Today we ultrasound scanned the lambs. The reason why we do this is to understand how much muscle and fat depth each animal has. This is important if you are breeding animals that Commercial Farmers will use to produce prime lambs for the food chain as it ensure that the right genetics are selected for breeding (ie more meat and less fat under the skin).

Our heaviest lamb weighed 66.5kg and he was born on 19th February but just because he is the heaviest it doesn’t mean he is the best. The breeding values that will be calculated on our animals will take into account rear type (single/twin or triplet), eight week weight, scan weight as well as the results from the scan itself.  This information will allow animals to be compared on a like for like basis.

It is interesting to me that the best animals are usually not the biggest as they can be born later and therefore could easily get overlooked. Imagine what would happen if you were to inadvertently sell (rather than breed from) your best animals just because they weren’t your biggest. Your genetic gain would be slower than it could be and this would have a big effect on your profitability!

It surprises me that more people don’t do more recording as we all know that the devil is in the detail! 

The picture above shows the raw data captured during Ultrasound scanning.

Next job will be to CT scan the best 8 ram lambs to do further analysis of their carcass attributes.

Lambing 2018 came and went successfully. For the first time ever we had external help which was fantastic and it proved that lambing could be less stressful and fun!

The lambs were kept inside for the first four weeks due to the dreadful weather conditions but following turnout the February lambs got badly battered by the weather that followed. As a result the March born lambs initially grew the best. However the cream always floats to the top and the February born lambs are recovering fast and it will be interesting to see the results at scanning time with weights.

At times like these I never fail to be impressed with nature and how resilient lambs can be  to environmental factors.

Well despite the worst snow we have had in 15 years we managed to scan the ewes today!

The girls didn’t like being up to their waists in it and the dogs were not impressed either but we managed to get it done and we now know how many to expect. This makes life easier for us as we can divide them into relevant groups and ensure they get the right levels of nutrition to hopefully avoid problems later on.

We were pleased with the results overall, but in particular we had an exceptional scan with the embryos with 17 out of 19 holding (the two that slipped were in one ewe).

Junior stock sires used include:

Kimbolton Ace
A very high index Hollyford Vroom Vroom son out of a much admired ewe from our Grey Peel ewe line. Ace was one of the standout lambs of 2017 and is very correct and shapely.

Kimbolton Adventurer
A very high index Avon Vale Real Deal son out of our successful Ettrick ewe line.  Adventurer is a correct, fast growing naturally born twin who’s sister was exported to Holland.

Senior stock sires include:

Kimbolton Va Va Voom
Gaining a following for consistently breeding. Yearling Rams sold to 5,500gn in 2017.

Kimbolton Yeoman
By Goldies Supreme out of Kimbolton Warrior’s dam, a great combination whose first son sold for 1,850gn.

Duhonw Your The One
Purchased jointly for 8,000gn after standing Champion Texel at the NSA main sale.

Not long now until lambing, which is due to start on 29th February!

The Kimbolton Flock is delighted to announce the joint purchase of Duhonw Your The One  who was Champion Texel at the 2017 NSA main sale  for 8,000gn.

This much admired, naturally born Meinspride Usain sired Ram was the pick of the sale and is probably one of the best rams that Paul has seen in recent years.

A modern Ram with outlook, length and balance  with excellent fleshing, he will be selectively used this breeding season and we eagerly await his progeny.

The picture above doesn’t really do justice to him but a video of him being sold that does can be found by following this link

With sale season in full swing we have been amazed at the demand for our genetics with around 85% of sheep sold direct from farm this year.

The telephone started ringing in May and so far we have sold sheep privately to all parts of the UK as well as exporting another consignment to Holland this year.

Interest at the National and Club sales has also been strong as people seem to be becoming more interested in harder working “real” Texel’s rather than the higher maintenance “showy” types.

This trend is being driven by a desire to improve business efficiency and profitability and our focus on selecting for commercial traits whilst retaining breed type seems to be hitting the mark.

We are always keen to hear how our customers get on with the sheep they purchase and following this weeks Solway and Tyne Club sale we were delighted to hear that one of the top prices for a shearling ram (5,600gn) was achieved by John Elliot’s Roxburgh flock. This was for a son of Kimbolton Va Va Voom who John purchased in 2015 for a significant undisclosed four figure sum.

We still have a limited number of animals for sale this year therefore if you are looking for something please get in touch.

We were pleased to receive the results from CT scanning a selection of this years lambs on 4th July.

We find this data highly valuable as it accurately shows the internal composition of the lambs produced. When this information is combined with more traditional methods of selection (physical structure, type etc.) it allows informed breeding decisions to be made that ensure we continue to produce the kind of animals our commercial and pedigree customers want.

The information show here is raw data and needs to be considered carefully as some of the figures are not like for like comparisons (how many times have you heard people at sales boasting “its got 40mm muscle” or “the longest spine length yet measured”). Its only when this data has been converted into an EBV that it can be compared as this takes into account factors such as age, weight etc. This information will be available to us at the end of the month.

For the minimal additional cost (thanks to subsidies from the Texel Society and AHDB) it is a simple way for us to increase our business’s efficiency and I am looking forward to the day in the future when I will be able to DNA test my lambs and make keep or cull decisions based on health traits.

We have received the results from the first BLUP run of the year (the run that produces the performance recording figures) and the flock has performed strongly producing the top ewe lamb (see last post) as well as a number of very high rated ram lambs.

This first run for the lambs is largely based on weight to 8 weeks of age (adjusted to 56 days) plus parentage information. It should therefore be considered a marker of a lambs performance however it is not until the data from ultrasound scanning and CT scanning are included that you get a rounded picture reflecting actual (rather than predicted) carcase information.

The most pleasing aspect for us is to see the Top Stock Sires list as this is the list that takes into account when a Ram has progeny on the ground. Rams from the Kimbolton flock make up 30% of the front page which is satisfying as most of these have been sold and it shows they are performing for their new owners.

Helped by the kind weather and also by the fact that we have managed to secure additional grazing, the lambs have been growing on strongly.

We completed the 8 week weights and the best rather surprisingly was a single ewe lamb who weighed 44kg at 56 days. This is equal to an incredible growth rate of 630g per day!

The ewe lamb is PPK1700719 and she is by a home bred Ram called Kimbolton Yabba Dabba Doo who was our stand out Ram lamb last year. The Dam is one of our best breeding female lines who also have scored well in the Mastitis projects we have been participating in as they have been found to have a higher genetic resistance to mastitis. Perhaps this is why the growth rate has been so high?

Kimbolton Yabba Dabba Doo has continued to grow out well and he is pictured below relaxing in the sun. Semen is available for sale for UK use.

Lambing for the 2017 season started on 12th February and continued until 23rd March.

We were fortunate with the weather and the lambs are growing on rapidly with some exciting prospects in the pipeline.

Seen below is the last ewe to lamb, PPK1500526 who was everyone’s favourite when on the Texel Sheep Society stand at NSA Sheep 2016. We like her a lot and hope her lambs turn out like their Mum.

Lets hope the weather continue to be supportive!