Best ewe to buy

Murang wrote: »

I am thinking of buying about 20 hoggets to lamb early next year .l had sheep before around 15 years ago and would like to have a few again for my son for a intrest .what would be the best ewe for early lambing I like the mule ewes just wondering how good are they for early lambing

I tell you the lleyn society would want to get their act in order. I bought 13 hoggets last year and have at least eight culled, there's only two that have performed properly, I bought them thinking that the seller bred them but bred only about half them, he wins a lot of prizes so thought he was alright.
To really sicken me a good few were wool shedders...like wtf
They have seriously disimproved since they were first imported

orm0nd wrote: »

I think you bought a ram at their sale in Roscrea a good few years back , I bought a good few hoggetts and some ewe lambs at greatly inflated prices (yes I know nobody was bending arm)

All bar 6 from 1 breeder were an utter disaster , maybe it was just a run of bad luck .

The first lleyns we bred here wer great sheep from Lleyns we bought in the north around 2000, that ram from roscrea did good too then it, but those hoggets, they look desperate now, they were well fed at the sale, sellers ram was champion in tullamore show last year and I bought him, double 5 star supposedly, was threatening to slaughter him today, when OH (who's big into recording) told me the two ewes that did well were half sisters so he got a reprieve.

I’ve been saying it here for ages that there’s a huge variation in the breed. I suspect some have cheviot blood in them, whilst others have texel. The breed might have just expanded too quickly. Still good sheep, if you can find a strain that suits your set up.

wrangler wrote: »

Yea , I got fooled by show feeding.

Ah, I hate that kind of messing. Live and learn. I was caught myself a few years back by a similar but competing society to the lleyns. It’s one clear way of making sure they don’t get any repeat business. Was it just the shedding, or were the hoggets lacking other abilities ?

wrangler wrote: »

Poor milk, mastitis, usual thing but everyone had a ''story''

Bad form alright.

Willfarman wrote: »

A big strong Suffolk ewe with a feminine sharp head would be what I came back to after trying different fads.

Like the Suffolk ewe myself, the Suffolk x Belcare is a lovely ewe

DJ98 wrote: »

Tried breeding Suffolk X belclare ewe lambs this year, all the ewe lambs came with pure black heads, should there not be white through there face as well much like the Suffolk X cheviot ewe?

Mine has a charcoal colored head
I’ve Suffolk x Texel with black head

Anybody try crossing horned ewes with a charrlois are that any easier finished than a texel?

Lambman wrote: »

Anybody try crossing horned ewes with a charrlois are that any easier finished than a texel?

Neighbour had them, think the rams did well but he kept the ewe lambs who made great mothers

finding some of my llynn ewes becoming light boned, how would putting the lightest ones back to a texel and keeping there daughters work? i really would be dodge about lambing texel cross ewes but there serious long lasting and leave great lambs. maybe with a good quater llyn might widen the pelvis. i know my texel cross cheviot experiment with twin ewe lambs is a roaring success brilliant ewes now going on 5 year old , neither ever had a single lamb and one had 4 live lambs one year, very little trouble lambing

Some good stock lined up for this sale😜😜

gazahayes wrote: »

Low on ewe lambs this year and was planning to buy a few at the lleyn sale getting second thoughts now though.

They've way disimproved since first imported here, they were making between €200 and €300 years ago and I suppose everything was considered breeding quality.
I bought the pens that were considered best in sale pfft

Green farmer seen the best a hoggets sold for €140.

Lambman wrote: »

Green farmer seen the best a hoggets sold for €140.

Where was that lambman, and what breed of hoggets?

coolshannagh28 wrote:

Larry processes 700 000 , theres no guarantee everyone makes €200 , a shrewd man might but the run of it is much less.

Tullow mart on facebook said hoggets were 10-15 back on last yr. A lot of hoggets sold from 165 to 180 in the show and sale.

Lambman wrote: »

Green farmer seen the best a hoggets sold for €140.

The worst of hoggets made 155 in Tullow. I was there, don't know what mart you were at.

Cran wrote: »

Moving away from them here, to inconsistent when move away from a couple of breeders and flock to closely related to them at the moment. Might go back at some stage to those breeders after couple of generations but not sure as find lleyns work best pure for replacements

What road are you going to go down instead cran ?

Green farmer wrote: »

What road are you going to go down instead cran ?

Finding ewes from Logie on the Mules’s working really well, have enough young Mules to continue for couple of years & might put proven Lleyns to them as well. After that will have to decide buy more Mules or continued down closed route

Raphoe goes like that I mind even last year i took the neighbor up and another local farmer and the 2 a them couldn't believe how cheap they were so they went back till next Mart and couldn't buy a thing.

Green farmer wrote: »

What are breeding hoggets expected to make this year ? Even in ordinary marts? Anyone sell some yet ?

I put up 30 easy care hoggets on DD for €160. Two fellas came to look at them. They said they were too good for what they wanted. I’ve heard a lot of lines but “too good” was a new one to me.

davidk1394 wrote: »

I put up 30 easy care hoggets on DD for €160. Two fellas came to look at them. They said they were too good for what they wanted. I’ve heard a lot of lines but “too good” was a new one to me.

If I get top dollar for my hoggets, I’ll give you a buzz. Going to run either a easycare ram or buy in some easycare ewe lambs this year.

Look at dowry mart on Facebook hoggets seem well back there as well.

Hard Knocks wrote: »

Mine has a charcoal colored head
I’ve Suffolk x Texel with black head

Something that I always wonder and kind of going off topic, but when you say Suffolk x texel does it mean Suffolk ram or ewe? Is it always a given that the first breed is the ewe or the ram? I assume ram but you all know what assume did 😄