Best breed of maternal sheep ?

OneMan37 · 04-02-2018 07:31PM

I'm considering buying Cheviot's this to cross with a Lleyn Ram. Would these make good Ewes ? And would they look more Cheviot or Lleyn ?

OneMan37 · 09-02-2018 03:27PM

Lano Lynn wrote: »

running some cheviots since '94 .criss cross wicklow & ncc .
brutal selection and retention of homebred rams has worked for me.
often retain a son of a purchased ram bred off an old proven ewe(see longevity thread)
bitches for barrenness always more cheviots barren than other Xbreds in our flock ,reduced the rate by culling ruthlessly.

Lambing % not great ,going to introduce some CheviotXLleyn
to see how that goes check back in 4-5 years

there is a lot of **** cheviots out there which is a pity great potential good suffolkXcheviots are great sheep may not be as prolific as mules but produce far better quality lambs

Going to purchase some cheviot ewes this year, which would you recommend for a low land farm selling fat lambs in June. the Lairg type or the Wicklow cheviot. I will run them on marginal ground once weaned.

Cran · 09-02-2018 06:02PM

OneMan37 wrote: »

Going to purchase some cheviot ewes this year, which would you recommend for a low land farm selling fat lambs in June. the Lairg type or the Wicklow cheviot. I will run them on marginal ground once weaned.

Can you get Lairg types in Ireland?

OneMan37 · 09-02-2018 07:08PM

Cran wrote: »

Can you get Lairg types in Ireland?

Yes, to the best of my knowledge there are 3 breeders in Ireland, and all of them are in Donegal.

Lano Lynn · 09-02-2018 07:54PM

lairg type rams can be got but ewes hard to come by .
saw some nice medium size cheviot ewes in blessington at the ram sale and there will be more to come in the future as there are more lads using lairgs on the hills than a few years ago.

Lano Lynn · 09-02-2018 08:00PM

lairg type rams can be got but ewes hard to come by .
saw some nice medium size cheviot ewes in blessington at the ram sale and there will be more to come in the future as there are more lads using lairgs on the hills than a few years ago.

OneMan37 · 18-03-2018 08:53PM

AnFeirmeoir wrote: »

Have Belclare x here . They are really quiet to handle. Had mostly twins from them last year. But I had to handle a lot of them at lambing. They're not strong sheep IMO .

Put Belclare cross Suffolk ewes back to a new Belclare ram this year. After that I'll be bringing back in some Suffolk into the mix.
Want ewes to be mostly maternal breed but not pure as lambs don't flesh as well .

I know this is an old post...But I recently bought 50 Belclare x Texel Ewes some pure Belclare. Is Suffolk the best sire for them, in order to have nice fat lambs ? I really haven't a clue as my dad left me the farm and sadly he's no longer here.

razor8 · 18-03-2018 09:04PM

Cran wrote: »

Can you get Lairg types in Ireland?

Could you pm me their details?

OneMan37 · 18-03-2018 09:05PM

bratnuk wrote: »

We find the belclare x horny a very hardy mother and produce good lambs from a Suffolk ram

Yes, I know a farmer in Inishowen Donegal who swears by them. I will actually have some Horny lambs from my Belclare ewes this May. Are the Belclare x horny easily lambed ? Prolific ? Wild like the horny ?

charolais0153 · 18-03-2018 09:11PM

OneMan37 wrote: »

I know this is an old post...But I recently bought 50 Belclare x Texel Ewes some pure Belclare. Is Suffolk the best sire for them, in order to have nice fat lambs ? I really haven't a clue as my dad left me the farm and sadly he's no longer here.

Any good ram will produce good fat lambs,charollais texel suffolk...

OneMan37 · 18-03-2018 09:11PM

Lambman wrote: »

Never had zwartables but heard there a real milky ewe and good till cross off for keeping replacements.... know a few purebred breeders keeping them for weaning lambs onto aswell 3 lambs supposed till be no bother till them from what I heard? Can someone here explain till me the main difference in rouge ewes and charrlois ewes? Both similar looking

I know a local farmer that had Rouge ewes up until recently. He said they were very easy lambed, even easier than the Char. Fine boned, that crossed very well with the Texel and killed out well in the factory. From what I heard the Char would generally finish quicker tho.

charolais0153 · 18-03-2018 09:13PM

OneMan37 wrote: »

I know a local farmer that had Rouge ewes up until recently. He said they were very easy lambed, even easier than the Char. Fine boned, that crossed very well with the Texel and killed out well in the factory. From what I heard the Char would generally finish quicker tho.

