I should have said my crosses were castlemilks x shetlands and that THEY would be of no use to someone such as yourself.
But then having said that my 50% Castlemilk x shetlands shed there fleece entirely.. I wonder what their daughters would be like if crossed to a Wilts....
Hi Colliewoman, I have Castlemilks and am wondering whether to cross with Shetlands. I can get a Shetland tup locally no problem, whereas I am finding it quite difficult to find an unrelated Castlemilk tup... Didn't realise they would shed their fleece either
How do you find the Castlemilk Crosses in comparison to Castlemilk through n through?
I have never kept pure Castlemilks but the crosses are adorable! Though they shed their fleece, I rooed mine out and have usable fleece in lovely colours!
I bred mine as ewe lambs to a shetland tup and they did their single lambs very well. The Boys were born in mid April and though small (compared to big white jobs) I sent them for slaughter (killed out at 12kg) in November and they were
Also the lambskins are delightful.
Not all of the crosses will shed, just as not all shetlands will shed. But certainly all of mine would
I am picking up 2 more soon, they look far more shetland and have a very think fleece #(looking forward to putting a Gotland ram across those!)
What is it you are wanting from your sheep?
I am trying to get the good all rounder for someone like myself. So I want;
Good doers, not needing much feeding (I wouldn't be caking at all if I hadn't had a monumental grazing cock up and had to wait 4 months for the grass I should have had in August
)
Good feet, The CM x Shetlands or their lambs have NEVER needed aa foot trim
Lovely fleeces, I spin, felt, will be weaving i use fleece as insulation etc etc.
Tasty meat, and regardless to anyone else's opinion I much prefer the taste of the primitives who's fat is marbled throughout the meat rather than in a layer around it.
Easy to handle. I just shout and they come running
Also my back is officially rubbish so I cannot sensibly keep a lot of big sheep. If one of mine refused to be led I can simply pick it up and move it
Now this might seem like the biggest waste of time for a breeding enterprise, but I'm not breeding my sheep and experimenting with crosses for anyone else. I am trying to produce an animal that can give me everything I need in my strive to be as self sufficient as possible.
I would say try the cross, If you don't like the out come eat them and try a castlemilk the following year!
I would say though, if you do breed pure then register the offspring. Unregistered progeny are usless when it comes to safeguarding a breed in times of crisis