[OhLaLa]

Do Suffolk sheep breed all year round? (I know some breeds are seasonal). Would like to put the ram in with the girls after shearing (need to do a bit of field maintenance), but not wanting to put  him in with them if it means early lambing (the girls are all youngsters, due to be put to the ram for the first time this coming Autumn).


He arrived last year as a youngster, and has already proved himself keen by breaking into the older girls field a few months back and tupping the lot.

[Me]

No its not safe to assume. I've caesared "ooops" Suffolk cross lambs in November

[shep53]

Putting a ram with any breed of female sheep not suckling over 5mths of age MAY stimulate them to cycle at any time of year

[GrannyAching]

The local pedigree sheep flock lamb from a week before Christmas based on natural service. My ewes cycled from the time they were put in a field next to the ram last year which was at least a month early as I recall.

[OhLaLa]

Thanks shep, nicely explained, and thanks grannya for the info.
All now shorn and separated once more. Another mega hot day again today too. 

[Marches Farmer]

Poll Dorsets are the breed generally used for 3 crops of lambs in two years. 

[beagh-suffolks]

i put my ram in first week or august and thats for lambing round the new year

[SallyintNorth]

Seasonality also has a climatic / geographical element.  Hereabouts, I perceive that some tups (Charollais, Shetland) are always ready if called upon, but most of our ladies aren't interested until the weather cools and the days shorten.  (And it has to be both, IME.)

Last year we bought some Mules in from a farm which lambs later than we do.  The Mules we already owned all came a-tupping before the bought-in ones.  It'll be interesting to see if our new Mules come a-tupping a little earlier this year.

All of which said, farmers all over the country, including up the road from me here, produce Suffolk lambs indoors in December / January, which would suggest that the breed is amenable to tupping and being tupped in July, even in the far north of England.

[SallyintNorth]

Poll Dorsets are the breed generally used for 3 crops of lambs in two years.

I hear that phrase but am of the opinion that it means a farm can have two or three crops of lambs in a year, and so offer lamb for the table year round, rather than that individual ewes can produce lambs every 8 months.

I worked on one farm which had an autumn-lambing Dorset flock and a spring-lambing Dorset flock.  Each ewe lambed once every 12 months, but the farm had two crops of lambs a year.

[Marches Farmer]

I do know several farmers who lamb every eight months.  The youngsters have a year between first and second lambings then move on to every 8 months, although they wean early and the lambs get a lot of creep.  The ewes are generally sent for cull much younger than mine, though, as they've been pushed quite hard, although generally fed much more cake than I do.

[andywalt]

id only be worried if i had dorset ewes or i think the other breed is wiltshire horn ? or any ewes crossed with that breed other wise ive never had a problem in the summer with ewes cycling


andy