[Pedwardine]

Hi guys, had a visit from a good friend this afternoon who has been let down on her usual tup hire. She only has seven girls to service and rents her grazing so it isn't ever so convenient to buy a tup (though she'd consider it if that were the only option). Has anyone in the East Midlands area a pedigree Shetland flock and a ram for hire, preferably polled? Further away is possible dependant on the quality of the ram.
Thanks so much.

[Mallows Flock]

It might be worth her buying tups... I have seen excess ram stock going for £35 on farming ads for Shetlands. Shetlands are always cheap.

[bangbang]

My shetlands are not cheap - so I think your wrong to assume ALL shetlands are cheap.

[Mallows Flock]

I think that depends on the definition of cheap. My show standard Shetland ewes were £65 each.My non- show standard Charollais are £200 each. My Shetlands aren't cheap either in comparison with some on Preloved, Farming ads - tho compared to commercial sheep of similar Pedigree standard, they are certainly much more of a bargain! A local Poll Dorset ewe I am thinking of in particular who won the same standing as mine in the local show is now up for sale for £500! Hence you can understand why, monetarily, I class Shetlands as relatively 'cheap'!
And, monetarily speaking, something is only 'worth' what someone else is willing to pay.
All I was saying is IF the poster wished to have a tup, it MAY be as cheap to buy one as there ARE, SOME cheap Shetland tups out there!
 

[Pedwardine]

Calm down people, no falling out on my post thankyou!
Thanks so far. My friend should be joining the forum soon and I've invited her to hijack this thread. Be nice to her. Hope her username is Granny Gasbags! You listening there J?

[Mallows Flock]

I don't think anyone is 'falling out'... certainly not from my quarters anyway. I simply expressed the wish to clarify my previous post so other post-ers didn't get the wrong impression of what I was trying to say. Fair dinkum!

[SteveHants]

But you wouldn't buy an 'any old' ram, would you?


If a ram was suspiciously cheap - better off avoiding it.

[Mallows Flock]

But you wouldn't buy an 'any old' ram, would you?


If a ram was suspiciously cheap - better off avoiding it.

I totally get what you are saying here Steve! I guess it's knowing the quality of the breeder as well as the breeding.
Here in Somerset the Shetland crew is small and very friendly - everyone knows each other! i was GIVEN two ram lambs for free.. not becasue of the quality of the Pedigree...Dam and Sire both regularly in Championships, but purely because the breeder has a) too many ram lambs b) issues with interbreeding potentially and c) she wanted them to go to a nice, smallholder home which she knew I could provide.
Believe me, I have been very lucky here. The lambs the first ram sired are all in the ribbons as is the second ram, who is now MY show ram, and breeding Sire. So cheap or free does not normally mean substandard, esp in breeds where production outways demand, I guess - but sure, to breed with 'any old ram' would be foolish and probably..possibly, end in tears. IMHO!

[SteveHants]

Well, yeah - it could end in tears was my point.


For example: My vet told me about another client of his who'd just taken on similar numbers of sheep to me although they have Suffolks and they had a disastrous lambing this year and was mainly down to two things - Firstly they had planned to lamb outdoors, but because the weather was awful this April, they decided right at the last minute to shed them, and the ewes didn't have time to develop antibodies, being in such close proximity (never lambed indoors, but apparently bringing them in in plenty of time is crucial), so they had watery mouth badly and a lot of deaths. Secondly they used an 'any' ram, who turned out to be massive, he was a pedigree and this was the only criteria in their selection, and to put him over gimmers was...not clever. So they ended up with a lot of assisting/ceasars. Their lambing percentage in the end was 60%, and a central factor to this was a poor choice of ram.

[Mallows Flock]

My field-neighbour keeps Suffolks. He always said to me "Keep off them Suffolks Lisa...you'd do 'em too well and end up with huge lambs and lose mot of 'em' LOL. His Sire is a whopper, but then he has always lambed them indoors, has 50 years lambing experience, plus a professional experienced team of lambers and uses 3, 4 &5 year old ewes. However, his other wordly bit of wisdom to me is "the only way yull ever learn is to give it a go and see how 'er turns out. If you F*** it up, you learn valuable but costly lessons and if you don't, you learn nowt at all!
Hence, I don't keep Suffolks, I give low risk things a good go, and for anything else, I ask advice on here and from my vet 

[Fronhaul]

Shetland rams are relatively inexpensive that is for sure and I am struck by the dedication of some shetland breeders.  I have just bought an approved ram for £125.00.  When you think of the work that has gone into taking that boy to approved status then the price is truly remarkable.  And he is truly gorgeous in my biased opinion.  Will post a photo when I finally collect him.

The option of buying either an older ram or a ram lamb might well be worth considering.  But it is hard for beginners to choose the right animal without an experienced eye to help them.

[Brucklay]

so it isn't ever so convenient to buy a tup (though she'd consider it if that were the only option). Has anyone in the East Midlands area a pedigree Shetland flock and a ram for hire, preferably polled? Further away is possible dependant on the quality of the ram.
Thanks so much.

I think the point here is not how cheaply or expensive the potential ram could/would be - it's the fact she doen't particularly want one all year round - ok your going to say send him off once his work is don't but again she may not like to do that - so are there any out there for rent - my handsome chap would be but we are way too far away - good like in your search

[Crofterloon]

so it isn't ever so convenient to buy a tup (though she'd consider it if that were the only option). Has anyone in the East Midlands area a pedigree Shetland flock and a ram for hire, preferably polled? Further away is possible dependant on the quality of the ram.
Thanks so much.

I think the point here is not how cheaply or expensive the potential ram could/would be - it's the fact she doen't particularly want one all year round - ok your going to say send him off once his work is don't but again she may not like to do that - so are there any out there for rent - my handsome chap would be but we are way too far away - good like in your search

Does Bangbang know your renting him out?

[Juliedavies]

Thank- you people! This is my first time on the accidental smallholder! and I am truly amazed at the reactions! Brucklay and Crafterloon have got the gist of my plight, up till now I have been lucky enough to hire a ram, but I understand its not straight forward, and this time the owners have decided not to hire any out. So I was putting out feelers if anybody could help me. I now need to reconsider my options. As you say buying a ram is fairly easy, but I was concerned what to do with him afterwards! I certainly can't keep him on his own. So the next option are some wethers, to keep him company, my small flock has  gone from 7 to 10, and if I lamb successfully my numbers could double! and my concerns begin on my quantity of grazing! The weather has been so unpredictable you have to work on the worse case senario. So if possible I would like to hire another Shetland Ram, I would be quite willing to pay for his services, and would consider travelling quite a distance for the right Ram. We have travelled to North Yorkshire! Would consider Somerset as I have relatives there! Would have to check with Defra as I think there are certain limits on distances. So please keep talking and somebody just maybe able to help me! Thank-you

[Beewyched]

Hiya & welcome to TAS Julie    from an extremely soggy West Scotland 
No sheep here, but good luck in your search