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Author Topic: A few questions i hope you can answer  (Read 6672 times)

feldar

  • Joined Apr 2011
  • lymington hampshire
A few questions i hope you can answer
« on: October 18, 2013, 03:54:43 pm »
I have friend whose daughter is at Ag college and she has been asking around her sheepy friends a few questions for a project she's doing. If poss could some of you answer too as your spread about the countryside. Any answers gratefully received ( clean of course)
 
1. When choosing a ram for your flock do you look to shows be it Agricultural or NSA road shows for inspiration.
 
2. What criteria would you use to buy a ram. Show wins, Recommendations from friends or farming press, previous experience of breed.
 
3. Would you ever buy or try a new breed of  ram if it was given excellant reviews in the farming press. Please include smallholding magazines etc
 
4. Do you think Agricultural shows and NSA road shows benefit all breeds of sheep commercially.
 
Hope i've got that all down right !! Many thanks for any help you can give her

SteveHants

  • Joined Aug 2011
Re: A few questions i hope you can answer
« Reply #1 on: October 18, 2013, 04:36:38 pm »
1) No
2) Recommendation of breeder then EBVs from said breeder.
3) No - Prefer word of mouth/Farming events
4) Ag shows - certainly not, NSA road shows I like, so yes.

Rosemary

  • Joined Oct 2007
  • Barry, Angus, Scotland
    • The Accidental Smallholder
Re: A few questions i hope you can answer
« Reply #2 on: October 18, 2013, 05:07:03 pm »
1. We breed pedigree Coloured Ryelands so NSA would be no use whatsoever. I know from show results who the big hitters in the CR showing world are
2. I'd look at the ram
3. No, because we breed pure
4. Not sure what's meant by "benefit" - if you mean do they promote all breeds equally, then no, but you wouldn't expect them to promote non-commercial breeds. That's the job of the breed societies.

zarzar

  • Joined Jul 2012
  • kent
  • Z.Glenfield :)
Re: A few questions i hope you can answer
« Reply #3 on: October 18, 2013, 09:51:21 pm »
Havinh just got into portlands
1)yes we watch what bloodlines are doing well.
2)we look at any ram but like something that has sucessfully shown(unless  ram lamb to grow/show ourselves) his breeding record.
3)No we use the portlands on our pure and x breds
4)Ag shows no, NSA yes
1 cat,2 thoroughbred horses,1 dog, handfull of bird various types and hoping to get sheep again

Backinwellies

  • Global Moderator
  • Joined Sep 2012
  • Llandeilo Carmarthenshire
    • Nantygroes
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Re: A few questions i hope you can answer
« Reply #4 on: October 19, 2013, 09:10:05 am »
Hi

I thought beyond your questions (comes from having been an Agric lecturer I guess!)   .   It is not obvious from the questions what this girl is trying to investigate...  a few questions identifying respondents focus may have helped with sorting responses  eg.....

  Firstly answers from here likely to  be bias towards pure breeds and possibly rare breeds... so choice of sire is within breed not a breed. 

Commercial flocks use hybrid vigour so actual breed may not be as important as effect on lamb growth etc.

Output of flock will determine type of ram breed .....  is it to produce finished lamb,  pedigree stock,  draft ewes etc


Sorry if I have confused things but it is easy to gain loads of information for an investigation and then realise that you can't really conclude anything as it wasn't focussed enough to start with.   


Linda

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SallyintNorth

  • Joined Feb 2011
  • Cornwall
  • Rarely short of an opinion but I mean well
    • Trelay Cohousing Community
Re: A few questions i hope you can answer
« Reply #5 on: October 19, 2013, 09:15:31 am »
1. Yes, amongst many other things
2. Yes to recommendations from farming neighbours, farming press and previous experience, no to show wins as shows are often looking for other criteria to commercial farmers and we are commercial farmers. 
3. Yes, and have done
4. Yes, emphatically yes - but as others have said, only in terms of being a platform, the content of what is shown off is down to the breed soc's.


And I have to say I completely agree with Backinwellies' comments!

My answers are those of a commercial sheep farmer producing finished lambs and our own replacement ewes.
Don't listen to the money men - they know the price of everything and the value of nothing

Live in a cohousing community with small farm for our own use.  Dairy cows (rearing their own calves for beef), pigs, sheep for meat and fleece, ducks and hens for eggs, veg and fruit growing

landroverroy

  • Joined Oct 2010
Re: A few questions i hope you can answer
« Reply #6 on: October 19, 2013, 10:09:42 am »
1. Yes - time spent in reconnaisance is never wasted.
2. Depends on size of flock. For me:
  personal preference of breed, and past experience will apply here.
  price
  judgement of breeder and rest of his flock
 geographic location
3. Yes
4. Yes
 
 
« Last Edit: October 19, 2013, 10:17:39 am by landroverroy »
Rules are made:
  for the guidance of wise men
  and the obedience of fools.

