The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Community => Events => Topic started by: ZacB on September 12, 2019, 11:58:58 am
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Anyone in attendance???
Planning on attending both days out of interest more than anything. As an owner of Hamps attending to see the showing of that breed plus sale prices, also interested in the cattle sections for future reference.
Good luck to anyone showing / selling livestock at this event.
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We are going on Saturday - mostly for poultry. Won't be buying any cattle or sheep this year unfortunately bit need to show them to kids. They are going to be some really interesting animals around.
:chook: :cow: :goat:
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Too far for us and anyway there is only ONE multihorned Hebridean sheep in the catalogue. We have found that sheep bought so far south do not always thrive up here. We go for the Ancient Type Hebs, most of which are found in the north.
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Too far for us and anyway there is only ONE multihorned Hebridean sheep in the catalogue. We have found that sheep bought so far south do not always thrive up here. We go for the Ancient Type Hebs, most of which are found in the north.
And I don't think the multihorned was even forward. Interesting what you say about south bred sheep not thriving up north Fleecewife. I think it is a shame that multihorns are frowned on especially in the show ring. Surely, the carcase and fleece are more important than the number of horns?
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I don't know if the same is true with Hebs as it is with Manxes, but I have to say, having kept a few Manxes, I can understand the preference for the symmetrical swept-back single pair of horns. When I had pasture which suited headflies, I found the Manx lambs to be the most likely to damage horns, get flies laying eggs in horns, etc....
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Too far for us and anyway there is only ONE multihorned Hebridean sheep in the catalogue. We have found that sheep bought so far south do not always thrive up here. We go for the Ancient Type Hebs, most of which are found in the north.
And I don't think the multihorned was even forward. Interesting what you say about south bred sheep not thriving up north Fleecewife. I think it is a shame that multihorns are frowned on especially in the show ring. Surely, the carcase and fleece are more important than the number of horns?
Interesting that multihorned tup wasn't forward. We went to the Scottish HSS Breed Show and Sale at Lanark and bought ourselves a nice 4 horned tup lamb and 2x4 horned ewe lambs. We wouldn't normally buy tup lambs as it is so difficult to tell how they will turn out, but the other 2 4 horned tups in the sale were not so good, so we took a chance.
With the multihorned Hebs, their lack of popularity is historical within the breed society, where two or three individuals took a dislike to multihorns and, being influential they made sure to warn against them and mark them down in the show ring. We have gone back to the pre-showing Ancient Type, which goes down well in Scotland, trying to preserve them as a rare breed within a now slightly less rare breed!
With Hebs, fleece for craft use is not important really as most folk don't like it, too coarse. In the ring, jet black and long is now the norm, whereas in the past grey and brown within the darker colour was the norm. The carcase for meat is more incidental than in many breeds. Hebs are light boned and small, so it's the quality not quantity which is desirable. There are a few large flocks around, bred for meat, mainly using unregistered stock which can be as large or small as you like. They cross well too. Multihorns have a slightly lighter, leggier body, so maybe that is one of the points against them - 2 horns look meatier!
Did you buy anything at MM harmony?
Sally, you soon learn how to handle multihorns to protect their horns when small, but ewe lambs do tend to break their horns, especially in fences, tups rarely. We haven't seen fly strike on broken horns other than in a Shetland tup, but then we clean up the blood if there is a broken horn. We did have two tup hoggs which got their side horns caught together and twisted them out of their heads. Gruesome! One died, one survived, both needed expensive vet care. That could have happened in 2 horned sheep too.
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Lol, it wasn't me damaging their horns, little Manxes are minxes and get into everything! So yes, they might damage a horn in a fence and you can clean that up - but you can't catch them loose in the field, they're too fly, so that means bring the family in if you can, or the whole flock, every time one of the little hooligans has an adventure. Lots of extra work. And it wasn't just damage either; the multihorn types seemed to have more cracks and crannies within the horns, and you'd get flies laying eggs there too, without any blood to attract them.
My point was that multihorn does create work, so I can quite see why people would select for 2 symmetrical swept-back horns. I select for ewes who don't need help lambing, I select out bad feet, prolapses, bad mothering, duff quarters - anything which makes it more work to rear healthy sheep. So, whilst I applaud retaining ancient characteristics, I can also see and understand the drivers to eradicate one which creates some additional work and need for care, especially one without any apparent benefit - apart from genetic diversity of course.
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No we didn't buy at Melton. I have some Hebs already and some Gladstone ewes! I have a four horned tup to use this year.
I don't have a problem with two horned Hebs but from someone new to the breed it was obvious to me that the "breed standard" has been pushed by the show ring. I can quite see Sally's point but if you have a good 4H or a silver fleece it shouldn't put you off showing.
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No we didn't buy at Melton. I have some Hebs already and some Gladstone ewes! I have a four horned tup to use this year.
I don't have a problem with two horned Hebs but from someone new to the breed it was obvious to me that the "breed standard" has been pushed by the show ring. I can quite see Sally's point but if you have a good 4H or a silver fleece it shouldn't put you off showing.
Congratulations on having Gladstone ewes ;D ;D harmony. Did you buy them from us? I hope they are thriving with you.
Whilst showing has caused a change in the breed 'type', the HSS does not actually have a breed standard. Joyously we have managed to hang onto a 'breed description', perhaps the only one still found since the Soays had theirs changed to a standard by RBST. This means the variations are all allowed, as long as they are described. Weirdly, under EU rules, no individuals can be deregistered, no matter if they don't even look remoteley like other members of the breed - this applies to all breeds. The rigid preferences for a certain type are upheld by a small handful of judges, irrespective of the description.
There was, and maybe still is, a 'diversity' class for Hebs at Westmorland Show, begun by David Kinsman. I no longer go to shows, but the more diverse types on show to the public the better. My point of view when we did show was always "well someone has to come last" :roflanim:
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No, they came from Jenny Willis and yes, they are doing fine. There isn't a diversity class at Kendal anymore.
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Oh I'm so glad she found a good home for them :thumbsup:
That was a shortlived experiment then at Westmorland :(