91

Sheep / Re: No shedding when Charolais ram brought in to a flock of Wiltshire Horn

« Last post by Richmond on May 19, 2025, 08:27:21 am »

There's no guarantee that putting a non shedder with a shedder will produce shedding offspring. We currently have a non shedding ram with our Wiltshire Horn ewes. Results so far are mixed, shedding wise. Based on last year's lambs some of which we've kept, we have one who partly sheds, one who doesn't and one who does. This year's lambs are still quite young (born in March) so it's hard to know what they will turn out like. It's all a bit of a lottery. I think you can only guarantee shedding offspring if you put a shedder to a shedder.

92

Introduce yourself / free pest control by shooting in the south east

« Last post by bottletopbill on May 19, 2025, 07:45:59 am »

Hi I am retired who now loves to shoot pest  for free and to donate the meat to other's.
I have all the qualification's to supply game and deer  meat to any one.
many areas considered,
I am also a freemason so i am trustworthy

93

Coffee Lounge / Re: Well what can I say.

« Last post by Rosemary on May 19, 2025, 06:58:26 am »

Welcome back, kaz. Glad life is looking after you on your new smallholding.

We've also retired - all sheep and cattle gone. We have six hens, plus two dogs, two ponies and four cats. And we graze some BFL for a friend, which is nice. If any are sick or lame, I just phone him 
The garden's been benefitting from the "spare" time though and is starting to look like, well, a garden

94

Sheep / No shedding when Charolais ram brought in to a flock of Wiltshire Horn

« Last post by Devonshiredumpling on May 18, 2025, 11:27:45 pm »

After breeding Wilshire horn for six years, we decided to introduce a Charolais Ram to our flock to bulk up the lambs. This was a big success, although we found that the new lambs were less resistant to winter weather on account of their bare head and ears.
We had been told that the lambs would be self shedding due to a dominant gene, but they did not shed a single hair. They all had to be dagged the following year, and we had to spend a fortune on a shearer in May (when we finally managed to get one).
We have decided against keeping any of the ewe lambs for breeding. But at least the lambs do reach finishing weight in 18 months instead of three years!

95

Coffee Lounge / Well what can I say.

« Last post by kaz on May 18, 2025, 03:53:42 pm »

I’ve popped back after a few years which have been very up and down to say the least.
We’ve moved to a smaller smallholding so we can carry on with what we enjoy even though we are both retired. We are now based in Carmarthenshire.
Ryelands are now down to eight, 1 ram and 7 ewes. We lost over the winter our Balwens 2 wethers who grazed the rough land hence the advert for some replacements.
Doggies 1 labrador and three golden retrievers and assorted chickens.
Life is easier for us with less land and far better sheds than before.
Hubble hasn’t downsized his tools though, he seems to have acquired more.
Hopefully I can pop in more often  to see what’s what.

96

Marketplace / Wanted pet lambs

« Last post by kaz on May 18, 2025, 02:05:23 pm »

Wanted pet ewe lambs of the smaller breeds ideally Balwens, Shetlands or similar. No horns. Carmarthenshire area.

97

Announcements / New diary post: Anniversary / Birthdays / Openings

« Last post by TAS Bot on May 18, 2025, 10:34:45 am »

A new TAS diary entry has been posted: Anniversary / Birthdays / Openings

98

Introduce yourself / Re: Hello from North Cornwall

« Last post by chrismahon on May 18, 2025, 09:14:24 am »

Hello Blue Feather and welcome to the forum from a rather hot today SW France. We used to keep a couple of Jacobs- the 2 horn variety, just to keep the lawn down and then fill the freezer. Only chickens now.

99

Introduce yourself / Re: Hello from North Cornwall

« Last post by arobwk on May 17, 2025, 05:48:59 pm »

Hello and welcome from mid-Cornwall

100

Wildlife / Re: Swallows'25

« Last post by arobwk on May 17, 2025, 04:01:20 pm »

I haven't really been looking out for, but was at one of my gardening clients last Thurs near Antony, North-east Cornwall and there seemed to be just one Swallow and just one House Martin scraping the sky over the old farm-yard.  So nice to see them back.