Author Topic: Castlemilk Moorits (Read 5753 times)

tizaala · « **on:** September 13, 2011, 05:13:16 pm »

Have started the process of buying a starter flock of pedigree Castlemilk Moorits 7x 2year old ewes and 1x 5 year old unrelated ram . Has anyone else had experience of this breed ?
We intend to keep a few for the freezer every year as we understand they are slow maturing but very good flavoured if a bit on the small side.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Rosemary · « **Reply #1 on:** September 13, 2011, 07:53:39 pm »

Don't know much about them - but they are lovely. I hope you have success with them. Try your local RBST support group or Officer - either there will be other breeders or they may be able to help in some other way.

jaykay · « **Reply #2 on:** September 14, 2011, 08:19:50 pm »

Mmmm. We went to look at some when we were thinking about sheep. When they had to be gathered, they would neither come for a bucket nor be driven by a dog. The people sort of ran shouting with the sheep before them into the corner of a large shed and then dived on them!

We decided that life didn't need to be so difficult!

I don't know if this is typical but we were put off

Brucklay · « **Reply #3 on:** September 14, 2011, 08:33:59 pm »

Well I have only 3 weeks experience with 1. She is in with the Shetlands (which are really friendly, to the point that I get stalked) and she tags along side - admitidly I give a wee bit of hard feed in the morning which they all love and I have a plastic trough in a pen where I feed them and they all run ahead of me in the morning to get to the trough first - if anything needs doing that day I simply close a hurdle - job done. Another coming in a couple of weeks we'll see if it works with her!!!!

jaykay · « **Reply #4 on:** September 14, 2011, 08:44:33 pm »

I'm interested that your Shetlands come for feed and are tame? Did you start with them as lambs? I'm asking cos I'm having to sell my big sheep as i can't manage them alone. I wondered about something smaller that I could 'up-end' on my own but little things all seem wild to me (I have wild, hilly land and no trained dog). But if Shetlands can be trained to a bucket like my Rough Fells....

tizaala · « **Reply #5 on:** September 14, 2011, 09:18:39 pm »

Thanks for you'r help guys, It's my experience that most animals will sell their souls for a bucket of food once they get to know you,
The Moorit is such a handsome little beast , I'm told the best flavour developes at about 14 months and is more intense and a bit gamier than most breeds, realy looking forward to the chalenge

Brucklay · « **Reply #6 on:** September 14, 2011, 10:29:36 pm »

Hi Jaykay - well I was in your position a few months ago - after finding my lovely Jacob were just a bit too much for me to handle - catching, rounding, up, trimming etc I was reminded by OH that I would change if things were too much for me - I don't like to give in but did eventually decide on the easy life. We don't have much land but I do love keeping sheep and thought I would test the water with the Shetlands. I purchased 6 registered ewe lambs (stop laughing) and brought them from South Edinburgh closer to their natural habitat. On arrival they zipped around the paddock, when I was feeding the goats they showed interest, pen set up, popped some feed in and in they went - we now have 4 out of 6 that will happily be picked up and carried to the shed to 'do any duties', they have no bother with being penned in as I only close them in once in a while. They are a joy for someone like me who wants sheep but would if possible like them tame-ish. Saying that I am getting a dog soon from 'Dougal' and would like him to grow up with them and help me too (maybe he can hold the heptivac bottle). And to answer the question they didn't seem very tame when I picked them up - running around the pen - it was like the choice they made when food was involved - one day I'll get a video as proof

Anke · « **Reply #7 on:** September 14, 2011, 10:36:34 pm »

Quote from: jaykay on September 14, 2011, 08:44:33 pm

I'm interested that your Shetlands come for feed and are tame? Did you start with them as lambs? I'm asking cos I'm having to sell my big sheep as i can't manage them alone. I wondered about something smaller that I could 'up-end' on my own but little things all seem wild to me (I have wild, hilly land and no trained dog). But if Shetlands can be trained to a bucket like my Rough Fells....

Yes most sheep can be trained to the bucket (or rattling feedbag), and my shetlands (and larger crosses) certainly know about it.... they do not forget during the summer without feed either, but then here are odd tasks then as well (treating for flystrike etc), so they will come into a pen every so often anyway. Shetlands are also easy lambers! I can (wo)manhandle the tup very well myself too, but he has good horns on him...

If you are looking to buy some, most of them are kept in small flocks, so they already know about buckets, and it's very easy from then on.

Fronhaul · « **Reply #8 on:** September 15, 2011, 07:07:34 am »

I have four very tame Shetlands among our sheep. They are delightful. Another alternative among the smaller breeds would be my beloved Black Welsh Mountain sheep. Both our BWM rams will stand while we put a halter on them and the older ram will even tilt his head to assist in working the halter over his not insubstantial horns. And we have only had him for two weeks. Blinkers will confirm that Nevern, the baby of the rams, is easy to handle and he was halter trained more or less by accident. He had a day of escaping shortly after he arrived and each time came to find us. I tend to keep a halter in my pocket for emergencies and after two escapes and walks on the halter back to the field he was effectively halter trained by accident. There is a photo of Jay at http://www.blackwelshmountain.org.uk/2009-association-show-report with his breeder who is a fairly small lady.

HamishMcMurray · « **Reply #9 on:** September 15, 2011, 08:31:19 am »

We got our Shetlands as adults and they've become very tame over the year that we've had them. We can check them over and lift their legs to check hooves etc. without having to catch them as they'll come over to us when called and like to be made a fuss of. Even the more timid ones are easy to pen with a bit of food as incentive.

colliewoman · « **Reply #10 on:** September 16, 2011, 04:25:31 pm »

i recently got given 7 castlemilk moorit X shetland ewe lambs (still got to pick up 2 of them).
mine have gone from from vertical take off wildness to eat out of the hand and have cuddles in 10 days.
bribery 100% of the way

only one of them isnt as keen as the others to eat from the hand but she'll follow the bucket to the ends of the earth!