[Hillview Farm]

I've currently got suffolk mules and put a suffolk ram on them. But I was thinking of changing my breeds. I want something med/large sized meat breed as my girls are big and I want them all together.

What does anyone surgest?

[Pasture Farm]

Hi i keep around 45 Lleyn and ten Suffolk    Ive tried to show them together if it where me i would go for Lleyn every time....good milky mums and so easy to care for  at the moment im feeding sugarbeet as they are all in lamb, the suffolks are very gready and yet theLleyns although most with twins are very easy on the grass and hay and beet.
So Lleyn every time from me 

[thenovice]

Romneys, or "kents" as we call them down here, are very popular. I dont keep them myself, but they are a good doer, good size, good feet, and when crossed with a meat sire like a southdown make chunky, strong, saleable lambs. Supposed to taste great too! Good luck 

[Hillview Farm]

Pasture farm, what ram do you put them to?

[Marches Farmer]

Watch out for poor feet with the Lleyns.  We had 20 a few years ago and within 3 years all had gone to cull due to poor feet (and we'd eliminated footrot from the farm years before, too).  Several scanned for quads and triplets but none ever managed to raise more than twins, however.

[Blinkers]

Zwartbles - large breed, very tame, good mums and milky, excellent carcase and especially good if put to a Texel. 

[lachlanandmarcus]

Our vet keeps lleyn and so do one of our neighbours. They both rate them, good mums, easy births and easy to sell. Only downside of their having lots of lambs is that sometimes you get quads! They haven't had any more issues with feet than any other breed but probably would cull poor feet anyway. Worth considering.

[Castle Farm]

http://i62.photobucket.com/albums/h117/castlefarmpoultry/The%20Farm/Dec08056.jpg?t=1317742877

I keep Lleyn and they are brilliant.
Easy to lamb.
Will raise 3 with ease, due to being a 'milk breed'
You will get problems with multi birth if you flush them to well.

No major problems with foot rot. But you need to know how to clip the feet correctly.

Lambs are up and on their feet very quickly and look to live.

They finish at around 42kg on grass.

[Hillview Farm]

Looks like i may have to look into Lleyns. Sorry blinkers I really dont like Zwartbles

[VSS]

Lleyns will produce good meaty lambs IF you put them back to a terminal sire such as a Charollais or Texel.
Very milky, good mothers, stupidly large litter size so you need to be prepared for the fact that you will need to foster lambs and/or bottle rear. They won't rear triplets off grass IME. Can be prone to mastitis.

[Mays]

interested in this thread, I have a 30 strong flock of last years ewe lambs, they are Cheviot x Beltex, and wondering what sire to put on them. I am only interested in producing a meat lamb with good feet and easy lambing, so trying to avoid going back to Beltex/Tex/Suff, any other ideas?

[thenovice]

From what some are saying charolais sires seem to make for an easy lambing and a good carcase

[novicesmallholder]

We keep a flock of Shropshires, lovely looking medium sized sheep and very easy to keep
 
www.shropshire-sheep.co.uk/
 

[SteveHants]

Lleyns are great - they are very profilgate, and there seem to be two distinct types. I haven't had much foot trouble with mine and I cull for it anyway - and so do the people I buy off.


I expect mine to rear trips off grass (which they do), so I guess it depends where you are in the country.

[SallyintNorth]

Mays - Charollais would work very well on your Beltex x Cheviot.  And have lovely fleece too, if you spin 

Rachel.mcm - I WWOOFed one summer on a mixed organic farm in Somerset which had Lleyns.  At the time I didn't know enough to realise - but there was a disproportionately high number of pet lambs.  I now realise this was due to the large - excessive - litter sizes on that very very good ground.