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Lindehoeve Suffolks

Estate in 1995

Medi visna free and scrapi  resistant

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Our Breeding Goal

Our breeding goal is to breed long, wide ewes with great muscles and good leg work. The muscles have to grow by using our own raw fodder: grass in summer, and clamp silage grass and corn during winter. Of course the lambs are also fed an extra supply of strength fodder.

The ram lambs get more strength fodder than the ewe lambs. This because the ram lambs are already sold in the first year as stud rams, as well for breeding as crossbreeding. When they are 100 days old, we weigh and scan all the ram and ewe lambs on fat percentage and muscle coverage. This is done by mr. G. Winter of I.S.G. Inter Schaap Genetics.  This makes it possible to make a selection on growth speed and meat in heritage with little fat coverage.

Crossbreeding concerns the farms that use other than Suffolk ewes, such as the Swifter. The use a Suffolk ram to cover these animals because a duffolk lamb grows very fast the first couple of months. By using a Suffolk ram this characteristic is also inherited on to these flesh lambs so they are earlier ready for sale of meet.

The ram lambs have to be sufficiently developed and weight at 8 months to cover for the first time. The ewe lambs are being sold for breeding.

Those animals of which we are not considering suitable for breeding, as well for own breeding purposes as for sale, are being sold as slaughter material.