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Author Topic: Shedding sheep breeds  (Read 9755 times)

DCBBGB

  • Joined Dec 2015
  • Mid Glamorgan
Shedding sheep breeds
« on: December 25, 2015, 08:31:52 pm »
Hi all and Happy Christmas,

I am looking into shedding sheep breeds and so far have considered Castlemilk Moorit, Wiltshire Horn and Exlana.

I have a personal preference for Exlana, however, the fact that the Castlemilk Moorti is a rare breed - as well as apparently being more intelligent than most other breeds - makes it a strong candidate.

I am seeking advice and feedback from owners of these breeds and how you think they would do in South Wales (very wet/saturated grounds + very windy).

Also curious to know how sheep do on long grass?

Thank you all

Hellybee

  • Joined Feb 2010
    • www.blaengwawrponies.co.uk
Re: Shedding sheep breeds
« Reply #1 on: December 25, 2015, 08:40:14 pm »
Sheep aren't fussed on long grass, best topped first, long grass more likely to catch in theyre toes too. 


I ll say one  breed, Lleyn.  They seem to be able to live everywhere.  I'm a little biased though  :raining:  :innocent:

DCBBGB

  • Joined Dec 2015
  • Mid Glamorgan
Re: Shedding sheep breeds
« Reply #2 on: December 25, 2015, 08:43:44 pm »
Ok thanks for the info.

Concerning the breed I am solely looking into "no wool" sheep. Lleyn is lovely, but wooly!   :sheep:  :P

Hellybee

  • Joined Feb 2010
    • www.blaengwawrponies.co.uk
Re: Shedding sheep breeds
« Reply #3 on: December 25, 2015, 08:47:14 pm »
True, but a good breed to think about for the future  :thumbsup:


Good luck with your search  :wave:

DCBBGB

  • Joined Dec 2015
  • Mid Glamorgan
Re: Shedding sheep breeds
« Reply #4 on: December 25, 2015, 08:51:31 pm »
Cheers  :)

Maggy

  • Joined Jun 2012
  • Carmarthenshire
Re: Shedding sheep breeds
« Reply #5 on: December 26, 2015, 09:25:38 am »
We have Castlemilk Moorits in wet west Wales (very wet at the moment).  They are fine on the wet ground but like any other sheep they do appreciate some shelter when the rain is relentless as has been recently.  I find they like to browse, and will eat brambles, thistles and long grass so are good for helping clear overgrown land - we have them on very steep land where a tractor cannot get.  I would say though that they can be a bit flighty as most primitives are!

daveh

  • Joined Nov 2008
  • South Northamptonshire
Re: Shedding sheep breeds
« Reply #6 on: December 26, 2015, 10:02:09 am »
I keep Castlemilk Moorits and find that far from being flighty that once acclimatised to you and your ways can be positively clingy. I ride round the farm on a quad bike and they can't be bothered to get out the way. With the Defender, reversing is a nightmare as they plonk themselves down where you can't see them.

CMs are sheep that are more like goats when it comes to their eating preferences. My farm is prime permanent pasture and the grass is almost too good for them. Any tree branches that fall have their leaves eagerly eaten. They don't seem to care which species.

My farm is on top of a hill, in fact almost the highest hill in Northamptonshire. It is windy. On Christmas eve I could hardly keep my feet on the very top of the hill. My CMs thrive in this environment. So get some CMs. One other thing about them, they are the most beautiful of all sheep breeds, the only sheep breed who were bred solely to look nice on a gentleman's estate. 

Regards, David

Tim W

  • Joined Aug 2013
Re: Shedding sheep breeds
« Reply #7 on: December 26, 2015, 01:40:20 pm »

Shedding sheep---the future in my opinion ( a bit biased here)

We used to run about 200 wiltshires and 600 Lleyns (performance recorded over many years and all in the top 10% of the breed), the problems with the wilts were that they had poor maternal qualities and scanned at a lower rate than the Lleyns
Problem with the Lleyns was the wool

So we crossed the 2 (and added many other things), recorded everything and culled hard. What we have now we market as the Exlana and put a lot of work into ---recording individual FECs , disease incidence and recently started measuring feed conversion rates

If you want shedding sheep then my advice is to not get hung up with breed names , just breed/buy an animal that suits your aims and budget
If you want to show then think about the wilts
If you want hi performance then look for recorded stock from  a large flock with commercial pressures applied

Rain/wind ---shedders do fine, plenty of folk keep them in Wales/Scotland etc and they graze them on the same land as the Welsh Mountain /Blackie flocks

CM beautiful? Surely beauty is in the eye of the beholder and in many cases influenced by commercial returns

SallyintNorth

  • Joined Feb 2011
  • Cornwall
  • Rarely short of an opinion but I mean well
    • Trelay Cohousing Community
Re: Shedding sheep breeds
« Reply #8 on: December 26, 2015, 03:01:02 pm »
In my experience, Castlemilk Moorits are not shedding sheep.  Some CMs may shed, usually only partially, sometimes, but if you had CMs you would need to shear.

