Mayo ewes

Louthmouth1

Anyone know how many different types of mayo sheep exists. I have bought sheep in several parts of mayo and Galway and the difference between is massive. Any advice guidance would be greatly appreciated as I think I have wasted several years buying sheep in the wrong regions.

MayoAreMagic

There is basically two different types, not unlike the Lanark and the Perth in Scottish blackface, and a range of mixes of the two in between. There is also a large variance in quality within the two types, like any breed I suppose. There are some guys who keep mayo ewes on grass that could hold suffolks and have never seen a hill in their lives. Because of this, they have lost many of the qualities they are bred for, although they will be big strong animals and look like a great purchase at the time, but what you want them for, they just wont suit, as they could be coming from a better place than many purchasers might have themselves. To be perfectly honest, Id consider most of the animals at the Mayo Blackface sale in Balinrobe to fall under this description, particularly the rams. Not all now, but a lot of them.
But the other side of that is there are some who have gone too hardy with their animals, and they struggle to put a frame on their lambs.

I suppose it depends what you are looking for. Maybe some more info and I could direct you to what would suit.

supersean1999

From erris all the way to connemara there is slight difference in the sheep. Some areas you wont see much white in the legs and face other areas the ewes are generally bigger. Achill ballycroy. Is a different type ewe to tourmakedy/louisbourg . Generally speaking. There is a vast difference in a ewe that spends 10/11 months on a west of ireland hill to the one that spends a few months of the summer.

Louthmouth1

After years of breeding Lanarks, swaildales etc, decided to give the mayo / Silgo sheep a go. I won't make the mistake of buying at the ballinrobe sale again. Having made a few purchases around the county I decided to give it a go as it's billed as the premier sale of mayo ewes. To cut a long storey short we simply couldn't maintain their condition never mind expect them to settle on a kind hill. I got sheep in Bangor and Newport which were ok but very mixed. I got a batch in Achill last summer and have been very impressed. Very big and strong all with shiny faces. Being honest you won't sheep like them every day. A really nice make of sheep everywhere around there and all of a nature hill type.

MayoAreMagic

Ya I would agree with you that Achill would have the best ones for guys up the country, although I have to admit, Im close to that area myself. As you describe, a good natural hill-type of sheep that will hit the ground running. I know guys who buy their stores there every year.

If you ever go to the show they have down there, it is probably the best show for mayo sheep going for my money. Real eye-catching animals, but not forced on or grassed. I would do a lot of dealing with guys from that area, chances are I probably know the people you bought them off.

There are some good areas in Newport too, but some lads around there have outfarms that are very good quality land, so that is why you are probably getting mixed results. Ballycroy are a bigger, softer type of sheep, wouldnt be for me but they might suit another guy. Id recommend anyone looking for some Mayo ewes to put to a hill to head for Achill.

DJ98

Where is the best place to buy ewes for good grass/ ones that are easy to keep inside a field?

MayoAreMagic

DJ98 wrote: »

Where is the best place to buy ewes for good grass/ ones that are easy to keep inside a field?

Well for my money you have two options. If you went for the achill type they would mend coming from the hill to the grass also. But if you wanted ones that were more used to grass, personally id recommend newport/tiernar area or tourmakeady. Im probably missing a few other places too and some parts of connamara can be good too, although i find in those places you really need to know the guy you are going to as some guys have different ideas to others and they cant all be right! But for guys going that route, arent they better to just get some hilltex ewes and leave the mountain sheep on the mountain? Its the equivalent of breeding suffolks that will stay up the hill - its not what the breed is meant for. The result is the situation the op described, with mountain sheep who cant stick it on the mountain, or the reverse of that; suffolks that dont gain weight on grass...

MayoAreMagic

DJ98 wrote: »

Where is the best place to buy ewes for good grass/ ones that are easy to keep inside a field?

Well for my money you have two options. If you went for the achill type they would mend coming from the hill to the grass also. But if you wanted ones that were more used to grass, personally id recommend newport/tiernar area or tourmakeady. Im probably missing a few other places too and some parts of connamara can be good too, although i find in those places you really need to know the guy you are going to as some guys have different ideas to others and they cant all be right! But for guys going that route, arent they better to just get some hilltex ewes and leave the mountain sheep on the mountain? Its the equivalent of breeding suffolks that will stay up the hill - its not what the breed is meant for. The result is the situation the op described, with mountain sheep who cant stick it on the mountain, or the reverse of that; suffolks that dont gain weight on grass...

