The Ruddell ewes
In 1996, soon after we returned to the prairies, we decided to dispose of our commercial flock and invest in 15 registered Clun Forest ewes and one registered Clun Forest ram. We had had such good luck with our Clun rams in Nova Scotia that the change to a commitment in the Clun Forest breed seemed obvious at the time. It was certainly the right decision.
This small group of ewes came from the Ruddells in Ontario, and all of these ewes went back to the original importation of Cluns, to Nova Scotia, which began in the early 70’s. At the start we used the Ruddell ram for a couple of years and then managed to buy, in the late 90s, a terrific ram from Angus Rouse. He really was a solid ram and left some fantastic lambs and replacements. Our next ram came from Roxy Gordon, a Saskatchewan based Clun breeder. In the late 90s, Angus Rouse sold his Clun flock and 5 different bloodlines came west to the farm of Glynn Brooks at Lethbridge. I bought 3 rams, of different lineage, from Glynn in the next handful of years. These have been exceptional rams and have left us with a variety of ewe lambs, top quality butcher lambs and also about 25 top quality ram lambs each year.
In 2009 I brought in two rams from BC, of different breeding lines, and the flock of Barbara Ydenburg. I originally saw her flock in 2007 and was very impressed with the quality of her ewes and the care and attention she invested in her management. We now have used these rams and will be keeping replacements from the one line in particular.
For this year I have spoken for a new ram from the Duncan flock in Ontario and look forward to the outcome.
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How I got into using Clun Forest rams
Since my first experience at lambing, some 40 plus years ago, I’ve had the chance to work with all sorts of different breeds. Some have been the likes of the lowland breeds of the Southdown, Suffolk and Dorset. In contrast I’ve worked with some of the hill breeds, in particular, the Cheviot, the Welsh Mountain breed (and, of-course, the Clun Forest breed.) All of these breeds are typical of the more mountainous / hill regions in Britain. They all have their value in their own environments.
In the early 1980s we were farming on the North Shore of Nova Scotia, lambing out around about 500 cross bred commercial ewes each year. Of these 500 plus ewes, about 100 would have been ewe lambs. Up until this time we had tried several different breeds of rams on our ewe lambs but we never had the results that we had hoped for. One year, 1983 I believe, and a few months after we had finished our final lambing of the season, a friend came for a visit. After telling him of our sorrowful story of lambing out our flock of ewe lambs he told me to take a visit to see Angus Rouse near Truro, and “buy yourself a Clun Forest ram”, he said. And that was the beginning of more than 25 years involvement with this grand breed of sheep.
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Our Flock Today
Over the past 15 years our flock has increased in size to around 75 ewes. With the different breeding lines that I have brought in from across Canada, I have been able to select the best of the breed and, by doing so, gradually improve my flock.
At present, I am using 4 seperate ram lines and have another line spoken for into the near future.
I lamb my ewes at the beginning of April, as a rule, and try to wean them at the beginning of August. I keep the weaned lambs out on grass until the end of October, feeding them in the early morning and once again when they return to the coral in the evening. This year is different as I slowly organise my paddocks and fencing. They've been on hay and grower pellets for this fall and have done well.
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Look in the sheep sub menu for Clun Forest
Photos to find out more detail about
the Clun Forest breed
and how this breed can work for you.
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Our Clun Forest sheep
Clun Forest ewes in winter. Clun sheep are a hardy breed and easily thrive in our long and cold prairie winters. Although my flock has the opportunity of a covered shed, they are wintered outside, seldom found avoiding what nature has to offer. I have kept cattle for nearly 40 years and in my experience the Clun breed mirrors the characteristics of the Angus breed. They are hardy, good mothers and adapt to their environment . As with the Angus, they aren't the fastest performing but the end result is equally satisfying.
Lambing time. Clun Forest ewes are truly exceptional mothers. Their sprightly lambs have small heads, sleek bodies and rarely cause difficulties at lambing, even when a clun ram is used on any breed of sheep. These four week old lambs are thrifty and will contiue to grow whether on grass or in a more confined environment.
Strong, solid 3 week old Clun Forest lambs
Early August, April born Clun Forest lambs with their mothers. It looks like they have oodles of grass to grow on but this was a photo op day and I brought all of the ewes and lambs into this small one acre paddock so as to take some pictures. There are lots more of these pictures that I took this day if you go to the Clun Photos sub menu page. You'll see some great lambs, almost equal in structure as their mums.
Clun Forest ram lambs grazing in paddock by the house. These are a small group of April born lambs grazing in the paddock by our house in early September. If you go to the Clun photos page in the sub menu, you will get to see lots of different pictures of lambs at different stages of the summer and fall. It should give you a good idea of what you can expect from using a Clun in your flock.
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