Breed check! Corriedale ram.

[Bossroo]

I have never seen a Corriedale of this color in 50 years ... he is a very poor physical specimen conformationally for meat lamb production. Using this ram will increase your production costs and then bring lower market price at sale time.

For the sake of knowing why and learning - why do you say he is "a very poor physical specimen comformationally for meat..."?
If it helps any, he was severely under weight when I took this photo. They all came in poor condition.
In person, I think he is a pretty good multi-purpose ram. His ram lambs are very bulky and look to be good for meat and wool, which is what I was aiming for with his flock.

From the photo... Conformationally- This ram is slab sided with no spring to the ribs, his legs turn in at the knees, he is very narrow in the body. Beeing tall doesn't mean that he will have enough muscle mass as edible meat. Therefore he will be producing lambs with more bone/gut/hide to meat ratio department. If he passes on these traits to the lambs, they would bring a discount at auction. Also, the dark wool fibers would be discounted by the wool buyers, therefore the sale price wouldn't even come close to covering today's sheering costs. Not exactly what I would be looking for in a profitable enterprise.

 

[chubbydog811]

I have never seen a Corriedale of this color in 50 years ... he is a very poor physical specimen conformationally for meat lamb production. Using this ram will increase your production costs and then bring lower market price at sale time.

For the sake of knowing why and learning - why do you say he is "a very poor physical specimen comformationally for meat..."?
If it helps any, he was severely under weight when I took this photo. They all came in poor condition.
In person, I think he is a pretty good multi-purpose ram. His ram lambs are very bulky and look to be good for meat and wool, which is what I was aiming for with his flock.

From the photo... Conformationally- This ram is slab sided with no spring to the ribs, his legs turn in at the knees, he is very narrow in the body. Beeing tall doesn't mean that he will have enough muscle mass as edible meat. Therefore he will be producing lambs with more bone/gut/hide to meat ratio department. If he passes on these traits to the lambs, they would bring a discount at auction. Also, the dark wool fibers would be discounted by the wool buyers, therefore the sale price wouldn't even come close to covering today's sheering costs. Not exactly what I would be looking for in a profitable enterprise.

Thank you for clarifying! Like I said, I am still learning. The only reason I bought him was because he was included in the sale with the ewes (couldn't take the girls without him).
As far as meat rams go - what breed do you think would cross well with a Corriedale/Shetland ewe to get better meat quality and wool? The girls I am planning on keeping looking like short Corriedales. They are white, wider set and more correct than the ram, nice wool, and will be relatively meat-y once they get weight put on them.
Are there any wool colors that seem to sell for a better price than others?
I just picked up shearing clippers the other day, so that will actually be one less expense for the sheep. I only paid $20 for the clippers, so I would say money well spent.

 

[Bossroo]

For the sake of knowing why and learning - why do you say he is "a very poor physical specimen comformationally for meat..."?
If it helps any, he was severely under weight when I took this photo. They all came in poor condition.
In person, I think he is a pretty good multi-purpose ram. His ram lambs are very bulky and look to be good for meat and wool, which is what I was aiming for with his flock.

From the photo... Conformationally- This ram is slab sided with no spring to the ribs, his legs turn in at the knees, he is very narrow in the body. Beeing tall doesn't mean that he will have enough muscle mass as edible meat. Therefore he will be producing lambs with more bone/gut/hide to meat ratio department. If he passes on these traits to the lambs, they would bring a discount at auction. Also, the dark wool fibers would be discounted by the wool buyers, therefore the sale price wouldn't even come close to covering today's sheering costs. Not exactly what I would be looking for in a profitable enterprise.

Thank you for clarifying! Like I said, I am still learning. The only reason I bought him was because he was included in the sale with the ewes (couldn't take the girls without him).
As far as meat rams go - what breed do you think would cross well with a Corriedale/Shetland ewe to get better meat quality and wool? The girls I am planning on keeping looking like short Corriedales. They are white, wider set and more correct than the ram, nice wool, and will be relatively meat-y once they get weight put on them.
Are there any wool colors that seem to sell for a better price than others?
I just picked up shearing clippers the other day, so that will actually be one less expense for the sheep. I only paid $20 for the clippers, so I would say money well spent.

