Breeding from small ewes

[veritastar]

About 6 months ago I purchased four very cheap, very small lambs. One hardly grew at all and has recently been processed. However, with the other three I keep changing my mind whether or not to process them or breed from them. The photo bellow shows two of them- The one on the left is Petunia, the smallest of them. I have a 3 month lamb that is bigger than her, but I think she's a babydoll southdown sheep so would be meant to be small. The sheep in the middle is Mars, our new ram lamb- he is only 11 weeks old and is Persian X dorper. On the right is Lilly who is taller than some of my ewes but her back isn't as long, nor is she that solid. The third sheep (not pictured is) slightly smaller than Lilly.

The lady who we bought Mars from, told us that Persian lambs are very small, so I'm wondering if it would be safe to breed these smaller ewes to Mars (when he is old enough). I think my dorper ram would be too big for them.... I'm not sure about Mars... what do you think?

 

[veritastar]

The third small ewe- Daisy

Currently I'm thinking that Lilly should be fine but Petunia will probably be too small and I'm not sure about Daisy. I'll try to get a photo showing the comparative size of these three to my other sheep.

 

[Sheepshape]

I know nothing about Persian sheep, but little Mars doesn't look so little to me if he is only 11 weeks old.......he looks like he's going to be quite a big boy. Lovely markings.

I've had ewes mated by a 4 month old ram.....so be a bit careful.

Good Luck

 

[Ridgetop]

First, you need to shear them to really look at their structure. After shearing, I would evaluate them for breeding as if you were going to pay big $$ for them. Since you said that Lilly is shorter bodied and not as structurally sound, I would definitely put her in the freezer. Why breed to a ewe that might put her flaws in your next generation of lambs?

You said you bought these ewes as lambs 6 months ago - how old were the lambs then? What breeds were they supposed to be out of? Do you know what the weights are on all these lambs? Have you kept track of how much they have gained? How much feed have you put into them? If they're not structurally correct and haven't gained very much in weight or size, that is probably the reason they were sold cheap in the first place. Are they even a year old now? Ewes change a lot between yearling and 2 years old.

I agree with Sheepshape that the 11 month Persian x Dorper ram doesn't look that small. If the ewes are already 12 months or more old, and he is that big next to them, I would not bother to breed them. Know what you want from your flock - meat, wool, milk and then breed for the sheep that will produce your goal. Cheap is sometimes not a bargain.

Hope this helps.