Extremely successful in France
- Developed in France starting in 1824
- The Ile de France Flock Book was established in 1982
- Most common meat sheep in France - 300,000 ewes or 22% of meat sheep
- Origin is the Dishley Leicester and Merino
- Performance recording started by the Ile de France Flock Book in 1933. By 1959, all sheep breeds in France had followed suit.
- In 1968 the Flock Book began batch testing progeny. In 1972, a test station was opened at Verdilly, where Ile de France are tested and selected for meat qualities and fertility.
Beautiful appearance
- Well proportioned
- Excellent conformation
- Thickly muscled hind quarters
- White, wooled sheep: Average fleece weight is 4 - 6 kg with a 7 - 8 cm staple length and a count of 56 - 60.
- Both sexes are polled
- Average ewe weight 70 - 90 kg
- Average ram weight 110 - 150 kg
- Withers height; males - 77 cm; females - 67 cm
Top quality lamb carcasses without excessive fat
- Lean, well-muscled lamb with large rib eye area and good killing out percentage
- 18 - 20 kg carcass at 3 - 4 months
- Average daily gain of twin male lambs at 10 - 30 days: 251 grams
- Average daily gain of single male lamb at 30 - 70 days: 361 grams
- 19 - 20 kg at 42 days of age
- 34 - 41 kg at 100 days of age
- Gain well on grass alone
- Excellent feed conversion
Hardy, easy care sheep
- Thrifty sheep that perform well on grass alone
- Very hardy, vigorous newborn lambs that are active and up and nursing in short order
- Lambs 4 kg at birth so lambing problems are rare
- Lambs grow rapidly and have among the best daily live weight gains and feed conversion in Europe
Very fertile
- Breed year round
- 171% lambing average recorded in the fall and 198% in the spring
Highly maternal
- Ewes are devoted mothers
- Excellent milk supply
- Lambs are smaller/moderate sized at birth so lambing problems are rare
- Calm disposition
- Fullblood Ile de France ram lambs born May/June 2006:
- $1500 and up
- 4 sire lines available
- 50 and 100 day adjusted weights available
- Excellent flock health status, participants in voluntary scrapie flock certification program since 1995
Group of 7 April 1998 born ram lambs, raised by recipient dams fed grass mix hay free choice and 1/2 pound corn per head per day:
- Average adjusted 50 day weight = 50.7 pounds; range 37.2 - 69.4 pounds
- Average adjusted 100 day weight = 106.2 pounds; range 88.9 - 131.3 pounds
- Average ADG = 1.1 pounds
Ile de France Photographs
- Transportation can be arranged for small groups (5 - 8 head, depending on animal size) for $1 a loaded mile to any destination in the continental US.Transportation for groups of up to 30 head is $1.15 a loaded mile to any destination in the continental US. Individual animals or several small groups can be combined in one shipment to make trucking more reasonable for all concerned. Larger groups (30 head plus) can be sent by semi truck for $1.50 per loaded mile (approximate charge, please call for exact quote as it depends on the distance travelled and the destination.) Individual animals can be sent by air in airline approved dog kennels. Animals can be trucked to Chicago for $1 a loaded mile and delivered to the appropriate airline terminal.
- Interstate health papers are available for all sheep at no charge. Blood testing is additional but the charge is only for mailing samples to the lab and the actual lab charges.
- Export paperwork is done at cost (actual cost) so no extra charges are built in. Paperwork is done professionally and speedily. Sheep from Crane Creek are routinely sent to Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean.
- Transportation available leaving Feb 2006 for PA. Transportation in Feb/March 2006 to Asheville, NC and Miami, FL and locations along the way. Sheep can be intercepted along the travel routes. Please call, e-mail or write for more details.
Stephanie Mitcham
3061 160th Street
Sumner
IOWA
USA 50676
TEL (563) 578-5665
FAX (563) 578-8193
E-MAIL sam@netins.net
sam@netins.net
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