North Country Cheviot Sheep Society
North Country Cheviots prove a winner at Little Galla
North Country Cheviots prove a winner at Little Galla
Jim Frame grew up at Thinacre Farm, Quarter, near Hamilton, with his brother Hugh.
The farm was only 150 acres, and they had to rent ground all over the place, which wasn’t sustainable. Hugh remained on the home farm and Little Galla was bought in 1979.
This 500-acre hill farm is near the village of Rigside, between Lanark and Biggar, in South Lanarkshire. The farmhouse sits at 940ft above sea level and rises to 1100ft at its highest point. On average, it receives 48 inches of rainfall in a year.
Jim farms alongside his wife Margaret and son David. They have no outside labour, apart from at lambing time when other family members are drafted in to help.
David is a time-served mechanic and up until four years ago, he was working away from home, latterly at Hamilton Brothers at its Bishopton base. With neither David nor his sister Leeann interested in coming home to the farm full time, the plans was for Jim and Margaret to work until they retired and then sell the farm.
However, in 2021, David decided he’d had enough of the ‘rat race’ and that it was time to return home.
Apart from 80 acres, all the land on Little Galla is reclaimed. Jim says they sorted the drains, spread three tons of lime, then added another three tons to get the ground in better condition. He says they’re now at the point where it needs lime again. They couldn’t sow rape as it would choke the new drains, so they opted for turnips instead before it was reseeded.
Around 750 breeding ewes and gimmers are kept and lambed during April. Initially, the family also ran pedigree Texels, which were MV-accredited, but they have moved away from this enterprise because they lambed too late to suit the tup lamb trade.
Most of the sheep are kept at home, apart from 180 hoggs which are wintered at Lesmahagow. The highest percentage of the flock is North Country Cheviots, with a mixture of 350 hill and park types. About 100 of these run with a pure tup to breed replacement females. The remaining 250 are tupped with Blueface Leicester rams to breed Cheviot Mule ewe lambs. Texel and Beltex rams are also used over some 200 cross ewes to breed lambs for fattening.
The team also runs 80 pure Texels to produce tups and replacement females, and 120 Blackfaces run with an Aberfield-type tup to breed cross ewe lambs.
The Aberfield was introduced to provide an improved crossing sire that produces maternal-type ewes with better conformation and fast-growing wedder lambs. This population of fully performance-recorded ewes is bred under commercial conditions and selected for lambing percentage, milking ability, maternal behaviour, longevity, and ease of lambing, as well as growth and muscling.
David says that as well as these attributes, they like Blackies for their ease of management. He says: “You can stick them on the hill and more or less forget about them – they don’t need much attention, and the stress factor is minimal.”
All ewes are tupped naturally. Jim says he has never had any inclination to use artificial insemination. Tups are put out at the beginning of November, starting with the Cheviots, which lamb first. A teaser tup is also used and introduced roughly a fortnight before the Cheviot tup. This practice has tightened their lambing pattern considerably, which means the Cheviots are almost all lambed before the crosses start, making a huge difference in the workload.
Scanning is carried out around mid-February, and females are fed accordingly. Anything not in lamb is culled. Those carrying single lambs are separated and not fed, while those carrying twins and triplets get fed around six weeks before lambing with an 18% Davidsons cake. The aim is to twin on every third lamb from a set of triplets – pet lambs are not something the family are keen on rearing themselves!
Apart from grass, sheep are fed haylage during the winter and hay if the weather allows them to make it.
All ewes and gimmers are treated for fluke six weeks before lambing. They are also bolused twice yearly for selenium and iodine, pre-tupping, and then again pre-lambing.
Jim says: “We discovered both the sheep and the cattle were low in iodine, so we now work with Tracesure.”
Tracesure supplies the animals with four essential trace elements: copper, iodine, selenium, and cobalt. The slow-release system works for up to six months from a single application.
Jim says the boluses have made a considerable difference to scanning, increasing numbers by around 20%.
Lambing is predominately done outside in fields near the farm steading and only if the weather is bad, or there are complications, are the ewes brought inside.
The Cheviots start lambing at the beginning of April, so lambs are ready to sell by the end of August. The Blackies are next, and the remainder of the sheep follow on.
Jim and David prefer lambing outside but say it doesn’t come without challenges. Ravens cause significant problems. These massive all-black birds are the biggest members of the crow family. They breed mainly in the west and north, although they are expanding their range eastwards. They are known as super-smart birds, and their intelligence rates are high – compared to that of chimpanzees and dolphins.
