Breeding ewe lambs.

sunnysouthwest

New to this!
Has anyone out there tried Belclare rams with ewe lambs? I'm afraid of the multiple birth side of things off the Belclare's.....

mc2010

sunnysouthwest wrote: »

New to this!
Has anyone out there tried Belclare rams with ewe lambs? I'm afraid of the multiple birth side of things off the Belclare's.....

Yea few years ago now. Was one r two triplets out of 30. Not sure of break down singles doubles

sunnysouthwest

mc2010 wrote: »

Yea few years ago now. Was one r two triplets out of 30. Not sure of break down singles doubles

Sound out, I'll keep thinking about it for another while so. My fear is ruining the ewe lambs.

rangler1

sunnysouthwest wrote: »

Sound out, I'll keep thinking about it for another while so. My fear is ruining the ewe lambs.

The ewes actually determines the number of lambs she'll have, ram makes no difference to litter size unless the semen is poor quality.....the last time we took semen from a ram, he gave enough for 50 ewes in one jump, our AI guy said they could give up to enough to do 100 ewes in one jump.
Your ewe lambs will have the same number of lambs no matter what breed ram you use

jt65

would the belclare be easy lamber ?

Cran

jt65 wrote: »

would the belclare be easy lamber ?

Wouldnt see the benefit in using Belclare on ewe lambs unless to save on buying an extra ram, bit harder to finish ewe lambs lambs & Belclare would add a bit more to that. Also for replacements would prefer them out of proven older ewes.
Probably better with a Charollais or an easy lambing Beltex (just to add balance to my arguement )on ewe lambs I'd say.

jt65

Cran wrote: »

Wouldnt see the benefit in using Belclare on ewe lambs unless to save on buying an extra ram, bit harder to finish ewe lambs lambs & Belclare would add a bit more to that. Also for replacements would prefer them out of proven older ewes.
Probably better with a Charollais or an easy lambing Beltex (just to add balance to my arguement )on ewe lambs I'd say.

Just want to save buying an extra ram,

plan on importing 2 new zealand Suffolk next year , (didn't act in time this year)

would'nt be keeping offspring as replacements

Cran

jt65 wrote: »

Just want to save buying an extra ram,

plan on importing 2 new zealand Suffolk next year , (didn't act in time this year)

would'nt be keeping offspring as replacements

Makes sense, I d say be fine so would expect Belclares to be easy lambed nice kind heads & shoulders.

Just curious what do you see NZ Suffolk offering that other breeds don't? I admire what's being done with them, but really struggle to see what extra they offer that certain terminal sires already offer. Also they're not a maternal breed in NZ. Outside of maybe saving the Suffolk breed, do they offer anything that can't be found elsewhere?

jt65

Cran wrote: »

Makes sense, I d say be fine so would expect Belclares to be easy lambed nice kind heads & shoulders.

Just curious what do you see NZ Suffolk offering that other breeds don't? I admire what's being done with them, but really struggle to see what extra they offer that certain terminal sires already offer. Also they're not a maternal breed in NZ. Outside of maybe saving the Suffolk breed, do they offer anything that can't be found elsewhere?

1. less rams needed , one of the the flocks i visited let off 2 rams with 185 ewes , all ewes in lambs and lambed compact

2. easy lambing and lambs up and suckling very fast, long narrow sheep with small head

3. (you will be sorry you asked :D ) the farmer mentioned above also had charolais lambs born the same time and received the exact same treatment as the NZS... his first draft of lambs to the factory comprised of 75% NZS and 25% CH , all off grass

4. I want to retain a certain of Suffolk in the early lambing ewes, after years of experimenting with every available breed, for easy care January lambing. The suffolk X is still coming out tops and delivering the goods ... (there would have been strong maternal breeding in the background)

by next year also I will have feedback on how the first batch of NZS X ewe lambs performed as mothers

the above are the good points I can think off, the minus is the price not helped by the exchange rate

ganmo

How much is it costing to get them over?
Would it not be cheaper to import the semen?

Dickie10

would a Hampshire down ram lamb be ok to use on ewe lambs, I heard their easy enough lambed

Cran

jt65 wrote: »

1. less rams needed , one of the the flocks i visited let off 2 rams with 185 ewes , all ewes in lambs and lambed compact

2. easy lambing and lambs up and suckling very fast, long narrow sheep with small head

3. (you will be sorry you asked :D ) the farmer mentioned above also had charolais lambs born the same time and received the exact same treatment as the NZS... his first draft of lambs to the factory comprised of 75% NZS and 25% CH , all off grass

4. I want to retain a certain of Suffolk in the early lambing ewes, after years of experimenting with every available breed, for easy care January lambing. The suffolk X is still coming out tops and delivering the goods ... (there would have been strong maternal breeding in the background)

by next year also I will have feedback on how the first batch of NZS X ewe lambs performed as mothers

the above are the good points I can think off, the minus is the price not helped by the exchange rate

Fair play best of luck with them, be interested to hear how they go. Did you bring them in direct from Robyn?

Ard_MC

Just wondering what is the necessary rules and regulations that you need to follow to import rams from NI or Uk to keep the dept happy?!

sunnysouthwest

Sound out lads, I actually have Beltex rams but there all related to the replacements.
I planned on making Tullamore today but something came up so then I discovered Belclares for sale close by.
Kinda a lazy option!! I'll stick to the Beltex I think. Back to donedeal I go.....

Green farmer

The belclare ewes would be easier lambed then cross breed beltex ewe lambs.

sunnysouthwest

Green farmer wrote: »

The belclare ewes would be easier lambed then cross breed beltex ewe lambs.

Why do u think that?

Green farmer

sunnysouthwest wrote: »

Why do u think that?

The belclare ewes would be bred especially for their mothering abilities. Wider pelvis ect , where as depending on the % of beltex in your ewe lambs, they might prove harder to lamb because they'd be more muscular in nature with tighter pelvises. I ran into trouble myself last year keeping ewe lambs from my texel rams. had to pull quiet a few, in comparison to the more maternal breeds of sheep in my flock .