I just had to share this with you. Passing by a gate the other day, I saw a Welsh Ram, seemingly fast asleep in a field full of well raddled ewes. He's been working extra hard recently, earning his keep and made his first star appearance here on Thanksgiving Day
Whilst I got the camera out to zoom in, he had turned himself around to face me, poser!
Then he decided that he needed a really big, weight lifting stretch, just to show off a bit ...
But all that effort was obviously too much for him, so went to forward kneeling position,
"Comfortable again, might as well have a quick sniff, could have missed a ewe or two".
"Maybe these two? ...nope ... think I've seen a fair bit of these girls recently."
"Hmm...no ... nothing doing, so I might as well just doze off again."
"So if you've got enough photo's now, we'll call it a day shall we?"
Dafad, are those welsh sheep like Cheviots in that the tups have horns and the ewes don't? and are they meant to have brown patches in their wool? Haven't had owt to do with them things before so am curious. Shep
ReplyDeleteYep Shep, you're right. Thanks for your interest.
ReplyDeleteThey're Welsh Mountain, tups horned, ewes without and the brown colouration is normal. We also have a genetic throw back up here from Welsh Black and also some Badger Faces have crept in. Due to market preference for heavier weight, there is now a change to cross breed Texlels, so Wel-tex are now grazing around the mountain.
You sound as if you're far north of us, am I right?
Far north from Wales I guess, stuck up in Northumberland, North West of the county, crows flight away from the Scottish Border and Cumbrian Border. Best tracked down by finding Kielder reservoir, although not in Tarset it is the nearest 'landmark'.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the gen on Welsh Mountains. Like the sound of Wel Tex, has a nice ring about it! Shep
Checked out Kielder area on Beeb weather today, your weather has sure taken a down turn change compared to us. Being higher up we tend to get the weather that the Brecon Beacons get, ie worse than coastal Cardiff our nearest weather station.
ReplyDeleteAlso forgot to add, one farmer locally has Balwen sheep & another "newcomer" is trying out Ryelands (not really hill sturdy, more lowland and are more teddy bear ovines) but he also has Jacobs. His ram is a stunner.
Variety is the spice of life huh?
I'm not a farmer, just an observer, but Dad & I are working on a future post to explain my interest in things agricultural ( I grew up on farms) He too agrees with you about the purity of Galloways.
Some one else who likes Galloways - does he like Cheviots too??? Yup weather has hit us with a clout. Many trees in this area (forestry) and the winds have caused many to tumble. Burns well up an' all, those sheep the other day wouldn't have waded the ford this am that's for sure.
ReplyDeleteMebbe not a farmer but a sound observer. Do you know if the Welsh wool is worth much? just that brown in the wool would get money deducted around here. Think I may have dealt with Balwen sheep in Worcestshire (lambing) are they small? Shep
Wool prices? I'm told that at the moment better than they have been in the past few years, partly due to increase of wool as enviro-friendly insulation, no matter the colour. But as a rough guide ... Shearers locally charge about 80p per ewe.
ReplyDeleteMost welsh fleece average a kilo each. Texels better quality & heavier. Average market price here average around £1. per kg.
At weigh in, farmers get a measly cheque for 18%
and have to wait a while for the rest.
So probably not much difference from where you are I guess.
Re Balwen Welsh Mountain they nearly got totally wiped out in 1947. One local farming family has worked hard to keep this rare breed going. Lots of info on Google re rearing rates, body weight etc, I'm told they taste good too. Have been promised Herdwick for dinner over Chris-Moose time!
but Badger Faces are my favourite breed for looks.