General sheep thread

wrangler

razor8 wrote: »

Fair enough. It can really feck up someone’s flock. Bought 3 Texel lambs from different breeders many years ago and 2 died of Texel throat first winter. Remember having one in the shed and you could here him in the house. Sent vet a video of him. He said he’ll drop of a heart attack before morning. He dropped 20mins later

They die an awful death
I hope you went back to the breeder/s

razor8

wrangler wrote: »

They die an awful death
I hope you went back to the breeder/s

I didn’t as I thought it would be pointless but reading here now I should of

Dinzee Conlee

razor8 wrote: »

I didn’t as I thought it would be pointless but reading here now I should of

I don’t want to name names here now - but so you know are they still Selling breeding rams?

razor8

Dinzee Conlee wrote: »

I don’t want to name names here now - but so you know are they still Selling breeding rams?

Yes. But I would imagine it’s the breeding line that was the issue not the whole flock. To my knowledge it’s not contagious

orm0nd

we lost a belclare ram with it ( or something exactly similar) wasn't too familiar with it at the time and had him cured a with a cocktail of drugs and steroids

out of withdrawal and getting on well when he got a second bout , didn't last long and no response to antibiotics

ganmo

razor8 wrote: »

Yes. But I would imagine it’s the breeding line that was the issue not the whole flock. To my knowledge it’s not contagious

If the texel breeders arent willing to eradicate it they why would anyone buy a texel ram? Even the breeder that culled his offenders will not be able to buy any breeding stock in comfort

wrangler

orm0nd wrote: »

we lost a belclare ram with it ( or something exactly similar) wasn't too familiar with it at the time and had him cured a with a cocktail of drugs and steroids

out of withdrawal and getting on well when he got a second bout , didn't last long and no response to antibiotics

There's no cure, there's a substantial risk now of buying a ram with it now, even any white ram

Lano Lynn

wrangler wrote: »

We had a couple ewes with texel throat lately, from rams that are gone now, we traced the rams back, there was nothing notable on the certs , we then went to sheep Ireland and found ours was related to the ram that caused Willie hutchinson to cull all his hogget rams.
In the last year two friends have been caught by Texel throat breeders, one friend is just waiting for the antibiotic withdrawal to expire to get to slaughter the ram.
The other friend had three rams affected from the one breeder, If Sheep Ireland were any good they'd be on top of this and start a Database of offenders

It is the texel society that should take responsibility .
The fashion for big heads,short necks is the route cause,
throw in the misuse and over dependance on AI and ET the condition is endemic .
for added measure the susceptability to mastitis has the breed f~~ked.
pity the victims that will get burned at the inlamb sales.
how that bubble hasn't burst I don't know

Lano Lynn

wrangler wrote: »

We had a couple ewes with texel throat lately, from rams that are gone now, we traced the rams back, there was nothing notable on the certs , we then went to sheep Ireland and found ours was related to the ram that caused Willie hutchinson to cull all his hogget rams.
In the last year two friends have been caught by Texel throat breeders, one friend is just waiting for the antibiotic withdrawal to expire to get to slaughter the ram.
The other friend had three rams affected from the one breeder, If Sheep Ireland were any good they'd be on top of this and start a Database of offenders

this is a large driver of the 'hybrid' ram spin a charolais texel cross is unlikely to have texel throat......but.......as lads back cross and interbreed it will resurface.

feeding & medication can cover faults but there is no escaping genetics

Prop Joe

What should i dose my lambs in the coming weeks ?

RobinBanks

Hi All. I was thinking of buying some nice breeding type tex ewe lambs that are approx 40kg. I normally buy them to fatten and kill next march time but i Was thinking about selling them as breeding hoggets instead. Just wondering when is the best time to sell them? Would I be better keeping them until breeding season starts next October or does it make any difference? Would lads be still buying for grass next spring.

Siamsa Sessions

RobinBanks wrote: »

Hi All. I was thinking of buying some nice breeding type tex ewe lambs that are approx 40kg. I normally buy them to fatten and kill next march time but i Was thinking about selling them as breeding hoggets instead. Just wondering when is the best time to sell them? Would I be better keeping them until breeding season starts next October or does it make any difference? Would lads be still buying for grass next spring.

Hogget sales are usually around July/August, but depends on where you are. e.g. hill breeds might be a little later.

