Which ram

melboy

Hi, I purchased 40 horned ewes and will be putting a ram to them in Oct,
was wondering what your opinions are regarding type of ram. I was goin to go with a Texel ram but a neighbour says suffolk would give better lamb. Iwould be grateful for anyones opinion

DK man

melboy wrote: »

Hi, I purchased 40 horned ewes and will be putting a ram to them in Oct,
was wondering what your opinions are regarding type of ram. I was goin to go with a Texel ram but a neighbour says suffolk would give better lamb. Iwould be grateful for anyones opinion

I have a Suffolk and he's a fine animal - lambs look decent enough to me and a few farmers have complimented his work

Next door neighbour who is a sheep farmer with lots of experience and he doesnt like suffolks - he says that the texal is a better ram... Bigger back ends and easier to lamb.. Most of mine 1 yr old sheep need help to lamb last spring...

It will be interesting what others think...

Username John

melboy wrote: »

Hi, I purchased 40 horned ewes and will be putting a ram to them in Oct,
was wondering what your opinions are regarding type of ram. I was goin to go with a Texel ram but a neighbour says suffolk would give better lamb. Iwould be grateful for anyones opinion

Will they lamb outside, or inside? I can only comment on lambing indoors, as that's what I have experience with.

We have had a few horny type sheep here over the years - and almost every one of them never had any trouble lambing to a Suffolk ram, and the lambs were nice enough.
We always had Suffolk here - the man that was here before me was always a fan of Suffolks, but not purebreeds - didnt like em, too soft, and too boney... Great to grow, but too much trouble at lambing time. So I would say a not too soft looking Suffolk would be good, if you could get a guaranteed 2 or a 3 year old, he'd do your job...

But - like DX_man says (again) - be interested to hear what others say.
I am very conscious I am recommending a breed I have gone away from myself this year...:p

razor8

a Blue Leicester?

docmartin

Not trying to hijack the OP's thread, but i'm in the same boat myself, so though i'd post here rather than opening up a replica thread,

2 years ago I bred the ewes with a texal and a horned ram, (horned ewes to horned ram, cross breds to texel) ended up with a beautiful crop of about 40 ewe lambs for keeping, they wintered brilliantly for meand so they'll be going to the ram in october,

My problem is that they're Daddy's are still on the farm with the older ewes so i have to buy another ram (or possibly 2) for the 40 hoggets.

i have 25 texel/cheviot crosses and 15 horned

Was thinking of mabye a 4 year old ram, possibly texel, or has anyone got much knowledge of the blue leicster? suffolks are not suited to my ground

All opinions welcome folks, I'm young and inexperienced on this topic

supersean1999

be careful letting a big suffolk or texel to horned hoggets, if over fed it could be a difficult lambing, i always let horned rams to hoggets, to save yourself buying 2 rams a charolais would be ideal, easier for lambing, as for the OP i really think you have a wide choice, just buy a good ram its prob more important than breed, iv had texal suffolk, lleyn, charolais, with horned ewes, all depends on the ram for results

bradachu

My vote is with texel. I have blackface ewes, part-time farmer, low maintainence farming. Used suffolks for several years, the texel lambs are better fleshed and hit weight faster. Texels are hardy, better suited to wet conditions. I don't pamper or feed during the winter, no problems. I agree that they shouldn't be put to hogs. Don't keep the ewes for breeding. The lambs are usually long and leggy, a good frame for putting on weight. Attached pic of 4.5 month old at 48 kilo; blackface cross. That's my experience anyway.

DMAXMAN

docmartin wrote: »

Not trying to hijack the OP's thread, but i'm in the same boat myself, so though i'd post here rather than opening up a replica thread,

2 years ago I bred the ewes with a texal and a horned ram, (horned ewes to horned ram, cross breds to texel) ended up with a beautiful crop of about 40 ewe lambs for keeping, they wintered brilliantly for meand so they'll be going to the ram in october,

My problem is that they're Daddy's are still on the farm with the older ewes so i have to buy another ram (or possibly 2) for the 40 hoggets.

i have 25 texel/cheviot crosses and 15 horned

Was thinking of mabye a 4 year old ram, possibly texel, or has anyone got much knowledge of the blue leicster? suffolks are not suited to my ground

All opinions welcome folks, I'm young and inexperienced on this topic

remember a friend of my father who was a grear sheep man saying he bought a border/blue leicster ram for breeding ewes and said he got so much hardship from them that he would not have one around the place ever again.you could try charolais on the ewes. fairly hardy lively lambs and get a premium price in marts around here.they have took over from suffolks around here

docmartin

DMAXMAN wrote: »

remember a friend of my father who was a grear sheep man saying he bought a border/blue leicster ram for breeding ewes and said he got so much hardship from them that he would not have one around the place ever again.you could try charolais on the ewes. fairly hardy lively lambs and get a premium price in marts around here.they have took over from suffolks around here

thanks folks, settled on a 3yo texel that a neighbour man was selling, here's hoping now that he is fruitful