass management tools for 9 months of the year I can easily see it.

 

[Collie dog Sid]

I'm using them on ewe lambs for the first time this year. Wouldn't use them on shearlings or older ewes simply because of growth rates. Have there place on ewe lambs I'm hoping

 

[Northeastfarmer]

Have a batch of char x mule shearlings and was thinking of buying Beltex rams to put to them, will the lambs grow big enough or would I be better stick to texel? Not wanting to start a row, just looking views from those who have used Beltex.

I have beltex x char ewes and put a beltex tup on them, I get them up to good weights off grass but keep them till they’re hoggs

 

[Fendt65]

Only to keep my trousers up

 

[rusco]

We use a Beltex on Suffolk x and Mule ewe lambs and they are easily born and have a great desire to get up and go. The Beltex cross lambs certainly are slower growing, but their superior kill out % means we can draft them at lower weights than our other lambs and still deliver a 21kg E or U grade carcass. The other big benefit we have found with the Beltex is that the Beltex rams we have had have lasted and proven trouble free until at least 7 years old which isn't common place in many terminal bred rams!!

 

[johnspeehs]

How are you finding the CharX ewes?

I tried them years back and ended up hating them.

This will be my first big lot of them, have had a few that came along with other batches of texel bred ewes I've bought and they seemed ok. I bought these because there was a big batch of them like peas in a pod and got them before sheep fever set in here. To be honest I already dislike them every time I need to do anything with them as they are as wild as crows and jump hurdles for fun and just climb all over each other in the race and you can't even get a look at them in the field as they wont stop long enough. On the plus side they are big strong lengthy ewes that look very cheap now.

 

[johnspeehs]

Only to keep my trousers up

Boom Boom

 

[Ysgythan]

This will be my first big lot of them, have had a few that came along with other batches of texel bred ewes I've bought and they seemed ok. I bought these because there was a big batch of them like peas in a pod and got them before sheep fever set in here. To be honest I already dislike them every time I need to do anything with them as they are as wild as crows and jump hurdles for fun and just climb all over each other in the race and you can't even get a look at them in the field as they wont stop long enough. On the plus side they are big strong lengthy ewes that look very cheap now.

will be interesting to see how they get on. I’ve had two opposing views of Charley x ewes. The first from a well known breeder who was amazed we used Texel x ewes as embryo recipients as he’d never dream of using Charley x due to their lack of milk. The other from a Lleyn breeder who used Charley on his poorer ewes and kept daughters who did a fine job.

 

[johnspeehs]

will be interesting to see how they get on. I’ve had two opposing views of Charley x ewes. The first from a well known breeder who was amazed we used Texel x ewes as embryo recipients as he’d never dream of using Charley x due to their lack of milk. The other from a Lleyn breeder who used Charley on his poorer ewes and kept daughters who did a fine job.

Milk is what worries me but i'm hoping that the mule in them will help that a bit, should surely be pretty prolific?.

 

[Ysgythan]

Milk is what worries me but i'm hoping that the mule in them will help that a bit, should surely be pretty prolific?.

you'd think so. If you’re on strong ground and lambing late enough I doubt it would be a problem.

 

[johnspeehs]

If I had those ewes, I’d be looking to offload them to someone daft enough to lamb them...

However, if you’re stuck with them, they would have super lambs by a Beltex, but take a lot longer to get to market than those by a Texel would.
I’ve never really understood the sense of keeping big, high maintenance ewes, then crossing with a slow growing terminal sire. It seems arse about face to me.

Yea they are wild bitches but I like a challenge . Texel is probably what il end up using but trying to buy them here this year is difficult, anything decent £600,£700 £800.

 

[Top Tip.]

How many ewes would you run to a Beltex tup, they don’t seem that mobile to me.

 

[johnspeehs]

How many ewes would you run to a Beltex tup, they don’t seem that mobile to me.

Supposed to be great workers, but as you say they don't look that mobile.

 

[neilo]

Milk is what worries me but i'm hoping that the mule in them will help that a bit, should surely be pretty prolific?.

The Charollais is indeed a prolific breed generally, much more so than Texels (although big variations within every breed of course). Their downside, maternally, is that they tend to milk well at lambing, then yield drops off from 3 weeks or so. Lactation persistency is generally poor. Couple that with plenty within the breed that are poor for mothering ability and udder confirmation.
Unfortunately none of that is likely to change on a breed level imo, when the vast majority of pedigree flocks are lambed early, fed hard, crept hard and weaned early. There’s nothing necessarily wrong with that, but it does mask maternal weaknesses, leading to those genetics staying in the population, where they would cull themselves out under more ‘traditional’ management.

All that comes from a breeder that has quite a big flock of pure Charollais ewes. Maternal they are not! Any breeder that tries to tell you otherwise is either telling lies, or they have no experience of running maternal breeds to have a comparison.

 

[johnspeehs]

The Charollais is indeed a prolific breed generally, much more so than Texels (although big variations within every breed of course). Their downside, maternally, is that they tend to milk well at lambing, then yield drops off from 3 weeks or so. Lactation persistency is generally poor. Couple that with plenty within the breed that are poor for mothering ability and udder confirmation.
Unfortunately none of that is likely to change on a breed level imo, when the vast majority of pedigree flocks are lambed early, fed hard, crept hard and weaned early. There’s nothing necessarily wrong with that, but it does mask maternal weaknesses, leading to those genetics staying in the population, where they would cull themselves out under more ‘traditional’ management.

All that comes from a breeder that has quite a big flock of pure Charollais ewes. Maternal they are not! Any breeder that tries to tell you otherwise is either telling lies, or they have no experience of running maternal breeds to have a comparison.

Yes that would be my impression of the char breed but hopefully the mule in them will help but time will tell, I'm keeping them on their own so il be able to see exactly how they do, good or bad.

 

[neilo]

Yes that would be my impression of the char breed but hopefully the mule in them will help but time will tell, I'm keeping them on their own so il be able to see exactly how they do, good or bad.

Every time I’m a few short on replacements, I Persuade myself to pull out a few Charolais x Highlander ewe lambs from my twin mob. Every lambing time I turn round and kick myself up the arse for doing so. Great lambs obviously (3/4 Charollais), but just shown up far too often (there are only 50 Chx in total) on maternal qualities when lambing alongside the Highlanders. The premium on the better lambs just isn’t good enough to make up for it imo, and I’d rather keep more, ‘easier’ ewes.