[irenemcc]

We have crossed our Lleyns to a Suffolk in the past. Good growthy lambs. Sell all our lambs store as not enough grass to fatten. Only reason we stopped using Suffolk was we retain our own ewe lambs and Suffolk crosses weren't hardy enough on our hill. Now use  cheviot and pure lleyn tups instead and criss cross the two breeds.

[SallyintNorth]

Made up for you 

Thanks! Been a long time coming. So excited! Hopefully we can ditch the shepherdess now

I wouldn't ditch it just yet.  Lleyns are renowned for producing triplets and quads... :/

[waterbuffalofarmer]

I would try and buy from a breeder who breeds ewes which mostly produce twins, ours rarely produce trips and virtually never quads. It is all to do with what breeders you go with and what rams you use, plus if you flush them. What I try and go for are rams from litters of 1-2 so although they're fertile they hardly produce trips. I think it may have worked any ideas?

[SallyintNorth]

Whilst a tup who's a single or twin might perhaps be more likely to produce daughters who are themselves less likely to produce triplets, the tup himself, unless he has poor sperm, should fertilise as many eggs as the ewes produce, and as far as I know, is unable to influence how many eggs the ewes produce.

We aim to produce more singles than twins from our commercial flock (99% not Lleyn), but even not flushing on the severely disadvantaged and unimproved lands of upland Cumbria, and selecting against triplets, we always get some, and some years we get many.

Are we missing a trick?

[twizzel]

Happy to have the odd couple, just don't fancy a whole mini flock of them each year  gone are the days of 15 tame lambs drinking us out of house and home...

[BenBhoy]

How do you plan on selling lambs, I presume live? The wooly head that a Hampshire or southdown will give the lambs will knock some cash off your prices at mart. Not all continental have to be big or difficult to lamb  (charmoise, beltex?) If lambing inside, keeping in 24 hours then why not charollais? Get a decent working one, not bald or think skin & they're hardy enough and grow quick.

[twizzel]

No the majority will be sold butchered with surplus going to market or sold direct to abattoir. Open to options really but it does depend what is available down here, I would like to go to the big sale at Exeter tomorrow but unfortunately the weather is good and there's baling, ploughing to be done instead. I have been warned off Charolais the option to lamb outside would be good if shed space is tight. But open to other breeds, Lleyn, texel, Beltex, Dorset... Not so keen on suff mules but there do seem to be lots down here!

[Marches Farmer]

How do you plan on selling lambs, I presume live? The wooly head that a Hampshire or southdown will give the lambs will knock some cash off your prices at mart. Not all continental have to be big or difficult to lamb  (charmoise, beltex?) If lambing inside, keeping in 24 hours then why not charollais? Get a decent working one, not bald or think skin & they're hardy enough and grow quick.

Southdown X = a little wool on the hocks and sometimes a fringe.  Woolly head unknown in our flock of Badger Face and SD's.  Most folks who buy our store lambs at market think they're getting a Welsh mule.  Charollais - some farmers around here tried them but soon returned to the Suffolk.  Couldn't cope with bad weather.

[SallyintNorth]

We ran two Charollais tups twice each through our outdoor lambing flock up here in the Cumbrian uplands, retaining the best ewe lambs for breeders.  We took the advice to get a tup with plenty of wool on the top of his head, and the majority of the Charollais X lambs were fine.  They do have a fine skin, and in bad weather we would jacket newborn lambs, but because they are fine-skinned, they are born quickly and easily, so are up and round to the milk bar very quickly, which gives them internal central heating.  Whereas the Texel X lambs can be bigger, rougher skinned, resulting in harder, longer lambing, lambs worn out when born and taking longer to get up and get to the milk bar.  So on balance, the Charollais X lambs do as well or better.   And once they're through the first few days, the Charollais X lambs grow faster and better, and have better conformation. 

Now many of our ewes have some Charollais in them, we won't use a Charollais tup again for a while.  But we would certainly consider one again in a generation or two, when the Charollais blood in the ewes is a bit more diluted.

And believe me, if these lambs can withstand Cumbrian weather, they can cope in Cornwall. 

All of which said, unless you're wanting top grade, fast growing lambs, well then why not Lleyn, when you have all that good grass.  I just wanted to set the record straight about Charollais.

[twizzel]

Fair one. I wouldn't discount but we won't be keeping a ram to start with at least, so ram choice is somewhat limited to what our neighbours and friends have (texels, easycare, charolais, suffolk, dorset both down and polled). It may be that in time we keep a ram but for the moment it is easier to hire or take to a ram than keep one ourselves.


I'm really keen on lleyn, there's a big breed sale at Exeter in August but if OH is combining/baling/ploughing then quite understandably sales go out of the window, so also looking at private vendors where we might be able to pop off of an evening to view stock. I reckon had we been able to go to Exeter tomorrow we would find something we like but unfortunately the sun is shining and everyone wants hay baling, and the combine is coming out this week too 

[waterbuffalofarmer]

Visit the Lleyn society website, there may be some breeders up near you which would be worth a look at. Some advice though, try and go for ones with really good performance recordings, so for example good EBV's and parents having good EBV's too. Bearwood Lleyn do EBV's on their sheep/rams, I think most top breeders do. There is a guy in NYorks/Yorks which breeds very good quality stock and will have some shearling rams from Tacho destroyer next year, although will be a bit pricey, but their other rams are excellent. Here are some ads for very good breeders. http://www.lleynsheep.com/members1/breeders-adverts/ I would recommend not going nr Lionel organ though, had a tup off him once, not good, he stuffs em with cake to get em really big; The other breeders are good though. Hope this helps! For more details it would be worth getting in contact with the society secretary for breeders in your area. I would also say though that sometimes it is worth paying extra and travelling a bit further for a good ram which will improve flock performance in all aspects. All the best

[twizzel]

Visit the Lleyn society website, there may be some breeders up near you which would be worth a look at. Some advice though, try and go for ones with really good performance recordings, so for example good EBV's and parents having good EBV's too. Bearwood Lleyn do EBV's on their sheep/rams, I think most top breeders do. There is a guy in NYorks/Yorks which breeds very good quality stock and will have some shearling rams from Tacho destroyer next year, although will be a bit pricey, but their other rams are excellent. Here are some ads for very good breeders. http://www.lleynsheep.com/members1/breeders-adverts/ I would recommend not going nr Lionel organ though, had a tup off him once, not good, he stuffs em with cake to get em really big; The other breeders are good though. Hope this helps! For more details it would be worth getting in contact with the society secretary for breeders in your area. I would also say though that sometimes it is worth paying extra and travelling a bit further for a good ram which will improve flock performance in all aspects. All the best

Thank you! I have contacted 1 breeder but it seems most breeders down here are waiting for the breed sale at Exeter in August. If we haven't found anything by then I will pray for rain and then we may have a chance of going!