Fullblood Ile-De-France ewe lambs with rams for breeding.

[@CityandCountrySouthdowns]

Why breed ewe lambs? And sounds so complex; you can check all there records for breeding coefficient with the CLRC

[@Ile-De-FranceSheepFarm]

I have allowed my ewe lambs to get bred for over 35 years and have had good luck with them lambing while making more money. I do use coefficients with CLRC but I must maintain some order of breeding to keep them as unrelated as possible when there is no other breeder in the USA to get new genetics from. My fear is if they close the Canadian border again and then I am at a dead end for unrelated genetics. This is why I gathered up so many different lines of ewes and rams and chose to close my flock and run an 8 line breeding rotation. A perk is I no longer have to worry about dragging in any diseases.

[@CityandCountrySouthdowns]

@ can you do AIing imported semen from Europe or Canada?

[@Ile-De-FranceSheepFarm]

@@CityandCountrySouthdowns I am not sure on Europe but as of now I could from Canada but my lines include most of the good genetics from Canada so it would be best from another country. The best for me would be RCH Ile-De-France from South Africa but I know the USA and Canada can’t import any semen from there.🙁

[@CityandCountrySouthdowns]

@ I know Gerrit Brinkmann brought in semen from France. He’d have new rams for import for you

[@Ile-De-FranceSheepFarm]

@@CityandCountrySouthdowns That isn’t true because I talked to Gerrit and he brought in the semen of a son that Karen Bannow brought in his sire’s semen without knowing it. She also brought in semen from 3 more sires from over there. I own offspring from all those lines, Gerrit Brinkmann lines and some ET’s from the original Medicine Ridge owners from about 20 years ago. I imported ewes from 12 different sires and imported 6 unrelated sires. I brought in as much as I could to make sure I was never at a dead end. I know it probably looks silly from the outside looking in but wanted to make sure I could keep raising them for years no matter what happens. Daniel Goodsman is also importing from France but he wants to stretch them and I am not willing to do that. Keith Todd got new rams from Gerrit last year but told me they are nothing special so he brought in semen from France and has pregnant ewes with it now. I have not talked to him about it but I am afraid he is going to try to use genetics like Daniel to stretch them. The 4 head I got from him were already stretched more than anything that I bought from Karen. I feel that I got mine from the right flock for what type of sheep that I want to be raising.