I feel compelled to write this morning in response to a post that was placed on Social Media last night.
13/07/2020

 

For 28 years now I have been breeding Bleu Du Maine sheep and like all of you I have had the lows, the highs and the in-betweens that is part and parcel of pedigree breeding

We unlike commercial flock owners, are not simply satisfied with two lambs away and out, oh no we want a whole list of criteria to achieve the perfect (which never exists) specimen.

Again, like all of you we who are still reading this, I have had dear tups, cheap tups, chancy tups and so dear tups I have “had to break it to my husband gently how much I have spent” tups. Some of these rams have been the best thing since sliced bread and others have slid into anonymity having been packed off to an auction many miles away.

We all also have had that inconspicuous ewe that no one ever picks out, that produces the goods year after year.

I know at this point I am rambling, but whilst I am trying to say I that pedigree breeding does not follow the rules and that if we all knew the formula all of the time, perhaps it would be boring (although a lot less frustrating). The point of this piece is that I am so very saddened to see one of our members and breeders criticising and naming another breeders ram on social media.

My overriding thought is there for the grace of god go all of us. We cannot and should not have to guarantee the progeny of our rams, otherwise we open up such a can of worms.

We must remember how upsetting it is to be at the other end of this abuse as it really could be any one of us if our tups do not click with someone else’s ewes.

Please as breeders let’s not air our dirty laundry in public, let’s not openly criticise. What is put on the internet never disappears.

 

Sally Shone

Chairman of the Bleu Du Maine Sheep Society

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