Crossbreed Ram

DJ98

Would a cheviot x charolais ram be any good?

ganmo

It'd be a strange lookin animal I'd say.
I have been tempted to try a charlaois ram but not sure if I've ever actually seen one crossed on cheviots

DJ98

ganmo wrote: »

It'd be a strange lookin animal I'd say.
I have been tempted to try a charlaois ram but not sure if I've ever actually seen one crossed on cheviots

I'd be thinking the same

Green farmer

I have a small few cheviot ewes that were put to a Charly ram last year, along with the rest of the flock.The offspring is still cheviot looking with a bit more conformation. Nothing special though. Just an ordinary crossbred ram that went to the factory with the rest. Weren't in the first draw. If i hd been tempted to retain any crossbreed rams, would have been from texel x ewes where offspring would be 3/4 terminal breed.

davidk1394

DJ98 wrote: »

Would a cheviot x charolais ram be any good?

I wouldn't be too keen on then tbh. We crossed a few cheviot ewes with charlaois rams. The lambs out of the cheviots were very soft and you couldn't keep them alive with all the care you give them

wybrant

Bit of advise. Have NOTHING to do with cheviot sheep in any shape or form thats coming from a Wicklow man lol Horrible sheep bad mothers, mad as hatters yet strong as hell (bad combination) will only scan 1.6 at most. Stay away

sako 85

wybrant wrote: »

Bit of advise. Have NOTHING to do with cheviot sheep in any shape or form thats coming from a Wicklow man lol Horrible sheep bad mothers, mad as hatters yet strong as hell (bad combination) will only scan 1.6 at most. Stay away

I strongly disagree, although I don't think the combination that the OP has outlined would make for a good ram.

davidk1394

wybrant wrote: »

Bit of advise. Have NOTHING to do with cheviot sheep in any shape or form thats coming from a Wicklow man lol Horrible sheep bad mothers, mad as hatters yet strong as hell (bad combination) will only scan 1.6 at most. Stay away

I couldn't agree with you more !! The most useless breed there was ever life put into. We had 20 of them only 6 went in lamb and only 2 lambs survived and took to the mother. They'll never be left in the gate again

ganmo

davidk1394 wrote: »

I couldn't agree with you more !! The most useless breed there was ever life put into. We had 20 of them only 6 went in lamb and only 2 lambs survived and took to the mother. They'll never be left in the gate again

they're grand sheep, if they're all as bad as you say then they'd be long gone. you just got a bad bunch, same happened here the last time we bought in sheep.

and yes they aren't as tame as most breeds, we had a pair of rams that would try and jump out of every pen you put them in making ****e of it in the process.

oh and they can be prolific

In the Autumn of 1982 the Wicklow Cheviot Sheep Owners' Association, with the co-operation of professor Ian Gordon, Dr. Frank Crosbie and Mr. Jim Fitzsimons, initiated a trial of Wicklow Cheviot Ewes at the U.C.D. farm at Lyons Estate, Celbridge. Thirty unselected Wicklow ewes were bought at two sales in Wicklow. Half were mated with a Suffolk lamb and half with a Texel ram. The ewes were run with the main flock at Lyons, under ordinary commercial conditions, and the thirty ewes produced sixty lambs in the Spring of 1983, seven singles, sixteen doubles and seven trebles.
http://www.independent.ie/regionals/wicklowpeople/lifestyle/a-special-breed-29305441.html

Green farmer

Slightly off topic. Just after dosing a pen of 70 crossbred uncastrated rams lambs, From my texel, Charolais and llyen rams.The quietest by a country mile are the texel x. Next are the llyens, also fine. But The absolute worst, cranky, awkward, wouldn't keep the head still lambs were the charlolois x.

wybrant

Id say you looked hard for that info ganmo!! Theyre big brutes of sheep that are neither suited to the hills or lowland. They eat as much as a lowland sheep but wont produce a decent crop of lambs. Some of the hill men say 1 lamb is enough for a ewe on the hill in which case cheviots may suit. but lambing them inside is a disaster theyll run through you rather than away from you. Saying that I wouldnt mind having a couple hundred as they make ridiculous money and i could sell them and buy a belclare of lleyn cross for less money that would scan and wean 2lambs and wont eat me outta house and home.but i will say the suffolk cross outta them make a nice ewe

wybrant

Green farmer wrote: »

Slightly off topic. Just after dosing a pen of 70 crossbred uncastrated rams lambs, From my texel, Charolais and llyen rams.The quietest by a country mile are the texel x. Next are the llyens, also fine. But The absolute worst, cranky, awkward, wouldn't keep the head still lambs were the charlolois x.

