[Ladygrey]

Hi there,

My name is Jess and I recently bought in three ewes all with twins at foot to add to my other animals.
The ewes are each a different breed, 1 Wiltshire horn, 1 Suffolk mule and 1 Badgerface/shetland

Their lambs are all sired by a pedigree ryeland and all the lambs have taken on the ryeland looks.

However for next tupping I would like a faster growing breed, so that the lambs will be ready to go with my llyen/beltex/mule lambs.

The problem here is the wiltshire horn and the suffolk mule are both big, well built ewes and the badgerface is small, so I need a sire that can tup the smaller ewe aswell as the others but still produce an early maturing and chunky lamb!

Any breed suggestions?

I am able to use hampshire down ram and I really like this breed but not sure if he would be too big to cover the badgerface ewe

[SteveHants]

Wouldn't have thought the Hamps would have been too big, depending on the individual animal of course. If you want fast growing lambs, they say a Suffolk is hard to beat, but I'd get the NZ type, personally - smaller shoulders, longer, fine boned. However, if they were my ewes, I'd be erring towards a suftex.

[omnipeasant]

I would say that you cannot do better than a Ryeland ram. My lambs have been exceptional crossed to first cross badger faces. Better to have smaller lambs than a vets bill! Remember the heads can be quite big on a Hampshire lamb.

[jaykay]

A Hampshire or Southdown is what I was going to suggest.

Within reason, the lambs are born at a size related to their mother and then grow to a size related to both. So a Hampshire should not give the Badgerface too big a lamb I wouldn't have thought but it will grow well once out.

[SallyintNorth]

You could try a Charollais.  They're big sheep but the lambs are born small, slippery and very lively, eat well and grow well, and are very solid, so always weigh more than their Texel or Beltex peers of the same size.  It's beautiful, succulent, sweet-tasting lamb, too. 

I don't have personal knowledge of the Charollais on BFW but I can tell you that the Shetland Sheep Society at ScotSheep last week was promoting Beltex crosses on Shetlands and Charollais crosses on Shetlands.

Charollais should produce cracking fat lambs on your Suffolk and Wilts Horn ewes.

The only proviso I would give about using a Charollais tup is that if you get much in the way of cold wet weather at lambing time where you are, make sure you get a tup with plenty of wool on his face and head.  Otherwise you can get lambs which are really quite bare at birth, and they can't take a lot of cold wet weather if they're bare.  (The plastic lammacs work fine, though.)

[SteveHants]

My only reservation with Charolais is that they do tend to be a bit teeny and lack a coat when they are born, but they do throw some cracking lambs, you just have to get em through the first week...


My own favourite would be a Meatlinc - but I did wonder if it would be too big for the badgerface, hence my reccomendation, they are massive creatures.

[humphreymctush]

Any terminal sire breed would do, (suffolk, texel, charolais) My advice would be to scan the badger face/shetland when the time comes and if its going to have a single dont feed it much concentrates so the lamb doesnt get too big. A beltex would be a bit smaller and would give a lot of meat but a Suffolk is definately the fastest growing and the best looking. The other thing to do is select an individual ram within which ever breed that has relatively slim shoulders and a relatively fine head, but plenty of lenghth.

[Ladygrey]

Thankyou very much for all your helpful suggestions! Yes I have been told about the ryedale but it just doesnt suit my needs. I will see how these ryedale lambs turn out by the timemy other go to slaughter.

I have never had ewes before, instead I buy up lambs in March and rear them on good grass over the summer to be slaughtered and sold as meat in the autumn, these are either llyen/beltex lambs or mule/beltex lambs and do grow nice and fast and solid.

I have always loved the Hampshire down sheep and used to work with suffolk/hampshire down crosses, I am able to use a hampshire down ram but the suffolk also seems like a good option, however I dont know anyone with a Suffolk Ram nearby so will have to look.

Yes I think that is a good idea to scan her when the time comes, she is more the badger face size and looks pure badger face but is supposed to have shetland or hebridean in her.

Thanks, Jess

[VSS]

Another vote for Charollais. I wouldn't worry about the lack of wool at birth. So long as they have got full bellies and shelter they will be fine.

Good carcasses and easy lambing.

[Anke]

However if you only have got three ewes to get tupped you will have to either borrow an older boy or a tup lamb from someone locally - so see what's available nearby, or put your ewes in with someone else's flock . In both cases you will need to use what is available locally - near us that means either texel or suffolk....
 
I have used a texel tup on pure bred shetlands and the lambs look good - except I had to help at lambing more this year, as I has quite a few with one or two leg(s) back....

[SallyintNorth]

I have used a texel tup on pure bred shetlands and the lambs look good - except I had to help at lambing more this year, as I has quite a few with one or two leg(s) back....

Dystocia (malpresentation) can be hereditary, so if poss you might want to go to a different tup next year. 

I wouldn't say the Texel as a breed is prone to legs back, although thinking about it, I have certainly seen it here with Texel lambs in the past.

[Ladygrey]

Thanks I will try and find out what rams are in the area, I know there are hampshire down and I think Texel,

Charrolias is sounding good but I dont know of anyone around here with those sheep,

Working at different lambing places I also have seen wrong presentations mostly with texel sheep, however this may just be unluckyness as I dont have alot of experience with texels, ( I will ask my Texel friend)

[SteveHants]

If you want easy lambing, what you are looking for is a 'wedge' shaped ram (Charollais show this very well, if I had to think of an example) - avoid massive heads, wide shoulders and heavy-boned types.

[Anke]

I think my bad pesentations (and a vet call out for one that I just couldn't get out...) had more to do with a mild winter, possible a bit too good a feeding and I also used a new lick this year for the first time - one made specifically for in-lamb ewes...
 
Most farmers use texels and/or suffolks on mules or North Country cheviots round here.