[Hillview Farm]

After hours of working out pros and cons we have decided to get some Pedigree Charollais ewes. We have found a breeder and we go to see them next weekend to view some in lamb ewes 

Is anyone here familiar with how the breed society works?

How do you register? What do you need to Register?
How does naming next years lambs work? Are they like some breeds where you have a Letter for the year of birth?
Do you need additional info on ear tags?
Anything else I need to know?

  Thanks

[Tim W]

It's all on the society website----I bought 40 ewes this year but I won't be doing the pedigree paperwork -
It's just a merry go round , one person paying a registration fee so he can sell sheep to another person who registers their sheep to sell back to person A 

Will you get any more money because they have a bit of paper? Doubtful----

[Hillview Farm]

Surely for selling Rams its worth registering them?

[Tim W]

Selling stock is not about having bits of paper its about having the right animals and then doing your marketing

If you think you can sell lots of rams into the pedigree market---at shows/sales etc then you may have a chance of recouping all the cash spent on registrations/society fees etc

But is it more likely that you will sell animals into the commercial market , to farmers who will use them to cover their commercial mules etc ?

[Hillview Farm]

Our big breeding sheep sale down here, there is not one ram in there that isn't registered pedigree.

I've just worked out how much it would cost us a year with registering 10 lambs would be under £100 including the prefix.

Where do commercial farmers go to buy rams for their mules etc? Is it not sheep sales? or do they go private?

[SteveHants]

I always buy off-farm and I couldn't care less about pedigree paperwork and I  think more and more farmers are starting to think like this. I do, however like to look at EBVs.


What is important to commercially minded farmers are growth rate etc, I have a business to run and I want a ram to add value to it.


I therefore want to see the place my stock ram comes from and see how heavily fed it has been (I'd like my lambs to finish on grass, thankyou). Buying blind in the stock ring frankly scares me - I'd worry that Id end up with some cereal-fed lardy who would melt as soon as I got him home and produce offspring reliant on creep.

[Hillview Farm]

I totally agree Steve! We are going to on farm to buy them, I don't like bidding anyway. Where do you find people advertising? Farmers weekly?

I know what an EBV is but is this something that the breeder documents? Or something you can see for yourself?

[Tim W]

You can ;look up the ebvs for any recorded sheep/cow in the country at http://www.basco.org/ 

For example if you wanted details of one of the rams I bought this year you just type in his exact details in the quick search box under sheep ---  SU:1100152 and a link will appear
This will give you his pedigree as well as his breeding info.

[Hillview Farm]

THAT IS AMAZING TIM! I will be doing some research

[Hillview Farm]

Looks like you had a very nice ram Tim! Where did you get him?

[Tim W]

Looks like you had a very nice ram Tim! Where did you get him?

Bought an entire flock----34 ewes with lambs at foot + 2 rams
Just went up to the farm, saw the stock in the field and agreed a price---didn't even put a hand on them
Have culled a few already but the rest have been with the ram and are hopefully going to lamb down in April

They are going to be run like the rest of my sheep----left in the field to get on with it. One offence and culled 

[Hillview Farm]

You lucky begger! I'm very jealous! Will you be selling any ram lambs or do you kill them all?

[Tim W]

You lucky begger! I'm very jealous! Will you be selling any ram lambs or do you kill them all?

Have kept 2 of this years ram lambs and will keep any functionally correct ram lambs in the future that pass all the tests, ie;
1) Born and raised with no human assistance
2) reared off grass only
3) Never need treatment for feet (inc scald)
4) Come out favourably in BLUP evaluation inc FEC
5) I have a market for 

lets see how many survive the regime!

[Hillview Farm]

Well if you sell any, please can I be the top of the list? I'd be very interested!!

[Tim W]

Well if you sell any, please can I be the top of the list? I'd be very interested!!

Come and see me in the summer---