Victorian Farmer

  • Guest
Re: A few questions i hope you can answer
« Reply #7 on: October 19, 2013, 11:25:05 am »
The rams are half the flok .you need the best for you're breed .some time back I bought registered stems becouse I wonted a type of ewe .Each season you need to improve the stock .The standard from the small holders growers was out stranded well kept sheep .its best to get a fuew good types and breed qwalatey.

SteveHants

  • Joined Aug 2011
Re: A few questions i hope you can answer
« Reply #8 on: October 19, 2013, 05:37:58 pm »
The rams are half the flok .you need the best for you're breed .some time back I bought registered stems becouse I wonted a type of ewe .Each season you need to improve the stock .The standard from the small holders growers was out stranded well kept sheep .its best to get a fuew good types and breed qwalatey.


Thats interesting because it is the polar opposite of my experience. Stock I have had from small flocks seems to fade away in a commercial situation. I don't stock heavily so I can only out it down to early conc feeding impairing rumen function....

Marches Farmer

  • Joined Dec 2012
  • Herefordshire
Re: A few questions i hope you can answer
« Reply #9 on: October 19, 2013, 08:15:06 pm »
1)  Breed non-commercials so not too fussed about fashion.
2)  Prefer to choose from long-established flocks and buy off-farm, on the basis they'll have culled out their problems.  Also like to ensure there's a wide genetic diversity - the same flock names can crop up time after time in the big name flocks and I don't think that's good for the breed over the longer term.
3)  Have watched fashion go through Suffolk (breeding 'em too big for easy lambing), Texel (too wide at the front for easy lambing) and Charollais (too thin-skinned for harsh weather) and now coming back to traditional breeds - all that in the last ten years.
4)  Agricultural shows and NSA shows always go for the big money breeds - they want the headliners.

MarvinH

  • Joined Oct 2011
  • England
Re: A few questions i hope you can answer
« Reply #10 on: October 19, 2013, 10:50:12 pm »
1 no
2 all depends on type of lamb your after
3 no
4 no
Sheep

feldar

  • Joined Apr 2011
  • lymington hampshire
Re: A few questions i hope you can answer
« Reply #11 on: October 21, 2013, 11:27:48 am »
Many Many thanks for all your replies and i will print and pass on to Laura. Many of you said the same as we did when she asked us the questions.
I think her aim was to see how much the " showing" side of things instigated sales and if there was any relationship bewteen the two.
Her background is Horses but she wants to go into farming so i think thought like the horse showing affects sales the same would be for the sheep.

kanisha

  • Joined Dec 2007
    • Spered Breizh Ouessants
    • Facebook
Re: A few questions i hope you can answer
« Reply #12 on: October 21, 2013, 12:30:27 pm »


I can only out it down to early conc feeding impairing rumen function....

Can you elaborate on that? This is a long term effect of feeding concentrates early?
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SteveHants

  • Joined Aug 2011
Re: A few questions i hope you can answer
« Reply #13 on: October 21, 2013, 04:07:19 pm »


I can only out it down to early conc feeding impairing rumen function....

Can you elaborate on that? This is a long term effect of feeding concentrates early?


Yes, it inhibits rumen development - this is one of the gripes commercial farmers have when buying rams etc that have been fed - they have been fed throughout their lives and you could put them on all the grass you like and they will still melt because the rumen didn't develop properly - meaning you need to feed them all their lives.

feldar

  • Joined Apr 2011
  • lymington hampshire
Re: A few questions i hope you can answer
« Reply #14 on: October 21, 2013, 04:44:06 pm »


I can only out it down to early conc feeding impairing rumen function....

Can you elaborate on that? This is a long term effect of feeding concentrates early?


Yes, it inhibits rumen development - this is one of the gripes commercial farmers have when buying rams etc that have been fed - they have been fed throughout their lives and you could put them on all the grass you like and they will still melt because the rumen didn't develop properly - meaning you need to feed them all their lives.
Do you have scientific evidence to back that up Steve or is just by word of mouth from disgruntled commercial farmers who may not have looked after their stock properly :-J

 

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