The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Livestock => Sheep => Topic started by: princesslayer on October 31, 2014, 07:28:22 am
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Ok, so reading some posts on here about slaughter weight and age a ram lamb can start tupping has got me in a bit of bother! We've currently got the tup in (a lamb) so hopefully will have some lambs next March/April.
Question is, should I castrate my male lambs? When do people usually slaughter their Jacobs? I've heard lots of people go over a year, but then will a ram lamb at 7-8 months be getting interested in his sisters/mothers?
I can separate them if necessary. How early are the ewes likely to come into season? Will a Jacobs ram lamb at 5-6 months be worth slaughtering?
And finally, if they are castrated, will it limit the slaughter weight they make?
Lots of questions, thanks in advance.
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Hi. I'm not a Jacob expert so I'll leave the growth rate bit to someone who knows. However ram lambs generally are testosterone charged at about 5 months..... separation recommended at by 16 weeks.
Castration shouldn't restrict finish weight but castrates can lay down fat earlier. If keeping over winter I would castrate.
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I've had a few Jacobs for a while, and my experience is that April born castrated lambs aren't worth killing until after Christmas - preferably a year old. One year I left a couple of ram lambs entire and although too small for the freezer, sold them as tups in October. They went straight into a flock of crossbred ewes and produced some cracking lambs. My Jacob shearlings ewes have lambed easily with no assistance and are very competent mothers. All of the above has been while using a Jacob tup, but this year I am trying a Hampshire on them, so that might change things.
Not related to your question, but using a Jacob tup on both Lleyn and Badger Face ewes has produced some excellent, fast growing lambs ready for slaughter in 6 months.