Along with their intelligence and powerful, blunt beak, lambs are ideal prey for these birds, which Jim describes as ‘vicious, evil birds that just love to kill’.
“We lose quite a few lambs and ewes through the birds ripping tongues and pecking out ewes’ eyes as they lamb. They spot the first lamb being born, and while the ewe is busy giving birth to the second lamb, they swoop and rip the inside out of the lambs.”
David emphasises how you cannot underestimate the brain power of these birds, adding: “As soon as we appear on the bike, they go into hiding and wait. And they know the difference between a gun and a stick. If you wave a stick, they know it’s a stick, and they’re brazen enough to hang around. If it’s a gun, you don’t see them for dust. They’re extremely clever and cunning.”
Ravens are protected by NatureScot, which makes it difficult to shoot them. If farmers have tried to remove them without success, they can apply for a licence to shoot them which allows farmers to kill five a year. However, that was increased to 10 for the Frames last year because of the carnage the birds were leaving.
Jim says: “We have hundreds of these birds and they are so smart, it’s almost impossible to shoot them.
“Lambs that have been attacked are brought inside but invariably most of them will die.
“Foxes are not too much of a problem as the gamekeeper on the neighbouring estate manages to keep them at bay.”
Lambing is a family affair with all hands on deck. Jim and Margaret’s daughter Leeann takes a fortnight’s holiday from her ‘day job’ to help, and with lambing falling at Easter time, David and Fiona’s daughters Emily (8) and Grace (5), who are usually on their school holidays, also lend a hand.
In August, the breeding Cheviot Mule ewe lambs are sold through Longtown market. David says the Cheviot Mule ewes are hardy, good mothers and produce easy-finishing lambs.
Fat lambs are sold through Lawrie and Symington at Lanark or deadweight through Vivers Scotlamb.
In the early days, replacement sheep were bought in, but gradually, that has changed. Jim and David are now breeding their own replacements, with the only bought-in sheep being the Blackface. On average, ewes are five crops before they are sold cast. “If they’re fit and healthy and have teeth, we keep breeding from them.”
The Frames also run a pedigree Beef Shorthorn herd alongside their sheep enterprise.
In the early days, the family owned an award-winning Blonde herd and won the female championship at the Royal Highland Show with Galla Anita in the 1980s. However, these were gradually phased out and they now run 45 pure Shorthorns.
The first female was bought in 2003 because Jim liked their good nature and how easy they were to work with. He adds: “They come with good plates, excellent maternal traits, and are very prolific. One cow has produced eight calves in less than five years”.
The cows are also out wintered and only brought in before calving. “If the heifers are big enough to calf at two years old, we bull them at 15 months, or they wait until they’re ready,”said Jim.
Two stock bulls run at Little Galla. The senior bull, Caramba Cloud Rocket, was bought privately from Tom Staunton in Southern Ireland.
The young bull, Westbroad Scotia, was bought in Stirling last February, and Jim and David are eagerly awaiting the first calves from him.
Ten in-calf heifers are sold annually, and the rest are retained for breeding – these will be sold at the pedigree sales at United Auctions, Stirling or Longtown.
Jim says: “We put more females than males through the Bull Sales at Stirling with only exceptional ones selected for UA. The rest are cut and sold store through Stirling or fat through Carlisle.”
The Frames’ best investment came through their love of Shorthorns. Kidston Rambo was bought privately from James Stewart at Upper Kidston, Peebles. Jim says: “I’ve never owned a bull since Rambo that I liked so much. He bred the best females I’ve ever seen. They were maternal and had everything you would want in a female.”
FARM FACTS
Little Galla: Hill farm of 500 acres which is home to 750 breeding ewes and gimmers comprising 350 North Country Cheviots, 200 cross ewes, 80 pure Texels and 120 Blackfaces.
Show success: No time to show sheep or cattle now. Showed Blonde d’Aquitaines in the early days, winning female champion at the Royal Highland with Galla Anita in the 1980s.
Labour: Jim and David work full time with other family members drafted in at lambing time, including David’s sister Leeann and his two daughters.
History: Jim Frame grew up at Thinacre Farm, near Hamilton, with his brother Hugh. The farm wasn’t big enough for both so Little Galla was bought for Jim in 1979.
Credits:
Pat Wilson, The Scottish Farmer
Photographs by Rob Haining, The Scottish Farmer
Contact Details
For all North Country Cheviot Sheep Society enquiries please contact our secretary:
Corinna Cowin
Mobile: 07834817710
E-mail: secretary@nc-cheviot.co.uk
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