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How prolific are first cross Belclare?

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Comments

  • #32
    stantheman1979
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 435 ✭✭stantheman1979


    Ive spent some time in Britain but live in the south east. Im refering to ewe lambs yes. Ive always called them ewe hoggets once the ewes start going in lamb so basically from now on. Lambs, ewe hoggs, 2, 3,4 year old. Im probably wrong but thats what i call them anyway


  • #33
    stantheman1979
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 435 ✭✭stantheman1979


    charolais0153 wrote: »
    Hoggetts in my mind lamb at 24 months . ewe lambs 13 months

    Apologies i just call then 2 year olds.


  • #34
    Green farmer
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 4,004 ✭✭✭Green farmer


    When ever I think of hoggets, I think of stuff destined to factory in the spring and how much per kg. anything else breeding wise I think of ewe lambs.


  • #35
    Farm365
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 139 ✭✭Farm365


    stantheman1979 wrote: »
    Why keep sheep or any stock if you're going to do it half arsed just keeping you're head above water or making a loss. Ewes going around all summer with one lamb is a waste of time, money and grass!

    What kind of profit is possible from a flock of 250 ewes assuming the following:

    Stocked at 4 acre
    Lowland sheep
    Lambing 1st March
    Weaning 1.6 lambs per ewe
    Replacement rate 20%
    Indoor lambing
    Sheep housed for 3mths approx
    All ewe lambs bred in first year
    All silage made on farm by contractors
    Concentrates only fed to ewe lambs 6wks before and 6wks after lambing and twin bearing ewes 6wks before lambing.
    No debt or rented land
    20 % of lambs finished on concentrates
    Minimum fencing every year replacing 200 stakes.
    Soil PH good lime spread every 3yrs at two tonne acre.
    5 acres reseeded every year costing €250 acre
    Excluding SFP


  • #36
    razor8
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 2,349 ✭✭✭razor8


    About €14,000 achievable and realistic not including cost of fencing IMO


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  • #37
    charolais0153
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 6,225 ✭✭✭charolais0153


    Farm365 wrote: »
    What kind of profit is possible from a flock of 250 ewes assuming the following:

    Stocked at 4 acre
    Lowland sheep
    Lambing 1st March
    Weaning 1.6 lambs per ewe
    Replacement rate 20%
    Indoor lambing
    Sheep housed for 3mths approx
    All ewe lambs bred in first year
    All silage made on farm by contractors
    Concentrates only fed to ewe lambs 6wks before and 6wks after lambing and twin bearing ewes 6wks before lambing.
    No debt or rented land
    20 % of lambs finished on concentrates
    Minimum fencing every year replacing 200 stakes.
    Soil PH good lime spread every 3yrs at two tonne acre.
    5 acres reseeded every year costing €250 acre
    Excluding SFP

    Why do people lamb 1st march your first lambs will be ready when prices start to tumble. Will you creep any lambs when you say you'll finish 20% of lambs on meal. What breed of sheep would you have. What is occupying the land at present. Are you going to have to build housing for them


  • #38
    Farm365
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 139 ✭✭Farm365


    charolais0153 wrote: »
    Why do people lamb 1st march your first lambs will be ready when prices start to tumble. Will you creep any lambs when you say you'll finish 20% of lambs on meal. What breed of sheep would you have. What is occupying the land at present. Are you going to have to build housing for them

    I wouldn't have enough grass before 1st March. No creep feeding just finish the last of the lambs on concentrate. Have a mixture of breeds at present 50% scotch and 50% cheviot suffolk cross and a few Lleyns but moving towards Lleyn,Mule or Belclare cross....something maternal and prolific. Have enough housing at present. I've just taken over farm and I have 150 ewes 35 ewe lambs and 10 sucklers.


  • #39
    charolais0153
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 6,225 ✭✭✭charolais0153


    Farm365 wrote: »
    I wouldn't have enough grass before 1st March. No creep feeding just finish the last of the lambs on concentrate. Have a mixture of breeds at present 50% scotch and 50% cheviot suffolk cross and a few Lleyns but moving towards Lleyn,Mule or Belclare cross....something maternal and prolific. Have enough housing at present. I've just taken over farm and I have 150 ewes 35 ewe lambs and 10 sucklers.
    What's your plan for the lambs . live or dead trade? You would be weaning at least 1.8 with belclare breeding one would imagine . what rams would you use. I think a belclare x Suffolk ewe could suit like the ones in athenry


  • #40
    Farm365
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 139 ✭✭Farm365


    charolais0153 wrote: »
    What's your plan for the lambs . live or dead trade? You would be weaning at least 1.8 with belclare breeding one would imagine . what rams would you use. I think a belclare x Suffolk ewe could suit like the ones in athenry

    All lambs at moment are finished for factory and I am under stocked so I would probably do the same and would have capacity to do so. I'm introducing a paddock system next year too which should help.I'm lucky I've very little fencing to do as most fields are laid out already. I wouldn't rule out the store trade either if it's like this years trade earlier in the year.If it meant getting lambs off earlier and having more grass for the ewes and in better condition for the ram I'd consider it. I've been using Charlaois and suffolk rams for the last few years.I find the Charlaois great they 're up and drinking straight away and they weight like led. If I never had another suffolk again it wouldn't bother me. In vigour when born and constant dirty back ends. The ones that live thrive well and are first gone but they have no place on a farm with a part time farmer. I'm going to use the scotch ewes as the base of the flock and breed first cross Lleyn or Belclare off them or mules. I have some suffolk ewes at the moment but they are too hard fed and hard to keep condition on them. They are not prolific and find they have a lot of bottle tits. I'm considering upping stocking rate and buying in all silage but you don't know what kind of quality silage you will be buying


  • #41
    OneMan37
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 223 ✭✭OneMan37


    stantheman1979 wrote: »
    Horror stories!!! Surely the goal is to wean as many lambs as possible. Its 2 mins work to adopt on a triplet lamb onto a ewe with a single. Hey presto 2ewes rearing 4lambs. The majority of our ewes are at least 1/2 belclare some are probably 7/8 or even pure bred. The purer the are the more lambs they have but the 1/2 bred ones scan about 1.75 which is a bit poor I know but very managable for anyone. A lot of people believe the stories of belclares having lots of quads or quintuplets but we scan about 2.1 and might have less than 10 quads out of 850 ewes

    Great results, would a 3/4 or 4/5 Belclare ewe still produce good fat lambs if you crossed them to a Texel ?


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