Nocton Super Dairy

[Alec Swan]

on the whole our welfare is one of the best in the world, NZ is no better than ours cows tails docked, sheep not as well shepherded left to lamb on own less assistance with difficult births etc. .......

mon,

In this country, and certainly with purebred and pedigree sheep, we have tended to retain the ewe lambs for breeding which needed assistance at birth. Those ewe lambs will, in turn, be far more likely to also need assistance. We are, so often, producing sheep which can't manage on their own. With the commercial pressures which those who farm sheep, are under, a dead lamb will possibly mean that a ewe has been kept for a year, with no financial return.

In NZ, on the other hand, they've accepted the initial losses, they've bred from sheep which generally manage on their own, and which by and large they do.

When I lambed indoors, the ewe lambs, which were born unaided, would have a notch taken from the ear at birth, and retained. Within 15 generations, birthing assistance was rarely needed.

Alec.

 

[mon]

Well I was fed up of English bred Suffolk rams going downhill fast so went and bought a New Zealand strain suffolk ram lamb doesn,t carry meat of english lines but certainly randy and hopefuly less assistance required wit the offspring intend to keep alot of his ewelambs, we also trying a beltex which expect more assistance, but as better conformation should pay which line o we go down, we lamb 600 ewes.

 

[martlin]

mon,

In this country, and certainly with purebred and pedigree sheep, we have tended to retain the ewe lambs for breeding which needed assistance at birth. Those ewe lambs will, in turn, be far more likely to also need assistance. We are, so often, producing sheep which can't manage on their own. With the commercial pressures which those who farm sheep, are under, a dead lamb will possibly mean that a ewe has been kept for a year, with no financial return.

In NZ, on the other hand, they've accepted the initial losses, they've bred from sheep which generally manage on their own, and which by and large they do.

When I lambed indoors, the ewe lambs, which were born unaided, would have a notch taken from the ear at birth, and retained. Within 15 generations, birthing assistance was rarely needed.

Alec.

It's quite interesting how the British became specialist in selective breeding for one trait only... Take Limousin cattle for example, they were brought in as sedate and easy calvers, few generations down the line, they have huge double muscle, but are mad as hatters
I don't keep any ewes that are a bother to lamb, or the ones that show not enough interest in their offspring, or ones that are stroppy - if something is problematic, it goes on a kebab run or sometimes to Newark as cull ewes, you would be amazed at the amount of times some clever clogs decides to buy a pen of my culls for breeding

 

[Alec Swan]

Well I was fed up of English bred Suffolk rams going downhill fast so went and bought a New Zealand strain suffolk ram lamb doesn,t carry meat of english lines but certainly randy and hopefuly less assistance required wit the offspring intend to keep alot of his ewelambs, we also trying a beltex which expect more assistance, but as better conformation should pay which line o we go down, we lamb 600 ewes.

The problem with most commercially produced tups, is that to "promote" them, they have grub shoved in, from both ends, so that as shearlings there growth has, generally, reached its optimum. The shearling tup, which looks magnificent, because he's been fed and for every day of his life, will melt away if you stop feeding. That's not what I call a sheep!

Beltex? I'm not really sure what to say!! Many will use them as terminal sires, but I suspect that at some stage through their development, a pig was introduced! I realise that beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but I couldn't look at an ugly sheep, every day. I bet that lambing out with a Beltex ewe would be a disaster, though where they are native, they probably manage very well. Don't know!!

Which leads us neatly, on to Martlins comments. When we import foreign breeds of animals, and Limies and Canadian Angus cattle are two examples, and then we start to apply an altered emphasis, upon them, then why does it come as such a surprise when we find them so difficult to manage?

Pure bred heifers are worth considerably more alive than dead. Unsuitable heifers, or shearling ewes for that matter, are being sold for breeding purposes. I suppose that it's a case of caveat emptor!!

Alec.

 

[mon]

the NZ Suffolk breeders kept a diary of all lambings and showed me that any serious lambings not kept for breeding not force fed meant to be more worm resistant and better feet, I admit that when i got him home hubby thought i had gone mad but waiting till offspring born to see, agree on beltex hubby wanted him and wouldn't put him on ewelambs, i do like charolais but getting too much in dams as keep own multiple born females.