The Accidental Smallholder Forum

Livestock => Sheep => Topic started by: bigchicken on October 27, 2014, 08:39:22 pm

Title: breeding time
Post by: bigchicken on October 27, 2014, 08:39:22 pm
Today all the tups went in with there ewes, Black Shetland group tup and five ewes, Fawn katmogget group tup with six ewes, Castlemilk group tup and two ewes. The excitement never wanes here's to a good lambing. I'm a we bit early this year.
Title: Re: breeding time
Post by: Rosemary on October 27, 2014, 08:41:25 pm
Best of luck! We put Taylor in yesterday lunchtime and had three yellow bums this morning but I hae ma doots about about one of them; time will tell. Always an exciting time. :excited:
Title: Re: breeding time
Post by: Melmarsh on October 27, 2014, 08:45:29 pm
I have also put my GB ( golden balls) in with his girls. Poll Dorset ram and mix bred ewes. I too have one with yellow rear this am.  :excited:
Title: Re: breeding time
Post by: Anke on October 27, 2014, 10:07:57 pm
Well my boys are still on the wrong side of the fence, but it doesn't stop the girls wagging their tails from their side... I will be lambing late (outdoors in the field), so another month till the fun begins here. But they do seem to be ready for it now!
Title: Re: breeding time
Post by: beagh-suffolks on October 27, 2014, 10:10:50 pm
my lambing starts 24th december...roll on lambing :)
Title: Re: breeding time
Post by: Jamie12 on October 28, 2014, 12:59:53 pm
I have two out of 30 with yellow bums, which surprised me!
Title: Re: breeding time
Post by: waterbuffalofarmer on October 28, 2014, 05:02:17 pm
 I am picking up the ram I bought yesterday in two weeks time, as am rather busy.  :)
Title: Re: breeding time
Post by: bloomer on October 28, 2014, 05:05:47 pm
for many fine reasons, Rocky has to cool his heels till the 28th November before getting to play with his ladies...


fingers crossed i can keep them apart till then!!!
Title: Re: breeding time
Post by: Hellybee on October 28, 2014, 06:12:09 pm
We ended up keeping our three Lleyn boys for another year, they went in last week with 100 ewes, lots marked already. No ewe lambs being tupped, one as we don't like it really and two we ain't got a ram x
Title: Re: breeding time
Post by: Hellybee on October 28, 2014, 06:14:21 pm
Now starts the prep, bring it on, I adore lambing xx
Title: Re: breeding time
Post by: Anke on October 28, 2014, 07:44:00 pm
for many fine reasons, Rocky has to cool his heels


Well... my boys have to keep other parts of their body cool, not their feet though... ;D
Title: Re: breeding time
Post by: Porterlauren on October 28, 2014, 08:11:31 pm
Sunday is the day I split the ewes up into two mobs for tupping, already have a fair idea who's going to what but it might change on the day.

One lot going to a maternal shedding tup and the other to a pair of Charmoise for fat lambs. Will be good to see the results next April, i'm already praying for  :sunshine:

Got 700 to lamb indoors at work in February, always interesting to compare the two systems.
Title: Re: breeding time
Post by: Womble on October 29, 2014, 03:49:33 pm
Our tups went in on Monday.
 
Ace, our Zwartble tup has spent two days now french kissing two Z ewe lambs through the fence, who we are not planning to tup, whilst ignoring the two we put in the same field with him.  Meanwhile wee Calvin, the Shetland tup lamb we got from Bloomer has put in several hundred miles chasing the Manxs around their field (cue the Benny Hill music), but hasn't actually caught any of them yet. I have my doubts as to whether he'll be able to reach without a step anyway  :roflanim: .
 
By the way, do your tups smell?  Ace really stinks - a kind of musky smell, but he keeps rubbing his face against me when I go in the field, Mrs Womble has disowned me, and I've run out of clean clothes......  :innocent:
Title: Re: breeding time
Post by: Rosemary on October 29, 2014, 06:51:52 pm
I have my doubts as to whether he'll be able to reach without a step anyway  :roflanim: .
 

 I thought that about our bull last year but he managed just fine. Love will find a way  ;D
Title: Re: breeding time
Post by: Bramblecot on October 29, 2014, 06:53:39 pm
Our tup smells awful :o .  Even the ewes run away :roflanim:
Title: Re: breeding time
Post by: SallyintNorth on October 29, 2014, 11:33:25 pm
Tups smell of.., well, tups.
Title: Re: breeding time
Post by: Womble on October 30, 2014, 09:15:50 am
Yes Sally, but so do I!!  :dunce:
 
It's weird really. I've never noticed a tup smell before. OK, I've not got up close and personal with many, but for example until last week there were thirty blackface, texel and Beltex tups in one of our fields, and none of them whiffed at all.
 