Do you find the same with yours, [member=25822]Maggy[/member], [member=590]daveh[/member], [member=3983]Brucklay[/member], [member=3211]Anke[/member] ?  (I added a few folks I know have, or have had, CMs.)  Maybe there are some strains that are more sheddy than others?

The breed was developed to look good in parkland, to provide good meat and also cloth for the estate workers.  You'd hardly make them a shedding breed when you wanted the wool to be spun for cloth.
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

daveh

  • Joined Nov 2008
  • South Northamptonshire
Re: Shedding sheep breeds
« Reply #9 on: December 26, 2015, 04:28:32 pm »
They will shed their fleece if you leave it on when it should have been shorn off. It is not the easiest fleece to spin (according to my other half) as the staple is fairly short but the wool is fine and soft. I'm sure there were primarily bred to be beautiful, the lovely soft fleece and gourmet meat just being added bonuses.

Regards, David

P.S. If anyone doubts their beauty, go to the Castlemilk Moorit website and check out the pictures.

Marches Farmer

  • Joined Dec 2012
  • Herefordshire
Re: Shedding sheep breeds
« Reply #10 on: December 26, 2015, 04:41:24 pm »
Some of my Badger Face will start to shed at the beginning of May ..... and some won't.

DCBBGB

  • Joined Dec 2015
  • Mid Glamorgan
Re: Shedding sheep breeds
« Reply #11 on: December 26, 2015, 04:49:10 pm »

If you want shedding sheep then my advice is to not get hung up with breed names , just breed/buy an animal that suits your aims and budget


Thanks for the reply Tim. I have in fact visited your website  previously and learned about the Exlana breed thanks to it.

When you suggest not getting too hung up on breed names - and considering the fact that I am new to owning sheep - what would you suggest I look for if my main focus is a low feed requirements and non shedding breed (my location in Wales is very wet, very windy (mountain top))
« Last Edit: December 26, 2015, 05:19:08 pm by DCBBGB »

DCBBGB

  • Joined Dec 2015
  • Mid Glamorgan
Re: Shedding sheep breeds
« Reply #12 on: December 26, 2015, 04:50:38 pm »
Do you find the same with yours, [member=25822]Maggy[/member], [member=590]daveh[/member], [member=3983]Brucklay[/member], [member=3211]Anke[/member] ?  (I added a few folks I know have, or have had, CMs.)

Thanks for getting experienced owners involved. I am eager to read several opinions on the matter.

Anke

  • Joined Dec 2009
  • St Boswells, Scottish Borders
Re: Shedding sheep breeds
« Reply #13 on: December 26, 2015, 05:00:38 pm »
Do you find the same with yours, [member=25822]Maggy[/member], [member=590]daveh[/member], [member=3983]Brucklay[/member], [member=3211]Anke[/member] ?  (I added a few folks I know have, or have had, CMs.)

Thanks for getting experienced owners involved. I am eager to read several opinions on the matter.

Don't have CM's, never had them either. I keep shetlands and gotlands, particularly for their fleece (amongst other reasons).

SallyintNorth

  • Joined Feb 2011
  • Cornwall
  • Rarely short of an opinion but I mean well
    • Trelay Cohousing Community
Re: Shedding sheep breeds
« Reply #14 on: December 26, 2015, 05:01:22 pm »
It is not the easiest fleece to spin (according to my other half) as the staple is fairly short but the wool is fine and soft.

It isn't the easiest, no - but I have found a really good technique that works for me, so please pass this on to your wife!

It's counter-intuitive to use combs for a fibre which has such a short staple, but there's so much crimp it actually works really well.  What I do is lash the locks onto one of my small Louet mini-combs, comb gently onto the other comb, then spin directly from the comb.  (Or combs, if it didn't all transfer across.)  When you're starting to be drawing off the very short bits, stop, discard what's left on the comb.
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

 

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