Famous flock owes success to wonder ewe
Famous flock owes success to wonder ewe
One of the most successful
Suffolk sheep flocks of all
time has just finished
lambing. Jeremy Hunt
reports that the flock owes
much of its fame to one
wonder ewe
IN THE past few weeks about 150 Suffolk ewes have lambed in the world famous Muiresk Suffolk sheep flock owned by the Mair family in Aberdeenshire.
One ewe, number K79, has seen several lambing seasons during her life. She is a legend in her own lifetime, producing progeny that has sold for over £160,000. At 10-years-old and beginning to show her age, she has still managed to produce three lambs by embryo transfer.
The story of this amazing sheep began after Kenny and Bruce Mair bought Cairness Cristar privately from fellow Suffolk breeder Jimmy Douglas. Among the ewes he was run with was a full sister to Muiresk Maximus – a Royal Highland Show Champion. The mating produced K79.
She lambed as a gimmer in 1994 producing a single tup lamb by the record-breaking Suffolk sire Pankymoor Prelude, who had been jointly bought by the Mairs for 20,000gns. This was Preludes first lamb crop at Muiresk and the Mairs remember K79s lamb as the best tup lamb of that year. Unfortunately, the lamb became ill just before the breed societys main show and sale at Edinburgh and had to be withdrawn.
He stayed at the Mairs farm at Kinnermit and was registered as Muiresk Dancing Brave, although a half-share was sold to the Westend flock. Dancing Brave was the first indication of the true breeding potential of K79 – he went on to leave over 80 registered sons.
But no one could have guessed what surprises K79 had in store and she didnt wait long to reveal the first of them. The following year, after being mated again to Prelude, she produced Muiresk King Of Diamonds, which set the Suffolk world on fire when he realised 68,000gns at Edinburgh. Jimmy Douglas bought him for his Cairness flock.
The magic mix of K79 and Prelude was the planned mating when tups were turned out to join the ewe flock at Kinnermit in August, just a few weeks after King of Diamonds hit the headlines. But at lambing time the following January, instead of producing much awaited tup lambs, K79 produced twin ewe lambs.
"It was rather disappointing after King of Diamonds, but it proves there are no guarantees in livestock breeding," says Barclay Mair, who runs the Suffolk side of the familys farming business with his father Kenny.
The two ewe lambs were retained and have proved to be consistent breeders of quality tups including a first-prize winner at the Royal Highland Show.
And so it was back to Prelude for the 1997 lamb crop and this time K79 came up trumps with two ram lambs – one born naturally and another by ET. They were Muiresk Champion that sold for 11,000gns at Edinburgh, and Muiresk Marlboro that made 4000gns.
In 1998 it was decided to give her a year off and so K79s progeny were all ET-lambs. She produced Muiresk Bobortoo by Stockton Storm that made 32,000gns and her Castlewellan Caffrey sons included Muiresk Millenium Maker at 12,000gns, Miracle Man at 4500gns and Masterstroke at 2000gns. There was also a ewe lamb by Caffrey that was retained.
Another Stockton Storm son that year – Muiresk Storm – realised 4000gns. Three Stockton Storm ewe lambs were sold out of K79 to realise 1600gns, 1000gns and 2000gns.
In 1999, K79 was mated to Cairness The Best and produced Muiresk Mark of Esteem which realised 3500gns. There was also a ewe lamb by Stockton Storm that was retained.
In 2000, K79 was put to Baileys Riverdance, a ram from the flock of leading Eire Suffolk breeder Tom Bailey, and the single tup lamb Muiresk Mandarin resulted and sold for 1500gns.
Last year the Mairs decided not to flush K79, but tentatively artificially inseminated her to Glenho Godolphin. She was not expected to hold to the service.
"We were amazed when she produced a really good single ewe lamb by Glenho Godolphin – another from the Bailey familys flock and a son of the 75,000gns Stockton Almighty," says Barclay Mair.
K79s progeny by Godolphin (she has also produced an ET-bred ram lamb and two ewe lambs this year) are line-bred to the great Prelude as Godolphin is by Almighty, which is by Cairness Simply the Best, in turn by King of Diamonds.
"K79 has been a phenomenal breeding ewe, a real once in a lifetime sheep. We run her with the ewe lambs to give her an easier time of it, and although shes looking a bit thin these days shes still enjoying life," he says.
• The Muiresk flock was established in 1954 and over almost half a century has registered more than 1000 tups – over 800 of these have been bred in the last 20 years. The rams that have been awarded the breeds "sire of the year" title have been used in the Muiresk flock in each of the last 10 years. *
The hugely successful K79 – still going strong at 10-years-old.
Muiresk King Of Diamonds, a K79 son that sold for 68,000gns.
• Born 1992 – Sire Cairness Cristar.
• 1994 – first lamb Muiresk Dancing Brave, father of over 80 registered sires.
• 1995 – produced Muiresk King of Diamonds, who sold for 68,000gns.
• 1996 – produced two ewe lambs.
• 1997 – produced Muiresk Champion and Muiresk Marlboro.
• 1998 – produced by ET 32,000gns Muiresk Bobortoo.
• 1999 – produced 3500gns Muiresk Mark of Esteem.
• 2000 – produced 1500gns Muiresk Mandarin.