I used to have several hundred Ramboulett and Corriedale ewes as well as a flock of purebred Suffolks to sell the rams at ram sales. I crossbred the ewes to the Suffolk rams that produced excellent crossbred lambs at very good prices at auction . White is the preferred wool color for wool buyers. Black fibers in the wool always meant a discount. Since your ram came in a package deal, I would send him packing like yesterday and go out and purchase a high quality ram that would be an asset instead of a liability. In todays economy, I would concentrate on producing a meat type lamb. Sell the lambs and forget about wool production as the prices are way too low here to compete with Australian wool. My choice of ram breeds would consist of high quality purebred Suffolk, Dorper, or Southdown ( the full size type, definately NOT the babydoll size) for the best return on investment. I would also consider to annually retaining about 10 to 15% of the best quality ewe lambs produced from this cross as replacement ewes to improve meat production characteristics in your flock. Enjoy the journey !

 

[chubbydog811]

From the photo... Conformationally- This ram is slab sided with no spring to the ribs, his legs turn in at the knees, he is very narrow in the body. Beeing tall doesn't mean that he will have enough muscle mass as edible meat. Therefore he will be producing lambs with more bone/gut/hide to meat ratio department. If he passes on these traits to the lambs, they would bring a discount at auction. Also, the dark wool fibers would be discounted by the wool buyers, therefore the sale price wouldn't even come close to covering today's sheering costs. Not exactly what I would be looking for in a profitable enterprise.

Thank you for clarifying! Like I said, I am still learning. The only reason I bought him was because he was included in the sale with the ewes (couldn't take the girls without him).
As far as meat rams go - what breed do you think would cross well with a Corriedale/Shetland ewe to get better meat quality and wool? The girls I am planning on keeping looking like short Corriedales. They are white, wider set and more correct than the ram, nice wool, and will be relatively meat-y once they get weight put on them.
Are there any wool colors that seem to sell for a better price than others?
I just picked up shearing clippers the other day, so that will actually be one less expense for the sheep. I only paid $20 for the clippers, so I would say money well spent.

I used to have several hundred Ramboulett and Corriedale ewes as well as a flock of purebred Suffolks to sell the rams at ram sales. I crossbred the ewes to the Suffolk rams that produced excellent crossbred lambs at very good prices at auction . White is the preferred wool color for wool buyers. Black fibers in the wool always meant a discount. Since your ram came in a package deal, I would send him packing like yesterday and go out and purchase a high quality ram that would be an asset instead of a liability. In todays economy, I would concentrate on producing a meat type lamb. Sell the lambs and forget about wool production as the prices are way too low here to compete with Australian wool. My choice of ram breeds would consist of high quality purebred Suffolk, Dorper, or Southdown ( the full size type, definately NOT the babydoll size) for the best return on investment. I would also consider to annually retaining about 10 to 15% of the best quality ewe lambs produced from this cross as replacement ewes to improve meat production characteristics in your flock. Enjoy the journey !

Thank you again for your advice! I am definitely going to take note of it and sell/process anyone that isn't as productive as they should be (ram, and I also have 3 ewes that were also included in the flock that I'm not fond of. They are more similar to the ram in shape/color, though conformation wise look a lot better). I was thinking on the Suffolk or Dorper breeds for my meat flock, just wasn't sure how well they would do with the mix I have. I will definitely look into getting a better quality meat ram over wool.

 

[Bossroo]

Remember ... the ram is ONE HALF of your herd assembly line for production ! Only the best quality ram will make you a profit. Cull the ewes ruthlessly every year. A TOP quality Suffolk or Dorper will work wonders on the ewes that you select to keep.

 

[TexasShepherdess]

Ive come across afew folks crossing dorper rams over their wool ewes..they seem pleased with the results..the woolies were mainly Ramboulett and Suffolks..but like I said, they were pleased.

I am just in awe of how big he is..height wise..

 

[TheSheepGirl]

As far as wool color goes, a handspinner will pay top dollar for a good quality natural colored fleece! I have found that a silver fleece sells as well as any color that is unusual. Some but black wool and others prefer regular brown wool.

I breed only wool sheep and not meat, since around here it is more profitable. Each ewe produces a $60-$80 fleece twice yearly as well as 1-3 $100 lambs once yearly. Works pretty well for me and I make a bit more than if I just sold meat around here.

Handspinners are the way to go if you only have a small number of fleeces to sell, but they prefer quality fleeces over those from meat sheep that are not as good of quality, though I've been told that suffolk and hap. fleeces are good for socks, being courser.

 

[kfacres]

if that ram is a corriedale-- he's a poor representitive....

True, purebred black corriedales, are not eligible for registry in that ass'n. The black genes do show up sometimes. Friend of mine has several black ones.