The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Livestock => Sheep => Topic started by: waterbuffalofarmer on November 09, 2014, 11:53:41 pm
-
Yesterday I picked up the lleyn ram I reserved 2 weeks ago, he is gorgeous. I put him in with the ewes today, hopefully all goes well. He has very good genetics, I'm hoping his lambs will have very good confirmation and then they'll be worth more. :)
-
:thumbsup: :fc:
-
Excellent news! I saw a big Lleyn ram in the flesh for the first time a few weeks ago and you are right, they are magnificent. I'm sure he will do well.
-
He's not a massive ram though, he is medium sized because the ewes are traditional, so we want to keep the rams medium. I try to keep traditional Lleyns and not the pumped up ones, I always think traditional are better and are more flavoursome. It is a rather nervous waiting game though, to see what sorta lambs he gives. I might buy some ewe lambs off this guy, as lambs, because they are good sheep he has. So I might be rearing over 20 pet week old ewe lambs next march, plus my own, thankfully I've done it all before. :relief: they'll be a valuable addition to the flock though.
-
I agree with the first part entirely and also like the medium/modest sized Lleyn but what is the point of buying in the rubbish from a good flock? Clearly you are buying crap genetics with your 20 pets? I know another Lleyn flock that kept a lot of pets years ago and regret it.
-
Ah but the thing is his ewe lambs are top quality its just he can't rear the triplets, so he has to sell them, otherwise he would keep them. You should see his flock absoloutely gorgeous and his rams look very good. :)
-
Buying lambs from ewes that can't rear their lambs, in order to get ewes . . . . that can rear their lambs?
-
We have at least 15 ewe pet lambs over the last coming up to six years and theyre terrific mothers. Even as rookies they took to it like a duck to water. Then there's others that have been raised on they're dam and they're bloody nuts, I don't think there's any rhyme or reason to be honest. Nature is a curious thing....
-
I totally agree hellybee. I reared a flock of pets, some of the best mothers ever with good lambs. I always find the pet ewe lambs are worth keeping due to the fact you can shear and dose them easier, even milk them, and they're the best mothers too. So pet lambs all the way. 8)
-
True! I was watching a neighbour screaming and whistling at his dogs a few days ago to get his sheep in order, whilst mine were queueing up for saffron cake. Which is easier? :sheep: :sheep:
-
Call me a saddo but our three yo pet lamb ewe Eve still does a milk nudge softly on my chin when we greet each other. Silly I know :innocent:
-
Congrats on your new ram :thumbsup: hopefully he does well for you
I kept some bottle lambs as ewes 3 years ago, regret it 100% they arent afraid of the dogs, they dont move when you shoo them, when you have a group of ewes all walking in one direction nicely to another field the bloody things turn around and walk back towards me and then the whole group breaks up :rant: they have no respect,
I would rather a whole flock of ewes which I have to move with a dog then 10 that come running up and mob me at the gate when I try and walk into the field
Also one of them rejected her lambs, we can never be garenteed that they have all just been a triplet lamb taken off the ewe, I know of a good few farmers who just say that to all the people picking up bottle lambs, or even honest farmers who arent sure which lamb is which after they have all been put in the cade pen
-
this guy we bought the ram off is unlike any farmer I've met he makes sure all the ewes have bonded and he weighs all the lambs at birth, plus he keeps a close eye on his ewes and whenever he notices one has three he removes the third one straightaway.
-
I wouldn't be without them personally :love:
-
good looks don't mean good genetics..
-
We do have a pet lamb here, she makes me smile! But to have a whole flock of her. . . . would make me cry lol.
I like to keep replacements out of twins that have been born outside, unassisted to good mothers and have grown on well on milk and grass a lone.
I also totally understand LG's frustration with trying to dog a flock that has pet lambs in it.
At the end of the day though, it's horses for courses, and if we were all the same, the world would be very boring!
-
I know, but he has the breed figures, everything is catalogued and cross checked, I looked at his dam and sires records and they were excellent. This guy breeds for confirmation, every lamb is weighed at birth and throughout its life. I paid quite a lot of money for him, I just hope he produces good lambs.
-
Totally agree, I've had a problem with pets not being in the flock. What I do is try and get all the sheep in and then bring the pets in, or I just get a bag of cake and then its a piece of cake.
-
I respect your choice to buy in 20 triplet orphans but it seems totally at odds with paying a lot of money for a tup with good figures, if all mine had triplets it would be a disaster and in very general terms with sheep you get what you keep, keep a lot of orphans - get a lot of orphans?
-
Yea I suppose so it was just a thought though, I may not buy them, it was just an easy option for buying in more stock. I really don't mind rearing lambs, we usually get very little amounts of triplets anyway and a lot of the rams I've bought over the years are out of triplets. I don't flush the ewes with extra feed as I find lleyns give a lot of lambs anyway. I haven't decided yet. Thanks for all the comments guys. :)