[westcoastcroft]

Hi Folks.

Wondering what weights people get for their Shetlands at various ages.

Also thinking of crossing this year and wondering if folk have experience of crossing, what with and what size carcass/age the x's came out at...

Thanks

[SallyintNorth]

A mature Shetland tup can give 21 kgs deadweight, but sending them off as hogget in their second summer I haven't got anything like that much - more like 15-16kgs.  14kgs at about 12 mo.

I cross with a variety of things.  I'm breeding for fleece and for good breeding stock, but we eat the surpluses so a good carcase is highly desirable.  The best two performers for me are Blue-faced Leicester and Manx. 

Anything crossed with Manx seems to outperform either parent, have really nice fleece, and taste wonderful

BFL x Shetland is a really useful ewe, most of the fleeces are gorgeous, and on deadweight and conformation, the lambs perform nearly as well as any Mule - just take a bit more time

In Shetland they cross with Cheviot.  Ewes much in demand to put to a terminal sire.  I'd imagine this cross would finish faster than some others, and achieve really good deadweight and conformation - but I've no personal experience of the cross myself.

[Me]

People get good results crossing Shetland to a Charmoise, probably the toughest and smallest terminal sire

[sheeponthebrain]

I've always crossed my Shetland with the Suffolk and found them no more trouble at lambing than the mules.  A Suffolk cross Shetland lamb will have no problem reaching 21kg by February.