Sure the texals are to lazy to move. Lovely quiet sheep. How are the lleyn crosses doing flesh wise compared to tex and char lambs.

ganmo

wybrant wrote: »

Id say you looked hard for that info ganmo!! Theyre big brutes of sheep that are neither suited to the hills or lowland. They eat as much as a lowland sheep but wont produce a decent crop of lambs. Some of the hill men say 1 lamb is enough for a ewe on the hill in which case cheviots may suit. but lambing them inside is a disaster theyll run through you rather than away from you. Saying that I wouldnt mind having a couple hundred as they make ridiculous money and i could sell them and buy a belclare of lleyn cross for less money that would scan and wean 2lambs and wont eat me outta house and home.but i will say the suffolk cross outta them make a nice ewe

no I've known of that trial for yonks so I knew what i was looking for.
Mature weight of cheviot ewes is 60 or 70 kg, where lowland ewes are 80+kg so need less feeding.

wybrant

ganmo wrote: »

no I've known of that trial for yonks so I knew what i was looking for.
Mature weight of cheviot ewes is 60 or 70 kg, where lowland ewes are 80+kg so need less feeding.

Belclare or Lleyn ewes way nothing like 80+ kgs even at lambing time carrying 2or3 lambs. Where as the wicklow cheviot ewes i turned over yesterday for a neighbour to foot trim were like rams. My back is in bits today hence the reason im on here. But each to his own i suppose whatever floats you're boat

Cran

Green farmer wrote: »

Slightly off topic. Just after dosing a pen of 70 crossbred uncastrated rams lambs, From my texel, Charolais and llyen rams.The quietest by a country mile are the texel x. Next are the llyens, also fine. But The absolute worst, cranky, awkward, wouldn't keep the head still lambs were the charlolois x.

And Charollais are the same at lambing up quick, suck and gone

Green farmer

wybrant wrote: »

Sure the texals are to lazy to move. Lovely quiet sheep. How are the lleyn crosses doing flesh wise compared to tex and char lambs.

They look the same size as the texel x, but when you feel their backs, they are abit boney. Still you'd overlook that as long as their ewe lamb sisters turn out as good as I expect.

ganmo

wybrant wrote: »

Belclare or Lleyn ewes way nothing like 80+ kgs even at lambing time carrying 2or3 lambs. Where as the wicklow cheviot ewes i turned over yesterday for a neighbour to foot trim were like rams. My back is in bits today hence the reason im on here. But each to his own i suppose whatever floats you're boat

llyen are a hill breed
put one of them in a scales and see how much they weigh you'll be surprised how strong you are.
I've figures of a belclare x flock at weaning(lowest weight of the year) with the average at 70kg

Green farmer

Cran wrote: »

And Charollais are the same at lambing up quick, suck and gone

Advantages of Charolais, easier lambing, good to put on weight, can be longer animals.butchers like them.
Disadvantages of Charolais, more fiery and can drive you mad, cannt keep any replacements and you can still get runts the same as any other breed.
I have one kept around so they cannt be that bad

PaddyPerfecto

Never a fan of Cheviots or Charollais to be honest,...Suffolk, Texel and Hampshire Downs are hard to beat for good weighing lambs and a decent crop, good replacements too!

Willfarman

Few contrasting views here! Great thread. But I wouldn't keep that ram to breed off. I would have Suffolk cheviot cross ewes here and I love them. Motherly, milky and winter well in the wet gound here.

Sheep breeder

ganmo wrote: »

they're grand sheep, if they're all as bad as you say then they'd be long gone. you just got a bad bunch, same happened here the last time we bought in sheep.

and yes they aren't as tame as most breeds, we had a pair of rams that would try and jump out of every pen you put them in making ****e of it in the process.

oh and they can be prolific

around this time i started to buy my own sheep and use to buy broken mouth cheviot ewe and mate to a suffolk to sell as ewes and lambs in the spring and keep the double ewe lambs and ewe for breeding.
back then we would flush well and lamb up yo 1.8 most years and they would rear a great lamb, now a days they wouldnt rear one lamb due to becoming so inbred, with only something like 27 breeders and all buying from one another such a small gene pool,
we switched in the mid 90s to charollais on the last of the cheviots and kept the ewe lambs which turned out to be a super ewe to breed and rear killing lambs.

Willfarman

I noticed the breed have got very big. The was a ram in Carnew last year in the cast ring. Sold as stood . He stood out like horse among all sheep outside. I kept an eye on scales as he was on it and he was 133kgs. Made over 400 squid.