[perkhar]

I have texel cross cheviot ewe hogs ready for the ram this season but wondering what ram to put to them. I am selling the male lambs if any which I'm sure there will be at auction and planning on keeping back the females for stock....

I want an animal that will achieve good results at sales but also want to make sure they are hardy enough to withstand our Hebridean winters and grazing...

I'm open to opinions which I'm sure there will be many. As I'm truly undecided on what ram to buy. Any suggestions and why would be really helpful in my decision making process

Thanks in advanced

[SallyintNorth]

Texels are very hardy.  If you can get one that's not too huge across the shoulders and buttocks for your young ladies.  And has good feet.

Alternatively, a really shapey Shetland tup would give you super breeding girls, and the males would still be appealing at the mart.

You might have a job sourcing as they're now so rare, but the traditional tup for Cheviots was the Border Leicester, or 'Bred'.  Known as 'the great improver', they tell me.  The Doulton Flock is the flock I know.  Wonderful strong animals, and fabulous fleeces.

Or a Downs breed.  People seem to rate the Southdown, and the Hampshire Down, as terminal sires, and as fathers of breeding females.

[perkhar]

Thanks for the response I think these border Leicesters are fantastic looking animals very shapley and good stocky animals. As you say they are rarer to see i can't say I know anyone running them up here I know a few people having blue faced Leicester tups to cross on to a black face ewe to get their desired mules for breeding stock, then crossing them back to a continental.

[Marches Farmer]

As a Southdown breeder I am, of course, biased, but any of the Down breeds will add a good carcase to the mix and less lambing problems than a Texel.  There are Southdown breeders in Scotland (sold some ewe lambs up there myself) but try to avoid those with French or NZ bloodlines.  The traditional Southdown is tougher and less leggy.

[perkhar]

Understandably marches farmer

I understand where your coming from with difficulty lambing the texel. I have family that breed texels pure and they have them inside our sheds at lambing time. Big chunky singles are produced but require a fair whack of assistance. Sheep are stunning though. Great carcass conformation. But I do worry about having to put so much time in to them at lambing.

Hence I have gone for a cross bred ewe to add a little hybrid vigour.... But chosing a ram is more difficult than I thought it would be.... Let's face it there's a lot to chose from

[SallyintNorth]

I'm sure Ellie Stokeld would be happy to arrange shipment of one of her Border Leicester tups or tup lambs

The BFL cross would also work, I'm sure - but the tup himself would be less hardy. 

[perkhar]

I wonder how a animal from Yorkshire would get on up here in the uists.  Some animals struggle with the harsh winters I do like them though....

[waterbuffalofarmer]

here we are.....
http://www.borderleicesters.co.uk/members.php?County=&Surname=&FlockNumber=&Prefix=&TP=27&PN=1
http://www.nc-cheviot.co.uk/flocks-and-members/
I hope you can find a breeder to suit and do let us know how you get on?

[perkhar]

I will email a few to find out a little more about them.. What kind of grazing they are on and supplements ect.... Also does anyone use a cross bred sire???

[shep53]

BORDERS are enormous sheep, don't like rough weather ,  which need good grass and plenty of feed , up until the 70;s  they were the dominant sire for producing ewes eg   Scottish /welsh / English     halfbreds and the greyface    all good sheep but very big and greedy  .  Used to be many ram flocks but now seems to be a niche breed for showing with size of ears , nose shape and wool the main attributes (USED to be tighter fleeced )   Really wouldn't like to try lambing hoggs to them .       Texel on hoggs ( are we talking hoggs or  gimmers / shearlings  ?  )  not good either and the ewe lambs at 3/4 texel would be as bad as pures .                   It pains me to suggest LLYEN  easy to lamb , shapely lamb out of you xbreds and a nice female for future breeding

[waterbuffalofarmer]

BORDERS are enormous sheep, don't like rough weather ,  which need good grass and plenty of feed , up until the 70;s  they were the dominant sire for producing ewes eg   Scottish /welsh / English     halfbreds and the greyface    all good sheep but very big and greedy  .  Used to be many ram flocks but now seems to be a niche breed for showing with size of ears , nose shape and wool the main attributes (USED to be tighter fleeced )   Really wouldn't like to try lambing hoggs to them .       Texel on hoggs ( are we talking hoggs or  gimmers / shearlings  ?  )  not good either and the ewe lambs at 3/4 texel would be as bad as pures .                   It pains me to suggest LLYEN  easy to lamb , shapely lamb out of you xbreds and a nice female for future breeding

Really? I never knew that. I was thinking of getting one for my Lleyn ewes last year to produce mules to go to mart. UI would also recommend Lleyn, there are some really good breeders in scotland, ireland however is the best to get the rams from thats where all the big breders get rams from. Choose a good breeder and the lambs are fantastic, as of yet my lambs are ready to go to slaughter off just grass no supplementary feeding at all, lambed april ready end of July, now thats progress!

[perkhar]

LLynn is a breed that's  rare up here but I see it on this site a lot... They are also very nice looking rams.... My my hogs are now gimmers to be politically correct ready for the ram this year round for the first time..

How do you mean the 3/4 mix would be as bad as pures what are the main problems?

My male slaughter lambs won't be going to the mart till the following September the earliest possible sale here on the island...

Thanks for the replays so far really helpful hearing different ideas

[Old Shep]

If you are set on putting 1 year olds (we would call them hoggs until their first shear), to the tup then I agree with Shep53 with a Lleyn tup.  We use one on all our shearing Texel first timers (we don't lamb hoggs) and they lambs are nice and small and bullet shaped - pop out easily.  However we only use him for the first year, after that we use a Texel tup to get better fat lambs - the Lleyn doesn't have the backside to get good quality meat lambs.  SO you maybe want a cheap aged ram to use for the first year and then buy a more commercial breed (Texel / Suffolk) for the later years.


By the way - why did you go for NCC crosses, why not pure NCC's to a NCC tup??

[SallyintNorth]

BORDERS are enormous sheep, don't like rough weather ,  which need good grass and plenty of feed , up until the 70;s  they were the dominant sire for producing ewes eg   Scottish /welsh / English     halfbreds and the greyface    all good sheep but very big and greedy  .  Used to be many ram flocks but now seems to be a niche breed for showing with size of ears , nose shape and wool the main attributes (USED to be tighter fleeced )   Really wouldn't like to try lambing hoggs to them .       

Is one person's opinion

If you're interested in the breed, you could ask appropriate breeders to put you in touch with folk in your region / type of terrain and climate who are using Border Leicesters.

[perkhar]

I bought them here locally at the mart last year as lambs and have wintered them and have had them sheared. They are in great condition and have decided to keep them for breeding stock... Id have liked to have gone down the route of ncc pure breeds but. These were available locally. There isn't a market that would pay any more for a pure bred animal over a cross on the island that would mean having to go away with them as far as Dingwall that's a ferry journey and a 4 hour drive away so, I didn't think I'd benefit. A cheviot tup might be the answer im not sure..