The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Livestock => Sheep => Topic started by: mark@farmhouse on March 21, 2012, 09:45:34 pm
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hi all, just recently got some heb ewes and gimmers that are in lamb to charollais tup has anybody got any experience of this and if so was it it good or bad not sure if there may be lambing difficulties and have to assist due to size of lamb especially with gimmers as its their 1st lamb .
any advice welcome
thanks
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bet you will get 80% charollais tup size rather than heb when they due? keep us informed.
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they are supposed to start march 26th what aree chances of having nice easy straight forwared lambing
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er... NIl?.... been lambing 30 years now... still waiting for a straightforward lambing
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oh well here's hoping, what is concencious do you think the heb's will manage ok with the charollais being that much larger
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its a tough choice... don't overfeed but if you underfeed you may well end up with weak lambs and no milk. give the ewes plenty of time if possible to open up as much as possible, get plenty of lambing gel and don't be shy of using it. I would also suggest you get some flunixin/finadyne to give any ewes that you've had to help or has produced a whopping great lamb. and Long acting penicillin for any ewe you assist. also get a head loop to assist in pulling lambs out - Big lambs are notorious for heads going back or head only presentation. DO NOT PULL TOO HARD! and make sure you pull with the most grip.. IE both legs and a head together if possible and not just by one leg sorry didn't mean to preach you probably know all this anyway
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thanks ian no i not experinced at all and all advice is greatly welcomed
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Heb x Charolais is one of the usual crosses. Hebrideans, along with the other primitives, have a larger pelvic exit in comparison to their size than other types so tend to birth crossbred lambs more easily than you would expect. Having said that, it would be sensible to get yourself some lambing experience before they lamb so you know what is normal and what is not, then what to do if you do need to intervene. When are they due to lamb?
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they are due next week march 26th and for the next 3 weeks after that although there are only 12 of them
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We find the Charollais relatively easy lambing - very fine, light fleece helps keep the lambs slippery, and they seem to be born rather slight and get solid as they grow. I like 'em! They always seem to have loads of get-up-and-go, and like their food and know where to find it, too. :thumbsup:
The only thing we have to watch is if they are born into cold wet or windy weather and the ewe hasn't got them well sheltered and doesn't lick them vigourously and quickly, and maybe doesn't let them feed straight away if she's a first-timer, then they can founder through getting chilled, being so thin-skinned. So we bring in anyone looking likely to lamb if the weather is expected to be unkind.
Our ewes are commercial Texel-type and North Country Mules, not Hebs, mind. I don't know how the pelvic opening compares between ours and Hebs. Swaley Mules are pretty roomy, Texels less so, especially gimmers.
Good luck!
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Keep your fingers crossed that the lambs have the thick birth coat of the Heb rather than the thin skin of the Charollais. Heb lambs too are full of get up and go so the cross lambs should be good from that point of view. :thumbsup:
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i think you will only have problems with the well grown ram lambs with a bit of horn pertruding. and big heads the mix you got is a great mix. our mix was with shetland and a charollais tup and found only the big rams with horns to be trouble. all others were fine with the odd exception