The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Livestock => Sheep => Topic started by: rochvima on October 10, 2011, 01:19:31 pm
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I have a Ryeland tup which i was given earlier this year.
Can anyone advise whether it would be suitable to use it as a tup with my 5 texel cross and 8 suffolk mules or should i use my charolais tup?
Thanks :)
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I have no experience of Rylands so hopefully someone who does will be along soon.
What I can tell you is that (assuming the ewes are good stock) you would produce good, well-muscled, lean and fast-growing commercial lambs using your Charollais tup.
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No problem with using a Ryeland tup on those ewes - you will get perfectly good butcher's lambs. They may not grow quite as fast a charollais sired lambs, but they will be pretty good all the same.
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My ryeland tup goes with a couple of crosses I have including a texel cross and the lambs are stonking, they are bigger and grow at a faster rate than my pure bred ryelands
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they are bigger and grow at a faster rate than my pure bred ryelands
They will do - its hybrid vigour at work.
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they are bigger and grow at a faster rate than my pure bred ryelands
They will do - its hybrid vigour at work.
That was what I was trying to say but have an awful headache and couldn't remember my words properly
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I would use the charolais.
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I'd use the Ryeland ;D
Why not do a "taste test" and use both rams each with half the flock?
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I have used a Ryeland tup on Mules and other large ewes, merely because I had one along with my pedigree Ryeland ewes, and the Ryeland Sheep Society said what a wonderful terminal sire the Ryeland was.
I didn't do it again, as although I got perfectly acceptable lambs, they didn't make the weights you get from a Suffolk or a continental ram.
So, as you've got a Charollais, I would definitely use it. There's no point in using a smaller ram and ending up with smaller lambs.
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I have used a Ryeland Tup on Scottish mules and the lambs were first class, grew very well and the meat was super.
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I agree, the Ryeland produces good lambs, but they will never be as big as those from a Charollais and so will never fetch as much when fat.
So if you are producing lambs to get a return, and you have the choice of 2 rams, it makes sense to choose the ram that will produce the most profitable lambs.
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So if you are producing lambs to get a return, and you have the choice of 2 rams, it makes sense to choose the ram that will produce the most profitable lambs.
Surely it depends on the market to which you are selling? Yes, the supermarkets will want a particular size / weight / type but other markets may even pay a premium for rare breed lamb.
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So if you are producing lambs to get a return, and you have the choice of 2 rams, it makes sense to choose the ram that will produce the most profitable lambs.
Surely it depends on the market to which you are selling? Yes, the supermarkets will want a particular size / weight / type but other markets may even pay a premium for rare breed lamb.
FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT! ;D (This should alert you to the fact that I am about to be deliberately and mischievously provocative.)
Okay, you guys, you can't have it both ways. One way you get all uppity if people try to sell anything other than pedigree and registered meat as 'rare breed' or named breed meat, now when it suits you it's okay to market the mongrel offspring of a crossbred ewe as rare breed. ;) :D
(You know I luvs ya Rosemary :-*)
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Nothing against crossing the Ryeland over smaller breeds, but I don't see the point of using them on large commercial ewes which willto the right tup produce good commercial lambs which can be sold well through the ring. Especially when the OP has a charolais tup anyway. Putting those ewes to a Ryeland is a backwards step. They wouldn't be rare breeds either, they'd be mongrels, who would the specialist market be?
If you want specialist rare breeds then sell the cross ewes for a fortune and buy something less main stream ;D
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lol Sally you posted while I was trying to write my tactful reply, ha ha. I agree with you, you cannot have it both ways.
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Sorry, my post wasn't clear - I appreciate that these particular lambs would be mongrels. ;D I was thinking generally about the Ryeland and other rare breeds - appropriately and honestly marketed, of course.
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If it produces good tasting meat does it really matter if it is pure breed or crossbreed (or mongrels as it has been put)
Aren't we striving to make a difference to what we eat?
Gosh I am in a one tonight ;D
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If it produces good tasting meat does it really matter if it is pure breed or crossbreed (or mongrels as it has been put)
No, it doesn't matter but without pedigree breeding, it would be much more of a lottery.
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I do both and it brings a good balance. My cross bred lambs go for the freezer (and taste fab) and pure breds into the gene pool as long as the boys are castrated then life is good
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It was for this reason I went to market and brought a charallais, im sure you followed the post "Terminal Sire" I have a southdown and a romney and altho they would be ok......it wouldnt be as good as a charollais tups results, so very soon I will be splitting the flock, romney ewes to romney tup, pure bred, southdown tup to the small shetlands, and the charollais tup for the suffolks and texal x ewes.....
last year the results of my southdown who would be comparable to a ryeland (I think) the lambs altho nice and chunky where very small half the size of the others
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In commercial terms it always makes sense to use a ram of a bigger breed than the ewes. Its a waste of money feeding a big ewe through the winter just so that she can have little lambs. I do the opposite. My shetland ewes can survive the winter on not much food and their big suffolk lambs have plenty of summer grass to reach commercial weight by this tme of year. I just sold all my suffolk X shetland lambs for £62 each. Pure texels were only going for £70
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sold at market? or sold to your clients freezer?
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market