Is it just at breeding season then, or will he pong all year?
Title: Re: breeding time
Post by: Hellybee on October 30, 2014, 09:34:29 am
 Very used to the smell now, don't mind it at all x
Title: Re: breeding time
Post by: SallyintNorth on October 30, 2014, 10:21:20 am
To my nose, tups always smell like tups.  But yes, very much more so at this time of year ;)
Title: Re: breeding time
Post by: Hellybee on October 30, 2014, 10:32:09 am
Deeply musky  ;D
Title: Re: breeding time
Post by: Anke on October 30, 2014, 01:14:53 pm
They will smell stronger if there are females about at this time of year... you want to go near my billy goat... ;D
Title: Re: breeding time
Post by: Hellybee on October 31, 2014, 07:31:22 pm
I've never had the pleasure of getting a whiff of billy goat, thankfully, what do they smell like.
Title: Re: breeding time
Post by: Jamie12 on October 31, 2014, 07:32:43 pm
My tup seems to have yellow crayon all over himself  ::) lol
Title: Re: breeding time
Post by: Buttermilk on October 31, 2014, 08:36:29 pm
I've never had the pleasure of getting a whiff of billy goat, thankfully, what do they smell like.

Rank, sweet, heavy and rank. 
Title: Re: breeding time
Post by: waterbuffalofarmer on October 31, 2014, 11:39:48 pm
I kept a Billy goat once and he stank, so much that my neighbour wouldn't go anywhere near the field he was in. :roflanim:
Title: Re: breeding time
Post by: Buttermilk on November 01, 2014, 07:43:19 am
I forgot to add that the smell sticks and takes some shifting.  After close encounters there is still a whiff about things even after going through the washing machine.
Title: Re: breeding time
Post by: Womble on November 01, 2014, 08:23:39 am
NOW you tell me!!  ;D

I have my doubts as to whether he'll be able to reach without a step anyway  :roflanim: .
I thought that about our bull last year but he managed just fine. Love will find a way  ;D

I still have my doubts!  He spent all of yesterday enthusiastically painting Ailsa's bum yellow, but from what we could see with binoculars (filthy pervs that we are!), part A was still a good 6 inches away from part B.

The wee fella's certainly up for it. I'm just worried I'm going to have to make him some stilts out of baked bean cans or something. Can someone put my mind at rest?  I'm currently trying to figure out a contingency plan if they all start repeating on us in a fortnight's time  :-\ .
Title: Re: breeding time
Post by: Rosemary on November 01, 2014, 08:47:54 am
Taylor's covered eight out of fifteen.  :fc:
Title: Re: breeding time
Post by: Womble on November 01, 2014, 08:49:06 am
Cool. How's his diary looking for a fortnight's time Rosemary?  :roflanim:
Title: Re: breeding time
Post by: Rosemary on November 01, 2014, 08:56:39 am
An arrangement could be made  :)
Title: Re: breeding time
Post by: Hellybee on November 01, 2014, 09:31:07 am
Put em on a bit of a hill, he won't need a step then  :innocent:   :roflanim:
Title: Re: breeding time
Post by: Jamie12 on November 01, 2014, 12:41:00 pm
Should I be worried my shearling has only tipped 3 out of 30 ewe lambs? Obviously they won't all be cycling yet, just panicking haha
Title: Re: breeding time
Post by: shep53 on November 01, 2014, 12:53:16 pm
Ewe lambs can be very slow to cycle depends on breed  / age / weight ,   if you do it again then a teaser is good for ewe lambs to tighten up
Title: Re: breeding time
Post by: Bramblecot on November 01, 2014, 12:57:43 pm
Mine aren't shy - yesterday he caught 2 at the hay rack while they were eating :o . 
Title: Re: breeding time
Post by: Jamie12 on November 01, 2014, 01:00:22 pm
Won't be using ewe lambs next year hopefully!. He is trying bless him ;D
Title: Re: breeding time
Post by: Rosemary on November 01, 2014, 04:10:00 pm
Mine aren't shy - yesterday he caught 2 at the hay rack while they were eating :o .

I think that's what sheep call foreplay  ;D
Title: Re: breeding time
Post by: Womble on November 03, 2014, 09:39:04 pm
So what's this then Rosemary!?   :o :o :o

(http://i81.photobucket.com/albums/j216/Blutack/TAS2011/ZB1.jpg)

(http://i81.photobucket.com/albums/j216/Blutack/TAS2011/ZB2.jpg)

Title: Re: breeding time
Post by: waterbuffalofarmer on November 03, 2014, 10:45:08 pm
I kept a breeding pair of zwartbles once, nowadays I just keep pedigree lleyns, they still remain one of my favourite breeds of sheep though.
Title: Re: breeding time
Post by: SallyintNorth on November 04, 2014, 07:05:52 am
Not what you think, Womble ;)   Or have you already named that ewe Linda Lovelace?  :roflanim: 

Rather like teenage boys, inexperienced tups, especially tup lambs, are initially not too fussy about the where or the when... ;)  Don't worry, he'll get the hang of it. :D
Title: Re: breeding time
Post by: Womble on November 04, 2014, 09:51:10 am
I think she may have been trying to barge her way in at the trough, rather than any sexual hanky panky. It did make me laugh though.

Mr Zwartble definitely knows what he's doing - it's wee Calvin the Shetland tup lamb I have my doubts about (sorry Bloomer!).
Title: Re: breeding time
Post by: bloomer on November 04, 2014, 09:55:11 am
poor calvin...

Title: Re: breeding time
Post by: Jukes Mum on November 04, 2014, 10:13:02 am
I thought the same about using a small tup on two of my big girls, but was told "where there's a willy, there's a way"  :roflanim: