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Author Topic: Giving Breeding ewes a year off??  (Read 8005 times)

tobytoby

  • Joined May 2011
  • north ayrshire
Giving Breeding ewes a year off??
« on: June 26, 2012, 02:17:12 pm »
Advice from the wise please;
After a lot of searching i have managed to find 3 ewe lambs and 5 x 4 year old breeding ewes all registerd white Ryelands to start me out on my grass cutting flock.
Would there by any logic/benefit in giving the breeding ewes a year off from lambing and waiting until next year to put the lambs and adult ewes together to a Ram?
I don't really want to start up another paddock to segregate a ram & have to find a friend for it - i had in my head that i could have ran the Ram with the ewes all year ( i know believe this is a bad idea??)
 

Fleecewife

  • Joined May 2010
  • South Lanarkshire
    • ScotHebs
Re: Giving Breeding ewes a year off??
« Reply #1 on: June 26, 2012, 02:32:21 pm »
There's no rule which says you have to breed your ewes every year  :) .  If you leave them unbred for a season just make sure you don't overfeed them in the winter - the usual quantities for in-lamb ewes would not apply to empty ones.
 
You should be able to find a tup to hire rather than buying one, if it wouldn't fit with your system  :sheep:
"Let's not talk about what we can do, but do what we can"

There is NO planet B - what are YOU doing to save our home?

Do something today that your future self will thank you for - plant a tree

 Love your soil - it's the lifeblood of your land.

khajou

  • Joined Aug 2010
Re: Giving Breeding ewes a year off??
« Reply #2 on: June 26, 2012, 02:43:31 pm »
You can give ewes a year off, but being Ryelands they tend to get fat easily which could make it difficult to get them back in lamb.


Contact the Ryeland Breed Society who should be able to give you a contact who could hire a ram to you. That way the lambs need only be kept away for a few weeks from their mums while the ram does his job. The beauty of hiring a ram is you get to use different blood lines and not get too attached when he has to move on after 2 years (otherwise he will be serving his daughters).

JMB

  • Joined Apr 2011
Re: Giving Breeding ewes a year off??
« Reply #3 on: June 26, 2012, 02:59:11 pm »
I'm fairly new to all this- our first year lambing this year- but we borrowed a tup from a friend (he lives too far away to just send back anytime) and we are running him with the ewes till probably about late August time. Then he'll come out, spend a bit of time with his pal in another field, and go back in with the ewes in November and come out again 6 weeks before lambing to give the ewes a break from the hustle and bustle of feeding time.
Some people think this in not a good idea- equally loads of people have said it'll be fine.
We're risking it. I'll let you know if we get any Christmas surprises!
J x
 
 

Haylo-peapod

  • Joined Mar 2012
Re: Giving Breeding ewes a year off??
« Reply #4 on: June 26, 2012, 03:11:04 pm »
I echo what Fleecewife says, especially with this being a small flock that I am guessing you would probably bucket-train?
 
If your ewes get too fat it can be difficult to get the condition off them and if they are too fat they 'may' not necessarily fall pregnant. If however you can manage their condition none of this should be a problem. (just read khajou's post - looks like this might be a bit of a challenge with Ryelands)
 
Just a thought, it's a little controversial and may not be a suitable option for Ryelands, but, depending on how well grown the lambs are, another possibility is to put the ram to the lambs and the ewes this year. If you might be interested in going down this route, carefully research the implications such as impact on the growth of the in-lamb ewe lambs, additional feeding requirements and potential mothering-up problems etc.
 
I also concur with FW and kajou that 'rent-a-ram' might be an easier option for a small flock.  ;D

SteveHants

  • Joined Aug 2011
Re: Giving Breeding ewes a year off??
« Reply #5 on: June 26, 2012, 04:46:16 pm »
I wouldnt give them a year off. Put them to a different ram if you cant find a Ryeland one.

