I am picking up some EF ewe lambs, and have been offered two older ones as the owners are downsizing sheep milking - they are supposed to be retired and are working more than they did when they worked!
One older one is 3-4 years old, the other is 5-6 years old. I love the idea of having experienced milking girls to train myself on. And the older one is the best milk producer, produces the best lambs - they are not keeping her as apparently all the younger ones they have kept are related to her now. So if I can get her for a decent price, and so long as she still has teeth, I think it is worth trying to get more lambs out of her. I can't seem to find any maximum age of ewes for breeding/dairy purposes. I have read that a well maintained ewe can produce lambs into their 20's. I think that if when I see her if she has a beautiful large milky udder and I see that her lambs also have beautiful milky udders that it's worth the chance of no lambs. And for this year, space is not an issue, so I can take a little bit of a risk and feed a ewe that may not produce. They will have lots of time to get settled before they are bred. What do you think? How old are your ewes lambing/milking until?
One older one is 3-4 years old, the other is 5-6 years old. I love the idea of having experienced milking girls to train myself on. And the older one is the best milk producer, produces the best lambs - they are not keeping her as apparently all the younger ones they have kept are related to her now. So if I can get her for a decent price, and so long as she still has teeth, I think it is worth trying to get more lambs out of her. I can't seem to find any maximum age of ewes for breeding/dairy purposes. I have read that a well maintained ewe can produce lambs into their 20's. I think that if when I see her if she has a beautiful large milky udder and I see that her lambs also have beautiful milky udders that it's worth the chance of no lambs. And for this year, space is not an issue, so I can take a little bit of a risk and feed a ewe that may not produce. They will have lots of time to get settled before they are bred. What do you think? How old are your ewes lambing/milking until?
