Your experience/opinions of welsh mules

[Guiggs]

As the title says and as a follow up to a previous post, what do you think of welsh mules?
Would you buy them? Do they rear good lambs? Good mothers with plenty of milk?
I could breed some next year with both welsh and beulah ewes but is it worth it?
Also are BFL rams easy lambing or should I put them to a Charolais first time round?
Cheers people.

 

[Mickstup]

Out of a beulah best sheep you can buy, did I mention we breed them

 

[Kevtherev]

 

[Guiggs]

Out of a beulah best sheep you can buy, did I mention we breed them

Do you sell the offspring or keep them?
Do you have experience of welsh mules crossed onto a terminal sire?

 

[DRC]

We used to have a flock of welsh mules. Put a Suffolk or Texel tup on them.
They were very good mothers and prolific.

 

[Guiggs]

We used to have a flock of welsh mules. Put a Suffolk or Texel tup on them.
They were very good mothers and prolific.View attachment 39248 View attachment 39249

Very nice, are/were they yours?
The feeling I get is that the beulah is better than the welsh mountain as a cross?
Will they lamb a texel without any assistance?

 

[DRC]

Very nice, are/were they yours?
The feeling I get is that the beulah is better than the welsh mountain as a cross?
Will they lamb a texel without any assistance?

No, i pinched the pics off the welsh mule society website
Depends on your land, and if you can keep them fit, but not fat.Otherwise they will lamb ok.

 

[Kevtherev]

No, i pinched the pics off the welsh mule society website
Depends on your land, and if you can keep them fit, but not fat.Otherwise they will lamb ok.

Your mate at colemere buy our ewe lambs at Welshpool @silverfox

 

[DRC]

Your mate at colemere buy our ewe lambs at Welshpool @silverfox

Yes. I was thinking about doing the same myself.
What would be the difference in price on buying running ewe lambs, and selling them the following year as yearlings?

 

[Kevtherev]

Yes. I was thinking about doing the same myself.
What would be the difference in price on buying running ewe lambs, and selling them the following year as yearlings?

Lots do it ewe lambs can be bought between 50 and 100 quid for the best lambs.
It's a bit of a gamble I reckon?
Be easier than lambing ewes!

 

[DRC]

Lots do it ewe lambs can be bought between 50 and 100 quid for the best lambs.
It's a bit of a gamble I reckon?
Be easier than lambing ewes!

That's why Angus started doing it. Would it pay better than having tack sheep and then either making hay/silage to sell, or letting the summer grass.[can get £120 summer, £60 winter/acre],and stubble turnips have left about £60/acre profit after costs.

 

[Kevtherev]

That's why Angus started doing it. Would it pay better than having tack sheep and then either making hay/silage to sell, or letting the summer grass.[can get £120 summer, £60 winter/acre],and stubble turnips have left about £60/acre profit after costs.

You'd have more control of it with your own sheep but more work.
I think I'd carry on as you are if it's profitable.
Grass keep up here making 230 an acre for 11 months!!!!

 

[Mickstup]

Do you sell the offspring or keep them?
Do you have experience of welsh mules crossed onto a terminal sire?

BfL on our beulahs, we keep all the mules, put a texel on them as a terminal sire, good milky sheep, lambs finish well and sell well.

 

[neilo]

You'd have more control of it with your own sheep but more work.
I think I'd carry on as you are if it's profitable.
Grass keep up here making 230 an acre for 11 months!!!!

Agreed. In so good year you might do OK, but most years, you'd be far better off letting the tack & selling the hay, to those that think they can make it pay.

On the OP, we've run Welsh Mules in the past and much preferred them to NC Mules. They were slightly smaller & had slightly fewer lambs, but a bit better shape and held their condition better. That could have been down to the breeders we bought them off though, rather than the breed, such is the lack of control in buying in. They used to be a tenner a head cheaper than NC's, but I think those days have gone.

If you're buying Beulahs, what about using a Cambridge over them instead? I know of several good flocks that started off with those rams over some (very) cheap draft Beulahs. The resultant cross will throw out 200% of good lambs all day long with a decent terminal sire over them.

 

[David.]

Had some over the years, a sheep that wants to work with you, brilliant mothers, perhaps more difficult to get lambs to the full 22kg for dw selling. Seem to not last as long as NC mules in the teeth esp on roots.

 

[sherg]

A lot of the speckle mules have gone a bit nesh and don't last like they used too, something else in the mix to make them prettier

 

[Gatehouse Farm]

Grass keep up here making 230 an acre for 11 months!!!!

Blimey where's the profit after that?

 

[Kevtherev]

Blimey where's the profit after that?

Exactly!

 

[DRC]

Dairy I presume.

 

[Guiggs]

No, i pinched the pics off the welsh mule society website
Depends on your land, and if you can keep them fit, but not fat.Otherwise they will lamb ok.

I thought I'd seen the top picture before!!

Does anybody breed welsh mules out of welsh mountains or is the beulah the better choice?