I'm guessing you could always throw them up on DoneDeal in June.

Out of interest, what kind of Texel crosses are they? Anything with too much of a square Texel head might not be exactly what people want in breeding ewes.

RobinBanks

Siamsa Sessions wrote: »

Hogget sales are usually around July/August, but depends on where you are. e.g. hill breeds might be a little later.

I'm guessing you could always throw them up on DoneDeal in June.

Out of interest, what kind of Texel crosses are they? Anything with too much of a square Texel head might not be exactly what people want in breeding ewes.

Thanks for reply! I was in the mart earlier and picked out a couple of pins. Its funny when you mention the square heads. I never heard this expression before but one pin i have picked out would have square heads!!! might be more suitable for me because i wont be able to keep them on for the summer. This pin is around 40kg, tight wool but wouldnt be the prettiest. For fattening though, they should be ideal.

Siamsa Sessions

RobinBanks wrote: »

Thanks for reply! I was in the mart earlier and picked out a couple of pins. Its funny when you mention the square heads. I never heard this expression before but one pin i have picked out would have square heads!!! might be more suitable for me because i wont be able to keep them on for the summer. This pin is around 40kg, tight wool but wouldnt be the prettiest. For fattening though, they should be ideal.

That kind of big square head would be a good indicator of plenty terminal blood in them, which isn't what you want for breeding animals.

I suppose all I'm saying is lambs that are good for finishing are usually terminal and they are very different from lambs that are good for breeding. There are exceptions though as with everything, but in general I'd aim for breeding ewes with narrow heads, narrow shoulders, and wide arses. Kinda a triangle shape!

RobinBanks

Siamsa Sessions wrote: »

That kind of big square head would be a good indicator of plenty terminal blood in them, which isn't what you want for breeding animals.

I suppose all I'm saying is lambs that are good for finishing are usually terminal and they are very different from lambs that are good for breeding. There are exceptions though as with everything, but in general I'd aim for breeding ewes with narrow heads, narrow shoulders, and wide arses. Kinda a triangle shape!

Thanks for those few tips. I will keep an eye out for those features.

kk.man

RobinBanks wrote: »

Hi All. I was thinking of buying some nice breeding type tex ewe lambs that are approx 40kg. I normally buy them to fatten and kill next march time but i Was thinking about selling them as breeding hoggets instead. Just wondering when is the best time to sell them? Would I be better keeping them until breeding season starts next October or does it make any difference? Would lads be still buying for grass next spring.

The big question you need to ask yourself is there a good market for these types near you as hoggets next year. If there is then yes is the answer.
In the south east they would be little want for those types in fact there is little type for any except the Borris ewe hogget. I notice that any other breeds the dealers snap up for less than their tru value.

Siamsa Sessions

kk.man wrote: »

The big question you need to ask yourself is there a good market for these types near you as hoggets next year. If there is then yes is the answer.
In the south east they would be little want for those types in fact there is little type for any except the Borris ewe hogget. I notice that any other breeds the dealers snap up for less than their tru value.

Very true - you could get €120 for a 45kg lamb in March but only €140 for a hogget in June, especially if she turns out to be a bit plain or butty.

Having said that, it might be more interesting to be buying/selling breeding stock compared to the conveyor belt of finishing stores. Whatever blows yer skirt up, as the man said!

Dinzee Conlee

Siamsa Sessions wrote: »

Very true - you could get €120 for a 45kg lamb in March but only €140 for a hogget in June, especially if she turns out to be a bit plain or butty.

Having said that, it might be more interesting to be buying/selling breeding stock compared to the conveyor belt of finishing stores. Whatever blows yer skirt up, as the man said!

Personally - would find the opposite. Prefer to sell lambs fat, than to sell breeding hoggets...

But - keep a few to sell to run on over the summer, to keep the grass down as they say

farawaygrass

Jjameson wrote: »

Farmers will pay dear for a square piggy texel ram with no neck before pay ordinary money for a correct functional proportioned ram. A Suffolk with a massive head and legs that couldn’t throw anything only lambs that need assistance.
Bald pink headed Charolais rams that throw bald mice.
Wicklow Cheviot rams that have become a biggest sheep competition, long gappy teeth and have turned into sheep that would no more survive a winter on frugal do than any lowland breed.

