The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Livestock => Sheep => Topic started by: andywalt on September 10, 2010, 11:21:52 pm
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It will be great to see the results
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Results for what?
For wool, for meat production, for an easy smallholder sheep?
We often used to have Texel crosses, and they were great for meat and being quite easy to handle. Suffolk's were hard to handle, but still good for meat. Bleu du maine were interesting for fleece, and ok for meat production- better when crossed with something like the texel or suffolk.
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There's not enough information in the question to give a true answer. The reason there are so many breeds is that each one has developed in a certain environment, geographical area or for a specific purpose - meat, wool, beauty, hardiness, as terminal sires, to graze hillsides, all sorts of reasons, so there are now sheep available to fit every niche you can think of. For example, Soay will not give huge carcases, but they taste very special and can fetch a high price in certain restaurants. If you run them on very rich reseeded pastures they will scour horribly, but if you want a rough, rocky hillside grazed they will be great. They produce only tiny amounts of wool, but they can be roo'ed by hand and if left will shed their wool unaided - very useful in some circumstances. So it's horses for courses.
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we have Lincoln Longwools and Wensleydales, neither of which are on the list.
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ok i think i need to change it
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comments taken on board, ive changed it to be more specific and more relevant to me, it will be very helpful
thanks to everyone that ive spoken too its been a real help being here !!!
andy
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Charollais - they are easy lambing and grow like topsy and are seriously solid sheep. That would be my choice if meat is your aim.
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just vote you miseable gits! its only a game.
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Im glad you said that, hahahha all the experiance and no one wants to play !!!!!
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Well I have played!
If you are a smallholder and are looking for a good all round profit from say a maximum of 20 ewes you need to think 3 ways....meat, wool, lambskin
You have 3 products and need to make the most of ALL of them.
Now the serious meat only breeder will see the wool and skin as a by product but when you only have a small flock and the ewes you start with are cross breeds such as Andy seems to have you need to make the most of everything you have!
Suffolk cross wool is seriously good stuff and can be used for knitting wool, superb posh cushion stuffing, or needle felt. So here is product 1.....
We are processing loads of wool like this at the moment and will pay 50-60p per kg for really good clean wool of this type.
Skin....again you have a great product that will sell once cured for a minimum of £45....cost about £20 to tan at Fenland Sheepskin
Meat...marketed direct for £60 per half a lamb......
Therefore its not quite as simple but depends on what you want and like!
Oh and Andy....there are 3 types of Dorset.....Horn, Poll and Down......and I would go Dorset Down every time ;)
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wow I did think the wool was a by product, I thought it was only worth £1.00 !! so what happens if you ask the abottoir for the fleece and skin? do they put up there prices? I thought they took that as part of the bargain?
That was very educational, at the end of this poll if everyone votes I will tell you what Ram I have decided on.
More info from others will be appreciated very much
andy
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Sorry I can't vote as I'm a primitive rare breeds person and you only have two in the list. I would vote Hebridean if it was on there :D Best sheep ever :)
The only things you can get back from the abattoir are the carcase, the horns and the skin - the fleece is what you shear off yourself. For skin and horns ask about it before you take them in.
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and we have shetlands - agian ot on the list. we like their meat, their fleeces are brilliantly soft - and can often be roo'd therefore saving on cost of shearing, and good size for the children to handle......
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Hebridean is now on the list, yes I meant the skin...does the abottoir use them or are they disguarded? anyone know?
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Shetlands now on the list, come on keep them coming, why are you not voting?
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no ouessants on the list either you could put a hundred breeds on there and still not everyone would be satisfied. just take a look at the number of different breeds people on this forum keep and you have your answer.
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Real Shepherds keep Llyens ;)
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Ive added the lleyns but as for ouessants I dont think they will be a match with suffolks as they are really a miniture not really good for meat etc?
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now there you go with an assumption. lean dark sweet tasting meat they taste yummy. ;D
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that does surprise me and I will accept with my ignorance if thats correct. I thought that the breed would have been focused on staying small like any minuture or toy animal.
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Hi Andy. OK I've voted and that makes 11 of us ;D. I have put Hebridean but in fact I would do the cross the other way around so that I would put a Suffolk cross tup to Heb ewes - they are milky, thrifty, long-lived and excellent mothers who can raise large crossbred twin lambs for the meat trade, with meat which is leaner and tastier than the Suffolks. The cross gives white, tight wool so the skins are excellent for tanning.
