Long-lasting Lleyns hold the advantage over Mules
Long-lasting Lleyns hold the advantage over Mules
By Jeremy Hunt North-west correspondent
LLEYN sheeps longevity, high lambing percentage and prime quality lambs have encouraged Michael Haston to shift his allegiance towards the breed, which now makes up one-third of his flock.
Like many mixed livestock producers, Mr Haston has had to cope with fluctuating returns, none more so than from the sheep flock he runs at Newton, Carnforth, Lancs.
North of England Mules have long been the dominant ewe breed at Lane Foot Farm. But seven years ago the arrival of 10 Lleyn shearlings from the breed societys sale marked the beginning of a shift in breed allegiance.
Mr Haston, who runs the farm with his wife Rosalind and son Andrew, is not satisfied with the narrow type of North of England Mule he believes is becoming widespread. "I do not think the North of England Mule is as good as it was. It has become rather light-boned and too narrow in the shoulder.
"Conformation has deteriorated in recent years. It is something the Mule cannot afford to lose when its role is to produce prime lambs."
His dissatisfaction is partly responsible for the rise in Lleyns, which are now becoming a major part of the 500-ewe sheep enterprise. Purebreds now number 187, while 47 gimmer hoggs have been retained this year as the Lleyn flock continues to expand. The farm is also stocked with 95 dairy cows and finishes 100 store cattle.
And it is testament to the breeds longevity that some of the original females are still in the flock, seven years after they arrived.
The first batch of Lleyn ewes were put to a Charollais tup and the following year numbers were inc-reased again. "Lleyns were good to manage and produced smart, tight-skinned prime lambs – just what the market wants," says Mr Haston.
"Breeding pure Lleyns is giving us top quality prime wether lambs and allowing us to breed our next generation of females. No other breed can do both," he believes.
Mr Hastons Lleyn flock is made up of varying ewe types, but he knows exactly what type of ewe he is aiming for. "I want a stretchy ewe with a good skin. The aim is to breed a ewe with enough size to pass that frame on to a good shaped prime lamb, but not too big that you cant stock them tighter than a Mule.
"With more ewes/acre, a lambing percentage of over 188%, a top quality prime lamb and a good replacement female, the Lleyn is in a category of its own."
Mr Haston is well aware of the widening interest in the breed. "The Lleyn is starting to appeal to hill sheep producers because of the added value of the wether lambs compared with horned wethers."
As well as being able to stock one-and-a-half Lleyn ewes to every Mule ewe, he says there is a noticeable difference in feed intake.
"The Lleyn is a great forager and while most Mule ewes are always looking for concentrate, the Lleyn will take a passing interest in the feed trough and then go back to grazing."
Mr Hastons Lleyn flock starts lambing from mid-February. Hay is fed from Christmas and big-bale silage from late January. The first lambers are housed about 30 days before lambing and offered about 0.5kg of concentrate plus pot-ale syrup. Ewes and lambs are turned out soon after lambing and feeding is continued until April.
"Lleyns are easy lambers and good mothers. There are few assisted lambings. We have assisted hoggs for the past two years, but they were carrying Charollais lambs and lambed down rather fit. This year we kept them a bit leaner."
Durability is certainly one of the characteristics of the Lleyn that appeals to Mr Haston.
"We still have some of the original ewes. They have lost their teeth, but they must be the best money we have invested in sheep when you compare them with the productive lifespan of other breeds.
"Many sheep lose their middle teeth at three years old, whereas Lleyn teeth seem that bit shorter and they wear better."
The first purebred wether lambs were drawn last year in early May from a bunch of January lambers. This year the first wethers will be sold at about 40kg in early summer. Later-drawn lambs will reach 44kg.
"As a bonus, the Lleyn is giving us a high grade wool crop. We get an extra 0.5kg of wool from them," says Mr Haston. *
WHICH BREED?
• Mule has changed.
• Lleyn offers alternative.
• Ewes last well.