Well, where do I start. 10 years ago I left school. I loved
farming and always wanted to come home and
be on the farm. The farm then was a mixed farm with about 800 acres arable,
50-60 cattle and 700 ewes.
I liked the different jobs, no two days were ever the same,
but from an early age, well before I left school
I enjoyed the ‘SHEEP’, yes, I really enjoyed working with
the sheep. So when I finished school I asked my
father if I could have some sheep of my own. Mules were mentioned!! We
had some mules already in
the farm flock, but they were mostly Texel cross ewes. So we asked a local
farmer that went North to buy
North country Mule ewe lambs – a Mr Eddie Bullman – who I
must say has bought me some very nice
lambs over the years and I am very pleased with them.
I started with 35, I was only 16years old. I rented the
grass keep from my father and uncle. I have slowly
increased the numbers, renting grass from anyone that had any to spare.
Now I am 26years old and hope
to tup 1200 ewes and 600 ewe lambs this year. We have put a lot of grass
leys in on the farm and grow
only half as much arable.
420 mule ewe lambs came down the other week from Lazonby.
They were tremendous this year. A lot
of work had gone into preparing them for the sales. I admire the stocksmanship,
how they are clipped
out, bellies and necks, dipped and sound feet.
Once they had rested for a day, I brought them in and started
going through them. Worming, Heptavac P,
Crutching and checking their feet. The crutching I find is very important
as it keeps them clean for
tupping, they also seem to do better afterwards. They then go back into
a well fenced field, which has an
electric fence two metres from the boundary. I leave them there for two
days, for the worms to pass
through them. Hopefully they are also trained to respect an electric fence.
I rely almost completely on electric fencing. Nearly all
my sheep are kept in with Ridley Rappa fencing. I
enjoy this time of year folding sheep on dairy farms tack grass or our
stubble turnips. They always have
happy faces when they are moved to a fresh bite.
The rams I use are Suffolks, Texels and Charollais. They
are bought as shearlings on Estimated Breeding
Values with high index scores. These help me produce leaner, heavier,
better fleshed quicker fattening
lambs. Each breed has its place and job. Suffolks on older ewes to produce
ewe lambs. Charollais are
put on the younger ewes because of their easier lambing and quick to suckle.
Texels are used as sweeps
to catch any that are not served during the three-week tupping period.
They are a slower growing lamb
and come out better as tegs in late winter.
The Suffolk and Charollais cross lambs are both fast growing with good length. The Suffolk are more likely to run to fat than the Charollais.
My uncle is a butcher and has been having 5 lambs a week
since the end of April, and have graded U’s
and R’s 2-3H and weigh between 20-23kgs deadweight. He soon tells
me if there is a bad one. So I now
know how they are coming out!
There are three things that have helped me expand the flock; a Prattley sheep handling race which is used nearly every day. A Ridley Rappa system which goes on the A.T.V. Before I used a wheelbarrow which I would never want to go back to pushing! Also a lot of support financially and family help.
Finally I have been very pleased with the North of England
Mule. They are the best ewe on the market by
far. Good mothers, milk well, very prolific, shear well, have good length
and size and pleasant to look at.
There are three things that could still be improved, ewe conformation,
worm resistance, footrot resistance.
But I know you might want to leave some work for us to do!!
RANDAL STRAINGE, Ducklington, Oxfordshire.
