[Melmarsh]

Hi everyone, just wondered who has the eldest , still breeding ewe I would be interested to know their age, breed and whether they are still on their holding of birth . ??

[Fleecewife]

We have the oldest known registered Hebridean ewe, at 19.  She is no longer being used for breeding, but had twins at 15. One of her daughters, Brigitte, had a lamb this year at 14 or 15 - she is homebred, although Jezebel the ancient one was not.
We find many Hebs are quite long lived.  The trick is for them to keep their teeth, good feet and plentiful udders, which the Jezebel strain does.
In the HebSoc national show, we notice the 'aged ewe' class is for 5 years and over, must have bred this year.  Those are mere spring chickens 

[Marches Farmer]

We've always culled Southdowns over 12 years old. Mostly they've raised twins every year by then and we have too many followers coming along to want to risk them needing extra feed or having to foster on one of the lambs because they've not enough milk. 

[crofterswife]

We lost our oldest ewe this year. She was 19 nearly 20 and had last had a lamb 3 years ago.
She was a Scottish Blackface and was home bred. We don't usually keep them this long but she was an exceptional mother and had great lambs. Still miss seeing her around.

[Hellybee]

Our oldest ewes came with the farm, the oldest one we think is toothless wonder.  She raising a lovely lamb this summer,  she first came to my attention five years ago when she sadly got struck and so we got to know her as we treated her, as she stayed down.  We d not looked at her teeth, or lack of still being very  very novicey in fact the farmer who we bought of slipped in about 10 wethers and we didn't know that til our first shearing haha, so yes bar dosing we thought we had all ewes doh! Anyway when we had her down and checked her she had no teeth then, and like I said that was five years ago, so she must be at least 12 or more.  she knows more about this place than we do.    I tend to let her go free range once she s up n running with her lamb, so she just goes where she wants and can forage away, n then come back down if she wants for tea. I've just asked Barry if she can stay, empty and as a nanny for this years ewe lambs. As long as she doesn't teach them too many bad habits 


She will be the only original one then, as we are selling all the other ladies, they looking good, will be proud to stand with them at the mart.  Some of our first lambs are going too.  Got 45 shearlings to choose from now, it would be madness to keep them all, I would go mad I think, it comes a point when you have to say, they have to go, granted we ll have at least hirty first timers Though, .....     

[Coximus]

2 x 12 y old hebrideans, both born on another holding, had twins each this year, problem free.
One can jump a 1m electric net clear... she got shocked once, then jumped it.

2 x 10y old hebs, single and twins.

1 9y old heb that can climb a gate. Then climbs back in.

did have a 15 y old one but culled her due to her weight yo-yoing as she seemed to be having problems ruminating, then she lost her teeth over a couple of months so that was that.

Hebs do seem to be tough long lived things and they seem to follow the oldest ones - always cracks me up watching them follow the old group in a line as the huddle of OAP's marchs round the land

[farmvet]

I put down a 36year old herdwick once who went down after she'd lambed. They'd tried to keep her free of the tup for years but she always had other ideas. She was the only herdwick on the place & had moved with them as a pet lamb so the age was correct!!

[SallyintNorth]

Wow.  I was about to pass on a story about a Herdie on the Cumbrian fells who, at 17, had reared 13 lambs.  I don't know how long she kept going after that.

[Kimbo]

  a 36 yr old sheep??!!!!
What a trooper

[landroverroy]

We've got an old Herdwick ewe of indeterminate age who appeared in the front garden on a housing estate nearby about 5 years ago.
I was rung up and duly collected her but had no idea where she came from. She was old at the time, with no front teeth, so probably had somehow escaped from a lorry bound for slaughter.
I put her in with my flock and she has a ewe lamb every year. When born, they are tiny and frail looking and her milk supply is not ample. But they thrive like weeds and always go away fat with the last lot of lambs. (Which is pretty good for a Herdwick x lamb anyway.)
She just potters on from year to year, doing her own thing with never any foot or flystrike problems. In fact I think they're an amazing breed, and were it not for the fact that I have previous experience of the escaping potential of the younger ewes, I would probably keep more of the breed. 

[Hellybee]

That's what our girl is like, she just goes on and on, with her own little mission.  Ours is part welsh.

[Melmarsh]

Many thanks for all your replies glad to know that my girls, all things being well, have a way to go yet. The eldest I have had so far has been 15 yrs , home bred and had all her teeth but her liver failed.
Interesting to hear that the more traditional breeds, tho not surprised, fair better than ' improved breeds' and upland rather than our softy lowlands. 

[Keepers]

My neighbors texel cross suffolk ewe died this year aged 18!
They managed to keep her away from the ram since she was 12 but last year she got caught somehow (never saw the ram) and she went down hill over her last year of life

She lived on a steep bank of rough grazing her whole life, was never wormed and never vaccinated, she had open access to a stable the last two years, was such a character, she had a big thick texel head but with floppy suffolk ears!

Her name was Patsy and they bought her as a bottle lamb when their 18 year old son was born!

[waterbuffalofarmer]

I cull my ewes when they reach 8 years old, so I can bring newer ewes into the flock and keep the flock young. I did have a ewe once which reached about 10 and she was a British milk sheep, very good mother she was (many years ago now though).

[Big Benny Shep]

We had an old dalesbred ewe who got to 16, had at least one decent lamb a year, I miss the old lass