Haylo-peapod

  • Joined Mar 2012
Re: Giving Breeding ewes a year off??
« Reply #6 on: June 26, 2012, 04:55:48 pm »
One further possibility...if you can bear to be parted from the older ewes for a while...is to send them off on their holidays to visit a nice Ryeland gentleman.  :eyelashes:
 
Just do a bit of homework to make sure you are happy with the sheepy hotel before you pack their bags.
 

lachlanandmarcus

  • Joined Aug 2010
  • Aberdeenshire
Re: Giving Breeding ewes a year off??
« Reply #7 on: June 26, 2012, 06:59:38 pm »
The important thing is that they should be mated as gimmers if they havent been as lambs. ie dont wait until their 3rd autumn to mate them, as they may find it harder to get in lamb. But once they have had that youthful lamb, its up to you if you miss a year, as long as you manage their condition.
All 18 of my ewes had this year off as lambing was just when I was having a major operation. All but one had lambs previously. I shall report back on their success rate in the coming year!

kaz

  • Joined Jul 2008
  • Ceredigion
  • Dust yourself off when life throws you down.
Re: Giving Breeding ewes a year off??
« Reply #8 on: June 26, 2012, 07:09:10 pm »
I could not put my Ryeland ewes to the tup because I had a serious operation last October and knew that I would not be able to cope with the stains of lambing on my body if things went wrong. I have not overfed my ewes over the winter and will be putting all ewes to the tups even the ones that should have lambed for the first time this year.
I have in the past given my ewes a rest year and they have given me some cracking lambs in the next lambing season.
The option is up to you. If you want to put them to the tup, the Ryeland Flock book Society can put you in contact with someone more local to you to maybe hire a tup ., or if you want give them a rest.
Penybont Ryelands. Ystwyth Coloured Ryelands.  2 alpacas, 2 angora goats, 2 anglo nubian kids, 3golden retrievers a collie and a red fox labrador retriever, geese, ducks & chickens.

Mallows Flock

  • Joined Apr 2012
  • Shepton mallet
    • Somerset Pet Sitting and Dog Walking
Re: Giving Breeding ewes a year off??
« Reply #9 on: June 26, 2012, 08:55:16 pm »
I run a ram with one of my mini flocks all year. they don;t come into season til Nov anyway so my lambing is always round late March April despite the fact he runs with them all the time.  A ram in the field also protects you field from thieves... people don't wanna risk getting in there with them! LOL!
Where are you? i know someone eho rents out their Ryeland rams in the South west!
From 3 to 30 and still flocking up!

tobytoby

  • Joined May 2011
  • north ayrshire
Re: Giving Breeding ewes a year off??
« Reply #10 on: June 27, 2012, 11:00:52 am »
I have had mixed views on running this years lambs with a ram, and with keeping the ram in permanently with the flock? ???

Fleecewife

  • Joined May 2010
  • South Lanarkshire
    • ScotHebs
Re: Giving Breeding ewes a year off??
« Reply #11 on: June 27, 2012, 11:30:22 am »
There's no right and wrong, tobytoby, just opinions and experiences.  You have to weigh them up yourself and make your own decision from that.
"Let's not talk about what we can do, but do what we can"

There is NO planet B - what are YOU doing to save our home?

Do something today that your future self will thank you for - plant a tree

 Love your soil - it's the lifeblood of your land.

omnipeasant

  • Joined May 2012
  • Llangurig , Mid Wales
Re: Giving Breeding ewes a year off??
« Reply #12 on: June 27, 2012, 01:43:55 pm »
We did try putting some well grown lambs to the tup year before last. It wasn't a good idea! and we won't do it again.

Would definately go for the borrowing a ram option.

in the hills

  • Joined Feb 2012
Re: Giving Breeding ewes a year off??
« Reply #13 on: June 27, 2012, 01:54:55 pm »
No experience here, but my farming neighbour told me once that although he has put ewe lambs to the ram on a few occasions, he does not think that it is a good idea in general. He felt that it affected their growth and that their lambs were smaller at birth (in general) and never really caught up.

feldar

  • Joined Apr 2011
  • lymington hampshire
Re: Giving Breeding ewes a year off??
« Reply #14 on: June 27, 2012, 03:54:31 pm »
No experience here, but my farming neighbour told me once that although he has put ewe lambs to the ram on a few occasions, he does not think that it is a good idea in general. He felt that it affected their growth and that their lambs were smaller at birth (in general) and never really caught up.
We don't tend to serve ewe lambs for that reason i think ewes need that extra year to grow and mature but it's personal preference, and i know plenty of people who do serve their lambs and have no trouble.

 

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