razor8 wrote: » The theory is they eat more to keep warm and as a consequence growth faster
Willfarman wrote: » I was in Borris yesterday for the show sale. A great display of stock. You could safely bring home any pen of farmers sellers sheep. 150 to 250€
DJ98 wrote: » Would they have to be a certain weight to be suitable for shearing?
razor8 wrote: » Weight wouldn’t be my concern. They need a bit of flesh. I know a guy bought thin stores and sheared end of September and they dropped like flies
MayoAreMagic wrote: » I read a study on shearing lambs recently. It said they eat more because they are burning more calories to stay warm, but that they grew no faster than the non shorn ones... That would suggest it is just a handy way of using up more meal.. Did you ever do any weighing on them wrangler? Or do you notice them being bigger? It wouldnt be the first study to report dodgey results!
Hard Knocks wrote: » 2 years ago We sheared ewe kambs kept for breeding & left a few others It was hard to tell the sheared from their mothers they’d grown that much the not sheared were a bit behind Last year we sheared all
AntrimGlens wrote: » And breathe... Just done a twenty minute phone interview with the Farmers Guardian and three Interviewers including Liz Genever from ADHB if you've ever heard of her. I (my business) has been shortlisted as one of the four finalists for UK Sheep Innovator of the Year and they were doing a follow up interview and scrutinising my accounts. Put me over my flock health plan, scanning, weaning rates, antibiotic protocols, marketing and promotional plan, plus a load of other stuff about working with chefs, hotels, convenience foods etc. Bloody hell i'm a nervous wreck now... Ah well at least there's a night out in Birmingham in October to get dressed up for, if nothing else.
wrangler wrote: » If a farmer does it once they generally keep doing it, says it all really. Just an observation here, we find that the heavier ewe lambs are the ones that usually end up barren the first year for some reason
Green farmer wrote: » If you had a link, would like to hear the interview, Best of luck and congratulations in being shortlisted !!!
DJ98 wrote: » What is most lads procedure when bringing home new rams, do you put them in the shed or let them straight to grass and would you give meal? Is it different for ram lambs and older rams?
ganmo wrote: » DJ98 wrote: » What is most lads procedure when bringing home new rams, do you put them in the shed or let them straight to grass and would you give meal? Is it different for ram lambs and older rams? Drop them into the shed, give them a bit of meal then bring the rams hell be running with in to the shed too and let them get to know each other without being able to hurt each other
DJ98 wrote: » Would you leave them in until mating?
ganmo wrote: » Drop them into the shed, give them a bit of meal then bring the rams hell be running with in to the shed too and let them get to know each other without being able to hurt each other
ganmo wrote: » 3/4 days
wrangler wrote: » Why leave them in, I'd get them used to the existing rams and then good grass and .5kg/day of whatever lamb ration I'd be using. Make sure they're vaccinated, the stress of being taken away from they comrades can bring on pnuemonia or one of the clostridials, ask the seller. The number of breeders that don't vaccinate their Ram lambs is unbelievable
DJ98 wrote: » One last question when buying a ram would you recommend buying a ram lamb, hogget or older sheep?
wrangler wrote: » DJ98 wrote: » One last question when buying a ram would you recommend buying a ram lamb, hogget or older sheep? Hoggets are better value, they seem to be around the same price as lambs and will serve more ewes, however they can be the culls of the previous years lambs. ie If you saw a January born hogget you'd wonder why he didn't make the sepember sales as a lamb but if the hogget was march born he probably wasn't old enough for service in September
