The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Livestock => Sheep => Topic started by: Hillview Farm on February 24, 2016, 07:11:15 am
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18 months ago I was given some retired Shetland ewes. I got them for some conservation grazing Last summer which didn't work so I've got some different sheep for the grazing this year.
They are missing teeth now, very happy and want for nothing but their quality of life I feel is slipping as they are in with my big young ewes and they are competing for food. I can't split them up at the moment.
Where ever possible I like them to leave us in the best possible circumstances.
So what do I do?
I'd happily give them to someone who can offer them a retirement and I have tried with only time wasters and stupid idiots who are clearly going to try and breed them.
Have them put down
Try and fatten them up after lambing when I have space to house and feed them up? One is skinny. Do these shetlands put weight on easily with spring grass?
What would you do?
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I know that a lot of farmers when they buy brokers (i:e missing teeth) they pull the remaining teeth out and let them eat the grass. I dont know whether that woulf be good in this case though. Why not just send them to market? At least you will get something for them
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I have one like this, old, won't die, won't put on weight, so I have dispatched her with e few other 'special' cases to a friend with an old walled garden that needs keeping tidy.
Out of my sight and doing a job while hopefully starting to put on weight! Although I think they are getting attached so happy all round.
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By the time I've driven 50 miles plus, taken time off work and get laughed at I think I'd be loosing money. I really hate markets unless the animals are in a breeding sale.
I wish I could find someone like that sbom. They would be perfect.
Perhaps come spring ill get enough meat on them to send them to slaughtrr
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How many are there? Too much for you to buy a bigger freezer and eat them yourself over the next year or two?
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Funny you should say that. Just a few weeks ago bought a big chest freezer. Got another ewe we will be making into sausages so there will be plenty of room.
Just need more condition first
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I did once find a good and genuine retirement home for some of my older ewes, too young to kill, too old to sell for breeding. But that's once in 20 years ::)
It's a shame you can't keep them separate from the younger ewes as that's the way to go. They can then get enough supplemented feeding up until the spring grass comes through. We have kept older ewes with an excellent condition score to a great age (remember Jezebel who was just short of 20, and had only started to lose condition in the last year?)
As WBF suggests, when they have some teeth but other gaps is when they struggle to eat enough, especially if one of the remaining teeth is wobbly. It's those wobbly ones which are pulled out and that does help with their eating. I wouldn't pull firm teeth as it would hurt like mad, and the gums would take a time to heal. Once all the front teeth are gone, and there are no problems with their molars, they can eat fairly normally, although they need grass slightly longer than younger sheep.
We have found that they might take a couple of summers to put back enough condition to be converted into burgers and sausages, after their last lambing. Primitives tend not to put on any condition at all over the winter, be they young or old, so it's all down to plentiful grazing in the summer, and support to keep them going over the winter. And of course, Digestive biscuits ;D
Like you I hate marts and we don't sell any of our animals that way. For your older ewes, if you can get them fattened, then have them made into nice spicey sausages and sell them in that form - that way you know how they've died as well as how they've lived.
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Fattening for freezer seems the best step, but of course as soon as you decide that (or when they've started gaining weight ), someone will come along and offer them a good home :-).
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Hopefully got my ewe lambs going off on their 'summer holidays 'soon and the rest of the ewes will be in to lamb from this weekend so hopefully they'll get some let up. Grass is short but have haylage ad lib.
Found out this evening they really enjoy chopped fodder beet so they can have as much as they want of that. I've recently had 11 ton delivered!
I feel better from this as I was going along the put down thought :(
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The grass will soon start growing (we can only hope!) so I would put them out on that and fatten them up :-)
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If you do decide to eat them, don't think they'll only be fit for sausages. I currently have an older ewe in my freezer cut as a normal lamb would be and, although she is fattier than lamb, I have cooked it as normal and it's the best 'lamb' I've ever tasted.
Just make sure they've had a good summer at grass first then kill them before winter.
Good luck with whatever you decide to do x