The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Livestock => Sheep => Topic started by: SallyintNorth on August 09, 2011, 09:24:41 am
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A few other threads have been highlighting that it is not just Dorsets who can lamb unseasonally.
I would love to find out from people actually doing it what months various breeds of sheep can produce lambs - and in what parts of the country /world. I do mean naturally, not using sponges, AI etc.
Our earliest lamb ever was 4th Jan. Texel on texel. Our Charollais ewes and tups certainly start being interested in sex much earlier in the year than the Texel types but we haven't let them do anything about it so I can't say when they would have produced. (Yet.... we still have the tups with the hoggs and a small number of ewes with lambs.... Must get them moved!)
We are in north Cumbria, about 20 miles from the Scottish border.
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hampshires can produce 2 lambings per year that is one thing the society advertise ours were born in dec 18th and 28 th dont know about sponging they were in lamb when we bought them :sheep:
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When sponging hampshires beware if they don't get in lamb with that service, they are unlikely to get in lamb that year again. But they will produce again the following year. The sponging screws up their cycle for the year you use it.
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Portlands - as primatives do it all year round and wherever ::)
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Portlands and Dorsets (horns and polls - not downs) are the only breeds that will genuinely breed at ANY time of year. Other breeds are all affected by day length and seasonality to some extent, although it is more marked in the hill breeds.
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Jacob showing people usually time things so lambs arrive as early as possible in January. That seems to hold true across the UK.
I have a breeding record of a Jacob ewe that lambed in October in Pembrokeshire.
And I now know White Welsh Mountain can happily lamb in August. Father appears to be a badger faced ram and Mother and Daughter are doing well. SW Wales again.
Black Welsh Mountain I was always told come into season later than their white cousins although if they are kept under lowland conditions I am not sure that this will still hold good. Will check with one of the lowland breeders when I get the chance.
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To add another primitive to the list; I got the ram (Jacobs) in last year in March-April to service my Shetland ewes and had the last lamb born on 27th August.
mab
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I have had Feb, April (when they were meant to!), June, July, September and October lambs out of my Shetlands, Cheviot x Shetlands, Hebrideans and I also know of Soays up to the same nonsense. I am in Perthshire. We've eaten the escapologist tup now as he got into the whole ewe flock including my pure texel ewes the day before the tups went out last year and that was the nail in the coffin. Before we ate him (he was under withdrawal for something) he managed a final fling with the ewe hoggs and produced 5 daughters just a few weeks ago. ::)
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I don't know of Rough Fells lambing any earlier than March but the weather here is so foul that may just be good management on the shepherds' part. Certainly the ewes aren't interested in Aug or really Sept, possibly Oct but we put tups in traditionally in bonfire night.