For skins at the abattoir, they usually sell them to fellmongers (I think that's what they are called) and they get a fair bit for them. Or at least that was the case, but most skins went to Russia and I believe that trade has dwindled recently. I once got a cheque for my skins (I think about £5 each) but had to return it as I get mine back and send them to Fenland for tanning. So clearly the money came back to the owner, or at least some of it. I've no idea what happens now. Some abattoirs may have brine baths in which they can soak your skins for you, but if not you must collect them almost as soon as the sheep have been killed, rush home and salt them straight away, otherwise the wool slips. I can give you the details of how to salt skins if you want.
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that does surprise me and I will accept with my ignorance if thats correct. I thought that the breed would have been focused on staying small like any minuture or toy animal.
oops another assumtion the ouessant is neither miniature or toy. the words smallest ( non miniaturised breed) they are naturally very small if you see their island home and the numbers in which they died trying to survive the climate you will understand why. ideally adapted to the climate sheep on the island can be traced back to the bronze age I believe.
they remain one of the few largely unimproved breeds of sheep left in Northern / central europe ad by unimproved I mean that they were not bred by selection for an excess of either meat or fleece. The islanders men were mainly mariners and away at sea for many years it was the women of the island ( and a true matriachal society where the women proposed marriage etc) who sold the meat which is renknowned for its good eating being considered pré salé. their predominantly black fleece is ideal for felting and can be rooed for fine wool was their supply for the traditional black attire of the islanders. sorry can't vote no ouessant on the list:-)
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We have had the skins/pelts back free from one abattoir, however we were having the lambs slaughtered for ourselves rather than selling them to the abattoir. When we have sold the lambs to the abattoir we have had to pay £5.00 to have the skins back. Each time have had to wait to collect them so we could get them salted quickly.
Have voted - and am of course biased as I have Zwartbles sheep - they have attractive dark brown fleeces with pale tips so do make for attractive lambskins. A goodsized breed with good maternal qualities and their confirmation, whilst not ideal butcher conformation, does generally make for easier lambing - have had feedback from a nearby farmer that bought one for his commercial flock that none of the black lambs needed assistance. The meat is a leaner meat, but still with a good flavour and texture, and kids always seem to love it because of it not over fatty. Lambs kill out out at over 20 - 22kg easily at 4 -5 months and can be taken to a much bigger weight if wanted without going over fat. They are a nice sheep to have about too!
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ok - just me - love Jacob's - possibly not the best all round breed (maybe they are) but I just love them - not on the list!!!!
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Great.....Ouessants and jocabs on the list, great history on the Ouessants lets have some more........ any other sheep not on the list that you think will be a good match with the suffolk!!!
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anyone left to vote? any breeds that are not on list that should be?
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Portlands - Devilishly handsome Rams, good eating, cracking fleece and quirky red lambs. what more could you ask for? ;D
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What about Ryelands? They'd get my vote ;D :sheep:
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rylands and portlands on the list ready for your vote ;D
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Hello there. New to this site but not that new to keeping a few sheep, pigs, chooks etc. I notice that Wiltshire Horns are not on your list. Great meat producers. Great mothers who will lamb easily. Great looking. The best bit about them for me is no wool so no shearing and flystrike very uncommon in the breed. And if you like sheep with huge horns then these are the guys for you.
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This is like big brother for rams
5.45am the Suffolk and the southdown is eating grass
5.55pm the shetland and the hebredian are running at each other and banging heads
6.05 pm the Suffolk is still eating grass but the southdown has regurgitated and is chewing the contents of his rumen.
Southdown, please tell big brother who you want to nominate this week
"Im going to nominate the Suffolk because I suspect him of having a high faecal egg count and he's contaminating the pasture"
and your second nomination?
"nothing personal but it has to be the 4 horned hebredian, those horns are indimidating and they keep poking my rear end when the farmer puts us through the race"
Hebredian please leave the big brother farm, you have been evicted.
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;D :sheep: :sheep: :sheep:
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wiltshire Horn on the list, vote please
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Hi all thanks for all the voting, great to see all the breeds you all have, Texel was easily the winner, I have actually got a Pedigree Southdown lined up for my ladies.
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How do you set up those vote things andy? There a laugh.
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Humfrey
hahah yes, instead of posting a new question you click on new pole, have a go
Im sur it will be amusing
andy