Farmers set the bar for what sells.

Are Cheviots big sheep traditionally? Ran a Cheviot Ram with sufflock ewes here a few years ago and kept most of the ewe lambs. Brilliants ewes but they are massive, strong and touch flighty. Often wondered how they were so big for a hill breed

Tileman

farawaygrass wrote: »

Are Cheviots big sheep traditionally? Ran a Cheviot Ram with sufflock ewes here a few years ago and kept most of the ewe lambs. Brilliants ewes but they are massive, strong and touch flighty. Often wondered how they were so big for a hill breed

Yea wild hoors. Soon as they see u they’d be gone.

weatherbyfoxer

farawaygrass wrote: »

Are Cheviots big sheep traditionally? Ran a Cheviot Ram with sufflock ewes here a few years ago and kept most of the ewe lambs. Brilliants ewes but they are massive, strong and touch flighty. Often wondered how they were so big for a hill breed

big wild ewes alright,the cheviot are a hill sheep but not a mountain sheep..personally i think they are a waste of time as a breed,too big,wild and low cropping for lowland yet arnt fit to cut it on mountain.

wrangler

Tileman wrote: »

Yea wild hoors. Soon as they see u they’d be gone.

My father was a staunch baler twine fencer.
He got a major education when he bought a load of cheviot ewes

RobinBanks

wrangler wrote: »

My father was a staunch baler twine fencer.
He got a major education when he bought a load of cheviot ewes

Lol.

White Clover

farawaygrass wrote: »

Are Cheviots big sheep traditionally? Ran a Cheviot Ram with sufflock ewes here a few years ago and kept most of the ewe lambs. Brilliants ewes but they are massive, strong and touch flighty. Often wondered how they were so big for a hill breed

How do they scan for you?

Green farmer

https://www.donedeal.ie/sheep-for-sale/lambs-nearly-ready/25828030

Anyone use this stuff ? Claims to work on fluke ? Any good ?

razor8

Green farmer wrote: »

https://www.donedeal.ie/sheep-for-sale/lambs-nearly-ready/25828030

Anyone use this stuff ? Claims to work on fluke ? Any good ?

I like to see proving results before trying it. It’s not very cheap to my knowledge

Green farmer

razor8 wrote: »

I like to see proving results before trying it. It’s not very cheap to my knowledge

Fair enough, just saw the ad and the zero withdrawal caught my eye. Often heard apple vinegar cider is good for sheep. Seems to have that in the mix somewhere. Pity products like duotech had the withdrawal extended. Balancing act to find something suitable for near market ready lambs .

Dinzee Conlee

Tileman wrote: »

Yea wild hoors. Soon as they see u they’d be gone.

wrangler wrote: »

My father was a staunch baler twine fencer.
He got a major education when he bought a load of cheviot ewes

Yeah... I bought a bunch of cheviots once...

ONCE! ! !

They were nice enough looking sheep, but fcuk it, I couldn't be dealing with them, the mad yokes...

farawaygrass

White Clover wrote: »

How do they scan for you?

Excellent really. Between the daughters kept of the sufflock ewe and Cheviot ram, and their daughter again, always scanned over 2.1 bar 2018 when I got toxo bad, got 2.17 one year. If I could get the ewes a bit smaller, more manageable size I would rate them as my favourite type ewe. Great feet, great mother’s, great milk.
For a good few years I would have sold all ewe lambs I didn’t keep myself later in the year for breeding. They had lovely speckled faces and always sold well.
Are the borris ewes you see advertised in the sales more medium size compared to the Cheviot?

farawaygrass

Jjameson wrote: »

Traditionally they were medium. No they were never a mountain sheep but they were fantastic hill sheep and a great cross on Wexford Suffolk’s. Pockets of great genetics are to be found in north Wicklow but the prizes and money are for the biggest sheep rather than correct functional sheep in the higher breeding area of south Wicklow/ Carlow now. Big hungry cracked wild ewes with long gappy teeth that scarcely get to five years without going broken.

I seen a ram in Carnew last year that stood like an ass amongst normal sheep. 126kg. I joke you not. Who’d want to clip their feet or shear them. They charge by you off their hind legs. Hateful creatures that I can’t fathom the prices paid.

The shearer was given off a bit here alright a few times!