Charollais Rams

Dickie10

Just wondering are Charrolais lambs as soft as they are made out to be at lambing?? they are lovely lambs when they get goin in summer seem very easy to fatten, I wouldn't mind trying them some time

Cran

I might be slightly biased, but Charollais are far from soft. Easy lambed and up quick giving them a real good start. I lamb out and yet to find a breed that offers as much in terms of ease of lambing, vigor at birth and growth.
A lot of times people forget about the ewes breeding in the lamb, cousin who keeps fairly black ewes and says Charollais's on them are soft. Then again I would never keep really black ewes

Dickie10

I have a neighbour and give him a hand in summer, the charrolais cross lambs are brilliant looking in high summer, we have a real mix of ewes but 50% would be back face, im going into breeding hopefully all lleyn x ewes in a few years , I was told that a charrolais ram with them are a serious x lamb . I wonder how much difference the breed really make to leaving soft or hardy lambs? I wonder would good nutrition to the ewe leave just as hardy lambs no matter what the breed?

tabby aspreme

Dickie10 wrote: »

I I wonder would good nutrition to the ewe leave just as hardy lambs no matter what the breed?

Most pedigree suffolks get very well fed and the lambs are known to be soft and slow to suck, the charolais are great to get up and suck its only if the weather is very severe that the charolais may be in trouble due to lack of wool

razor8

Dickie10 wrote: »

Just wondering are Charrolais lambs as soft as they are made out to be at lambing?? they are lovely lambs when they get goin in summer seem very easy to fatten, I wouldn't mind trying them some time[/quote

I lamb indoors. bought a couple in tullow a few years ago. Excellent vigour at birth and noticeable difference with Suffolk's I have and really easy finished, plan to use more.
Are you lambing in or out?

eire23

razor8 wrote: »

Dickie10 wrote: »

Just wondering are Charrolais lambs as soft as they are made out to be at lambing?? they are lovely lambs when they get goin in summer seem very easy to fatten, I wouldn't mind trying them some time[/quote

I lamb indoors. bought a couple in tullow a few years ago. Excellent vigour at birth and noticeable difference with Suffolk's I have and really easy finished, plan to use more.
Are you lambing in or out?

Good to hear that razor, bought a charrolais this year for the first time so looking forward to seeing what the lambs are like. Would they generally have a better resistance to worms than the suffolks? All the factory lambs here come from suffolks and i find that one of their biggest problems

razor8

eire23 wrote: »

razor8 wrote: »

Good to hear that razor, bought a charrolais this year for the first time so looking forward to seeing what the lambs are like. Would they generally have a better resistance to worms than the suffolks? All the factory lambs here come from suffolks and i find that one of their biggest problems

Agreed BUT if dosing right Suffolk's are great growers and easy to get into big weights once they are on the ground. Charolais's seem to have better resistance but not sure if as good as texel's. Wouldn't keep a Charolais ewe lamb so Suffolk's have that advantage. Hard to get a ram to tick all boxes!

jomoloney

they are lively when they are born , but need more tlc than other breeds

this post says it all really

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=70190309&postcount=18


we still have keep a ch here for easy lambing on ewe lambs

but other than that prefer HD or Vendeen

razor8

jomoloney wrote: »

they are lively when they are born , but need more tlc than other breeds

this post says it all really

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=70190309&postcount=18


we still have keep a ch here for easy lambing on ewe lambs

but other than that prefer HD or Vendeen

That could be down to a individual ram rather than the breed, mine didn't need any extra care at all when born, hope I'm not disappointed next one I purchase

Dickie10

I lamb indoors. bought a couple in tullow a few years ago. Excellent vigour at birth and noticeable difference with Suffolk's I have and really easy finished, plan to use more.
Are you lambing in or out?[/quote]

I lamb in a 6 acre field adjoining the lambing shed, the sheep are let out during the day and put in at nightfall, I have 80 sheep and raddle helps to know fairly close when they lamb so I can have groups of around 30 max in at any time. the field is in front of the house so its easy to keep an eye on thm lambing , when they lamb out I just bring them in to an individual pen in the shed. So to answer the question outside by day and inside by night, if all going well they go outside after 24 hrs.

jomoloney

razor8 wrote: »

That could be down to a individual ram rather than the breed, mine didn't need any extra care at all when born, hope I'm not disappointed next one I purchase

could be but I must have got his brother lost a heap of char lambs a few years back, one very cold wet night , was never as pissed off walking around the fields picking them up , others humped and had to be brought back in , some of these were 12 days old.

we had texel and vendeen in the same bunch and only lost a tripled

there is no trouble with them when they are born, we lamb in doors
and try to run an easy care system low cost early lamb system , we need them out of doors asap

char does not suit us , with the high rainfall and exposed countryside

Lano Lynn

used charollais for several years on kerry hill x ewes mid season lambing lambing inside turning out asap (exposed to northwesterlys)
found them very lively at birth but they suffered in cold wet weather making then suseptable to joint ill and coccidiosis and nematodiris .:(
if weather was good they grew and finished well .
tried a vendeen after a few years of wet lambings and have got rid of all the charollais,not that they were bad sheep just the vendeen was hardier at birth and for the critical first few weeks.
I think charollais could be a good cross on suffolk X blackface ewes.
added bonus is vendeen rams live longer and cost less:)

rancher

Lano Lynn wrote: »

used charollais for several years on kerry hill x ewes mid season lambing lambing inside turning out asap (exposed to northwesterlys)
found them very lively at birth but they suffered in cold wet weather making then suseptable to joint ill and coccidiosis and nematodiris .:(
if weather was good they grew and finished well .
tried a vendeen after a few years of wet lambings and have got rid of all the charollais,not that they were bad sheep just the vendeen was hardier at birth and for the critical first few weeks.
I think charollais could be a good cross on suffolk X blackface ewes.
added bonus is vendeen rams live longer and cost less:)

Good to hear that Vendeen is doing the job for everyone

Dickie10

how are vendeens for growth? and are they lively at birth? im really looking for a lively hardy lamb at birth, that could be put outside after 24-36 hrs. id take a SMALL bit slower growth rate for some hardy lambs

Lano Lynn

Dickie10 wrote: »

how are vendeens for growth? and are they lively at birth? im really looking for a lively hardy lamb at birth, that could be put outside after 24-36 hrs. id take a SMALL bit slower growth rate for some hardy lambs

vendeens lively and hardy at birth and can take wet weather better than ch.. Im happy with growth rate they tend to be fatter than charollais.
I have had 4 fairly growthy vendeen rams over the last few years and they have been very consitent.
lambs seem to do better on grass than charlies,
on a meal system may be different
.....but a live vendeen definitly grows better than a dead lamb.;)

rancher

Lano Lynn wrote: »

vendeens lively and hardy at birth and can take wet weather better than ch.. Im happy with growth rate they tend to be fatter than charollais.
I have had 4 fairly growthy vendeen rams over the last few years and they have been very consitent.
lambs seem to do better on grass than charlies,
on a meal system may be different
.....but a live vendeen definitly grows better than a dead lamb.;)

Thanks lano, I'm just after realising that a response that I wrote for dickie on sunday must have got lost when boards crashed, any way you have it fairly well covered there, using vendeens here 20 years and won't be changing.
Have a pedigree flock as well and its good to hear good feedback.

Dickie10

that sounds good mite give them a go in a year or too when I have to replace