Roige are just a poor mans charrolais. More similiar to beltex imo. Too short to be of any use imo

Green farmer · 18-03-2018 09:23PM

razor8 wrote: »

Could you pm me their details?

How’s your Romney’s coming on ?

orm0nd · 19-03-2018 12:02AM

charolais0153 wrote: »

Roige are just a poor mans charrolais. More similiar to beltex imo. Too short to be of any use imo

how many rouge rams have you had ?

last rouge ram we had was 135 kgs , buying 2 this year to cross on belclare x texel ewes,

ran rouge and suffolk rams to gether with a result that we had many mixed litters

the rouge would be up and suckling while suffolk was deciding if he wanted to live or die

rouge x ewes are fantastic dams and tend to stay the pace

sick of listening to people knocking them that never tried them or if they did bought a scrub ram and expected him to produce qulaity

charolais0153 · 19-03-2018 12:28AM

orm0nd wrote: »

how many rouge rams have you had ?

last rouge ram we had was 135 kgs , buying 2 this year to cross on belclare x texel ewes,

ran rouge and suffolk rams to gether with a result that we had many mixed litters

the rouge would be up and suckling while suffolk was deciding if he wanted to live or die

rouge x ewes are fantastic dams and tend to stay the pace

sick of listening to people knocking them that never tried them or if they did bought a scrub ram and expected him to produce qulaity

Lad a mile away breeds them and a few local lads have tried them and thought they were nothing special.
Did you use cattle scales to weigh him?

razor8 · 19-03-2018 07:36AM

Green farmer wrote: »

How’s your Romney’s coming on ?

Happy with them so far. Here’s one that just dropped

Green farmer · 19-03-2018 09:39AM

razor8 wrote: »

Happy with them so far. Here’s one that just dropped

That’s good, are they quiet sheep ? Doing the same as yourself here, except with Lleyns. Overall their quiet but, you might get the odd one who likes to jump or abit flighty. I just cull them. Also noted that they don’t herd great when your rounding them up. Good mothering ability though and excellent feet.

razor8 · 19-03-2018 01:43PM

Ones I have are pretty quiet. No worse than any of others. There a good all round sheep. Don’t know if coincidence but No prolapses. No abortions & Feet good

charolais0153 · 19-03-2018 01:54PM

razor8 wrote: »

Ones I have are pretty quiet. No worse than any of others. There a good all round sheep. Don’t know if coincidence but No prolapses. No abortions & Feet good

What they like for milk and profligacy and lambing

kk.man · 19-03-2018 02:01PM

I had a Cheviot lamb for the 1st time... she would nearly talk to ya she is quite...she stood while I got her lambs to suck...and even days later she is the same. Must be a first!

razor8 · 19-03-2018 02:52PM

charolais0153 wrote: »

What they like for milk and profligacy and lambing

Excellent for milk. Ran ewe lambs that had singles last year with main flock and a good few went with the first drafts to factory in July and August

There not as prolific as my mules. Romney scanned 1.75 in ewes and mules scanned over 2.0. This is only my second year lambing them

joe35 · 24-03-2018 07:27AM

The father baught dorset horned ewe lambs a couple of years ago and found them very prolific. A few triplets every year and ewes with bags of milk. Could be a good terminal sire to run with hill sheep

DJ98 · 24-03-2018 10:01PM

razor8 wrote: »

Happy with them so far. Here’s one that just dropped

Where in the South of Ireland can Romney ewe lambs be got?

razor8 · 25-03-2018 06:45AM

DJ98 wrote: »

Where in the South of Ireland can Romney ewe lambs be got?

Not many breeders in the south but there is some

I may have a few for sale this year...ðŸ˜¬

Best breed of maternal sheep ?

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