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We aim not only to produce top class shearling rams and ram lambs for the pedigree breeder, but also high performance shearling rams and ram lambs for the commercial market.
At Foulrice, as we are committed to producing quality rams we use the following selection criteria:
Conformation: Extreme muscling of our current stock sires is being transferred to their progeny, which in turn are producing superior butchers' lambs. We have demonstrated this on our commercial flock of Mashams and Charollais X Mashams.
Fast Growth Rate: Essential for marketing lambs at the optimum time.
Good Bone Structure: To complement the fleshing capabilities without being too heavy, which detracts from the killing out percentage of butcher's lambs
Hardiness: Over recent years Charollais has received some criticism regarding their hardiness. We have addressed this issue and specifically selected for a dense fleece and reasonable hair cover. In so doing we now produce rams which can be used in a wide range of environmental conditions, for example we now have customers who use Charollais in the uplands on hill breeds such as Scotch Blackface, Swaledale and Hill Cheviot to obtain a higher value lamb.
It is imperative that commercial Charollais rams carry these characteristics because their progeny will command an ever increasing share of the market in prime lamb production. Many dead weight buyers specifically source Charollais X lambs for their customers as a result of their quality, and the same happens in many live markets.
