Our Jacob lambs are monitored from birth, we record their Sire and Dam, birth
weight, birth status, and then we regularly weigh. Our farm is particularly
challenging for our animals as rain fall is high and it is very often windy and cold.
Therefore we need to be selecting animals that perform well under these conditions
and sort
out the weak and feeble.
When selecting our breeding rams we are particularly interested in the daily live
weight gain in adition to the pedigree breed standards. Lambs are weighed
regularly and at key points like birth and weaning. In addition to the daily
live weight gain, we look for quality of fleece and temprement. Our aim is also
to raise the animals with as little inputs as possible and we are looking at
ways to reduce feed costs.
As we are a small flock, all our male lambs are left intact. This does not seem
to effect the taste of those sent for meat and does give us time to monitor
growth rates prior to final selection of breeding animals.