[Sudanpan]

We've been thinking of maybe getting some stores to take on from now until the end of the summer. This would be as a method of having an initial short term stint at keeping some sheep, get some lamb in the freezer to provide variety from the pork (!)    and get the field grazed.


In our local agric store there is a for sale notice for some jacob x texel stores - entire males and 1 female. Before I give the contact number  call I was after some advice about what to look for/ask about the lambs. Would it be a problem having entire ram lambs until the autumn? Apart from the grass should we provide anything with respect to supplementals? Presumably a lick would be needed? We would be using a combination of stock fencing on 2 sides of the enclosure, with electric sheep fencing for the other 2 sides.


Anything else I should consider?


Many thanks
Tish 

[Anke]

I wouldn't go for entire males, especially not in combination with a female. If you go for ONLY the boys than that should be fine - but they should not be close to any females, as that means they will start to fight. Not sure if Jacob x txl have horns, but probably do. I would foresee some blood in the summer.... You would also need to clip them, give booster shot of Heptavac, worm/fluke treat possibly...
 
 
I would look around for new-season lambs, or castrated hoggs/yearling lambs. Less hassle, no  possibility of taint.

[Foobar]

Wouldn't jacob x texel stores have gone fat by the end of the summer?

[SallyintNorth]

That's great, Tish - you will love your own homegrown lamb 

However... electric fencing with horned sheep with their testicles on... not sure I would.

For your first foray into sheep I think I would stick to wethers.

Not only must you keep entire males from tupping their sisters, but also from fighting, escaping and upsetting your neighbours when they tup his/her ewes...  not to mention what happens if there is a disease outbreak and we all get put on standstill.  (It can happen, happened our first year on the moorland farm.  No live movements except direct to slaughter - a lot of people got stuck with increasingly hormonal tup lambs...)

Sorry to pee on your fireworks, but in my view it would be better to be a little more patient and wait for the right sheep to come along, than dive in too hastily and find yourself with problems.


Once you do get some, they shouldn't need much if anything besides grass and flystrike prevention, depending on where they came from.  Keep an eye out for runny bums, worm if indicated.  Especially be vigilant for dark dry dirty bums early in the spring, it could mean coccidiosis, which is a swift and virulent killer.  If we get another cool wet summer, ask locally if you should fluke them.  If they seem listless at any time, consider a mineral drench.  But if they've had a good start and your grass is good, they should just grow. 

Some will advise vaccination - you could give them Ovivac-P or Heptavac-P if you wanted.

Flystrike prevention from whenever the fly season starts - probably fairly early where you are. 

They will need to learn about the electric - is there another fence beyond it, because wee lambs can often get through without really feeling much, something about their little pinpointy feet...  

If it's the elecrified netting, then you'll need to avoid horned sheep entirely.  If it's wires, personally I would still avoid horned sheep but others may have different experience to share.

Just seen the other posts - I had assumed you to mean you were buying 2013-born lambs?  If you are looking at 2012-born, then you want a primitive/native/hill sheep that takes two year to mature, such as Shetland, Swaledale.  A 2012-born commercial type such as a Texel should, as foobar says, have been away fat before now.  And as Anke says, you'll need to clip their fleece off if this is their second summer.

[Sudanpan]

I knew it was a good idea to post my question 


I had sort of assumed that the advertised lambs would be this year's ones, it would have been a question I would have asked - honest!    We are after this year's lambs, with the idea of just fattening them over the summer.


Good point on the horned variety - of course it makes perfect sense not to combine horned sheep with 'leccy netting, wasn't thinking straight    might've been a tad excited at the prospect 


Many thanks for the input - will sit on hands for now 


Tish 

[Anke]

It's the word "stores" which means they are store lambs, not quite ready for fat sales yet. You will need to look out for "new season lambs", but more likely to get orphan/cade lambs, not sure what they are callled in other parts of the country.

[SallyintNorth]

 

Anke's just posted - hereabouts they're lambs when they were born in the current year, hoggs when they were born the previous year.  They become shearlings when they're clipped.