Louthmouth1

I found the Achill type relatively easy to settle on a commanage but in saying that providing we have grass in the field they are happy. I bought over forty sheep in 2014 and bred just slightly over 60 hill tex lambs. I was most impressed by how they improved after we got them the horns grew about an inch on aged ewes something I had never seen before. Apart from lambing and shearing we don't have to much input sometimes have to get the neighbour to give us a hand to gather but I they they are afraid of our brown dog. I have had problems before that purchased sheep won't stay in land never mind a hill but people need to have a hard look at their own fences, a stonewall or a three strand wire fence will not keep them in.

MayoAreMagic

Ya the growth on the horns is always a good indicator. If they start growing you know they have spent their lives on the hills out there. Similarly, if you see young sheep with big strong antlers on them, you know they have been grassed. You see a good bit of that in the Balinrobe sale. Particularly in the ewe lambs. They tend to have strong fleeces and a lot of length in the horns.

What kind of weights were the hilltex lambs coming into for you?

Louthmouth1

They were all between 30-50kgs being honest didn't really weight them we sold the complete gang ewes and ram lambs privately at home. Over sixty we got a return of 75 euro. Maybe not a great return in some peoples eyes but we were very happy and it's one of the best returns we have ever made for the expense incurred. It also gave us more scope to increase our cattle numbers as the flock were hill grazing all summer. I would have liked to retain a few replacements but then you have a quiet different scenario as we decided to increase our horny numbers before the roll out of the new glass schemes. We got another gang off the same man a couple of months ago so hopefully more of the same.

MayoAreMagic

Nothing wrong with those prices when you factor in the lack of costs on things like manuring land etc. Irish farmers tend to focus on the highest price as opposed to the profit margin and time consumed. It is a foolish way of doing business.
May I ask what part of the island were they coming from?

Louthmouth1

I don't know the place that well but know how to get there if you know what I mean. Don't want to name the mans name either but I think he is well known as they have a lot of sheep. I had heard about them as they sell gangs of sheep in groups or 100 and 200 at a time to the north of Ireland. Think they do a bit with lambs aswel. Always a bit strange when you ask a question how many do you have for sale ? to be told as many as you want. I was able to pick out of a group so I only purchased what I wanted you don't have that luxury in a mart also very difficult to buy more than fifty off the one man everyone seems to only want to sell 10 or 20 at a time and you are forced to buy the group which most of the time required taking some less desirable stock. Has anyone else that problem.

fanadman1

I bought ewes in newport in the spring and they have been a serous turn for me suited me to the ground although i am keeping them on grass its still not for soft sheep as they are been battered by coastal winds at all times. I had to cut some of the ewes horns cause they atarted growing into ewes heads. Id say some of them could of grew 2 inchs. They will be going to the hill now for a few months to keep them over the winter. Between me and 2 cousins we bought around 200 sheep with lambs on foot that day. They have a completly differnt mindset down there compared to people here in donegal. I think if possible i will buy more this spring

Ard_MC

Looking for a small number of ewe lambs at present myself.

MayoAreMagic

Louthmouth1, no need to name names, I know the guy you are talking about. I have been buying rams off him for 20 years! I suppose they say imitation is the highest form of flattery

fanadman, that is a big day's buying, ye don't do things in halves! May I ask what you mean by the difference in mindset, that is an interesting point. How would they differ?

fanadman1

Remeber there were 3 of us buying.
I find people were much more friendly. Like we were cold calling going on leads we got from contacts one of the lads had. But people were more than willing to deal. Also i found cash had serous power down there.

Louthmouth1

Small world mayoaremagic I'm not surprised I couldn't believe it when I set eyes on about 50 rams in a slatted house last year. Sometimes you have less rams in a catalogued sale. To top things off I was told that not all the rams were in yet. How many ewes does a mountain ram easily manage over one season.

MayoAreMagic

Indeed fanadman, although guys with that many animals for sale on short notice are probably well used to dealing that way. I mean if a guy can spare 200 animals on a whim, he probably has over a couple of thousand and is dealing the whole time. There are some right good guys around that area too.

Louth, a healthy mayo ram in his prime (2-7 years old give or take) would average 80 odd ewes, but you would see a few go over the 100 in well managed single sire scenarios, but they would be shook coming in. I suppose when the rams are let out to the hill, the best tipper will tip the most, so they are breeding for this trait without really trying, although it would be seen as desirable in a ram, and a guy who was a bit slow would be frowned upon.

fanadman1

I think he was runing around 1800 at that time.
He was no easy seller now but the fact it was cash did seem to make him easyer handled all the same. Seen it with smaller farmers that they nearly sent dizzy when they seen a wad