Blue Book Article 5
Cluns in a Cross-Breeding Program by Brenda
Ekstrom
I admit I first became interested in Clun Forest sheep from a picture on the
British Wool Board sheep poster. The breed just looked good; it was alert,
handsome, and medium sized. Eight years later my husband and I finally contacted
the association's secretary, and realized that this relatively unknown breed
would fit into the way we wanted to raise sheep. We were looking for a breed
that could take care of itself at lambing time, was productive, and could
produce wool and meat on pasture. Many breeds promise this, but few deliver.
After seven years of raising Cluns, I can say that to my delight, Cluns deliver
on the promise.
Many producers have turned to Cluns because they are tired of pulling lambs,
tired of sluggish lambs that don't seem to know where to look for their first
drink, tired of having to buy one ram for market lambs and another to produce
replacement ewes, tired of having to pour pound after pound of grain into their
market lambs because they just don't fatten on grass, tired of high-maintenance
ewes, tired of ewes that don't look after their lambs, and just plain tired.
We raise both purebreds and crossbreds and are particularly impressed with the
crossbreds. As one producer put it, "I've never seen a breed stamp itself so
strongly on crossbreds as the Clun." To best understand what Cluns can do in a
crossbreeding program, let's look at the strong points of the breed itself. In
this case, to understand the purebred is to understand the crossbred sheep.
Their most notable traits center around lambing. Cluns lamb easily by
themselves, produce tremendous amounts of milk from well-attached udders, and
generally drop twins or better under modest management. The lamb's small head
(and I mean small head) make lambing a pleasure again. More than one breeder has
commented that the lambs seem to just "squirt out."
Several years ago, I surveyed more than 50 Clun breeders and crossbreeders, and
with few exceptions most rated Cluns "Superior" (the highest rating) to other
breeds they had raised when comparing them for ease of lambing. According to the
survey results, Cluns easily outperformed Suffolks, Columbia, Cotswolds,
Targhees, Montadales, and Dorsets in the categories of ease of lambing, lamb
vigor at birth, mothering ability, and milking ability. Many breeders stated
that they worried less about the ewes at night or while at work because the ewes
could take care of themselves. The lowest lambing percentage of purebred Clun
breeders responding to the survey was 150%, but by far, most reported 180% to
200% lambing cropsand not a drop of Finn blood.
Along with ease of lambing comes a very strong mothering instinct. What
continues to impress me most about the Clun and Clun-cross ewes is that mother
and offspring stick together like glue. We've raised other breeds that had
occational ewes that were what I'd call "super mothers," but I've rarely seen
such a high degree of attentiveness and mothering abilities so widespread as
among all the Clun ewes. Other outstanding traits include hooves that need
trimming only once a year (if that), a productive long life, medium-size ewes
(140-160 pounds), alert and protective ewes, rams that are eager to breed, dense
wool, and a strong flocking instinct. Since we shear our own sheep, we also
liked the clean points.
In a crossbreeding program Cluns are particularly rewarding. Not everyone wants
to raise purebreds, but many producers would like one good sire breed to cross
on commercial ewes to produce both replacement ewes and market lambs. Cluns come
as close as any breed to serving both purposes. Survey results indicated that
Clun-cross ewes outperformed Suffolks, Dorsets, Targhee, Montadales, Hampshires,
Suffolk cross, and Columbia cross ewes in the categories of ease of lambing,
lamb vigor at birth, and mothering ability. In the categories of milking
ability, handling ease, wool quality, longevity, growth rate, and foraging
ability, all but one breeder felt Clun crosses outperformed other crosses they
had raised.
A West Virginia breeder who has been crossing Cluns on his flock for many years
states that "the first-cross Clun ewe has all of the mothering qualities of a
purebred. They are very easy lambers and have tight, neat udders that do not
break down easily. Mastitis has not been a problem. The crossbred lambs are
quick to nurse and are vigorous from birth. They birth, clean up, and nurse them
on their own without assistance."
A Wisconsin breeder states that nearly 100 percent of his Clun-cross ewe lambs
breed as lambs. He says that "they are easy to work with, lamb easily, and are
excellent mothers. They are small to medium-sized and have great foraging
ability. What I especially like is the ability of the lambs to finish on grass.
The lambs have excellent carcasses."
Clun-crossed market lambs tend to produce high-quality, lean carcasses. A
Canadian breeder uses a Clun ram on Border Leicester ewes and reports a dressed
weight of 50 to 65 pounds at 125 to 140 days. Another Canadian breeder relates
that "we have our own system of marketing lambs. We see and deliver all
carcasses and see many of them cut. A Clun Forest ram on Dorset ewes yields a
preferred carcass having good dressing percentage, consistent fine-grain muscle,
mild flavor, and well-proportioned with fine bone." In a recent Canadian Sheep
Federation Lamb Carcass Competition, a Clun-Suffolk carcass took third place
with only a few points separating it from second place.
When we have lambs slaughtered, we often like to look at the resulting carcasses
in the locker. We once had a Suffolk-Finn-Targhee cross lamb and a Clun cross
lamb slaughtered. There was a twenty-pound difference in live weight, but only a
five-pound difference in hanging weight. Looking at the carcasses, one could
easily see which one was the Clun crossit was the one with the meaty leg.
Over the past seven years we have crossed Cluns to Border Leicester crosses,
Finn-Targhees, and unknown mixed breedings. We have also crossed Suffolk rams
and Border Leicester rams onto Clun ewes. It doesn't seem to matter whether you
cross a purebred Clun ram on crossbred ewes or cross a Suffolk or Border
Leicester ram on Clun ewes; both crosses inherit the strong, meaty build of the
Cluns, their mothering ability, and their foraging ability. During the winter,
we feed supplemental grain to the ewes depending on the severity of the winter.
While other ewes are still lingering by the grain bunks nibbling up that last
kernel of corn, the Cluns are waiting for you at the hay bunk.
Most producers of Clun-cross lambs raise them on pasture with grain amounts
varying from none up to one pound daily. Our Clun crosses gain on average about
0.8 pounds a day (adjusted 120-day weights) on pasture plus one pound of grain.
This system may take another month to produce a market-weight lamb, but we feel
that we have pasture available and prefer a lower-cost, pasture-based system
over a labor-and-management-intensive confinement system. As we continue to
improve our pastures, we expect to see a higher rate of gain.
We are particularly pleased with our crossbred Clun ewes. Nearly every one of
them lamb by themselves from their first lambing forward; they have plenty of
milk, are very attentive to their lambs, and recover from lambing in excellent
condition the following summer on a diet of native lowland grasses. They are the
first group of ewe lambs we have ever raised that kept their condition so well
during their first 18 months of life while doing an exceptional job of rearing
their lambs. I am convinced we have found a commercial ewe cross that fits with
the way we want to raise sheep.
Clun Forest sheep are an interesting, unique breed with very strong mothering,
breeding, flocking, and survival instincts that have not been watered down by
"improvements" from other breeds. Whether raising market lambs or replacement
ewes, consider Cluns.
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