Purchasing sheep with lambs at foot

Charliebull · 07-09-2014 8:46pm #1

Lads can you purchase sheep with lambs at foot, is it an option in spring and flip all again, have a few acres that would suit a few sheep but not really set up to go the full hog

Future Farmer · 08-09-2014 10:05am

Why not by store lambs or ewe lambs for breeding and carry for the winter?

Charliebull · 08-09-2014 10:10am

Future Farmer wrote: »

Why not by store lambs or ewe lambs for breeding and carry for the winter?

farm is set up for cows, ie paddock with electric fences and slatted shed etc, this is a 5 acre block which was previously habitat and am in the process of reclaiming, prob a bit wet for cows so was thinking of fencing for sheep but there is no sheds with it so i had thought run a few sheep from early spring to autumn

but im open to suggestions

Future Farmer · 08-09-2014 11:07am

Sheep fencing tends to never be an easy option! :-)

Charliebull · 08-09-2014 11:15am

Future Farmer wrote: »

Sheep fencing tends to never be an easy option! :-)

i remember that,

best training ever, running after them fcukers

J.O. Farmer · 08-09-2014 6:38pm

You can buy ewes with lambs at foot but I've seen them go the sort of money that you'll be hard pushed to make anything in the year. Store lambs might be a better option.

Green farmer · 08-09-2014 6:41pm

With ewes, it usually takes the first and sometimes a second year for them to repay themselves. Ewes with lambs at foot are usually bought in the spring, when lambs are born. At this time of year it's hoggets that you'd have to get pregnant over the next month or two for spring lambing. Stores would be an easier option to give you a taste of sheep. They'd be gone by April at the latest.

Charliebull · 08-09-2014 8:34pm

Green farmer wrote: »

With ewes, it usually takes the first and sometimes a second year for them to repay themselves. Ewes with lambs at foot are usually bought in the spring, when lambs are born. At this time of year it's hoggets that you'd have to get pregnant over the next month or two for spring lambing. Stores would be an easier option to give you a taste of sheep. They'd be gone by April at the latest.

Thanks, I was hoping to purchase in spring because I don't really have housing facility for sheep, what is the other option for spring purchase if any

Green farmer · 08-09-2014 8:47pm

Spring is normally expensive time of year to buy sheep.

Nekarsulm · 08-09-2014 11:48pm

a neighbour bought about 50 aged ewes with lambs at foot back in july. bought mountainy type ewes over in Ballaghadreen , his plan is to kill the lambs off the ewes, then fatten up the ewes snd factory them also. got them at sensible money back then so should work OK for him.

Charliebull · 09-09-2014 8:41am

when is he planning on killing them,

ganmo · 09-09-2014 9:09am

here its a method of getting rid of troublesome ewes
We'd prefer to sell them round this time of year but theres aways the odd one that goes lame or just isn't right on a bunch so we hope and pray they go in lamb early and bring them out when the lambs are about a week old.
market is very variable, depending on grass

AnFeirmeoir · 09-09-2014 10:12am

This would be my concern.
Why would you go through the hardship of getting ewes right for tipping, bring them through to lambing and sell then? Fair enough you might be short of grass but most would have accounted for that in September.
Are ewes with lambs at foot generally poor performers /something wrong with them ?
I wouldnt sell a ewe i rated as having done a good job at that stage

Nekarsulm · 09-09-2014 10:58am

Charliebull wrote: »

when is he planning on killing them,

From now on, as they get a bit of condition on. he has lots of grass for them as is locked up with TB and could not buy cattle. I think he give 65 or so foe ewes with approx a lamb and a half at foot.

Charliebull · 09-09-2014 11:39am

Nekarsulm wrote: »

From now on, as they get a bit of condition on. he has lots of grass for them as is locked up with TB and could not buy cattle. I think he give 65 or so foe ewes with approx a lamb and a half at foot.

half a lamb, the good half i hope:D,

BTW i know what you mean

Green farmer · 09-09-2014 12:05pm

I suppose it's all about how handy or how cheap you can buy something. The guy bought old cull mointain ewes with lambs in July. No other expectations then factory ewes and lambs. At €65 seeing as he had grass, he'll do ok out of that.
For normal sheep that you want to keep around abit longer, that kind of money won't buy you much.
Also I'd imagine for old hill sheep that have spent their life's wondering the mountains , you'd want decent fencing in place ?

arctictree · 10-09-2014 12:33pm

I bought sheep with lambs at foot before. I made bloody sure that I had a selection amongst a very large group. This is especially true for ewes that are over 2 years old. I would never buy a group that someone had preselected for me unless you know them very well.

Green farmer · 10-09-2014 12:39pm

I've only bought sheep older then hoggets twice. Both occasions didn't work out great for me.

MayoAreMagic · 10-09-2014 4:21pm

The most genuine gang of sheep you will buy is a gang of good strong broken mouthed ewes. Frankly, because by in large you know why they are being sold. Pretty much all other sheep are being sold for a reason you don't know about. You can get times when young ewes are being sold for reasons that don't matter to you - hill ewes that stay in a dangerous place for example, but that isn't always going to be the case. If it is someone who lacks experience, go for the broken mouths, preferably with cross-bred lambs at foot, and just make sure the udders are sound and the ewe seems healthy.

Nekarsulm · 10-09-2014 4:47pm

MayoAreMagic wrote: »

The most genuine gang of sheep you will buy is a gang of good strong broken mouthed ewes. Frankly, because by in large you know why they are being sold. Pretty much all other sheep are being sold for a reason you don't know about. You can get times when young ewes are being sold for reasons that don't matter to you - hill ewes that stay in a dangerous place for example, but that isn't always going to be the case. If it is someone who lacks experience, go for the broken mouths, preferably with cross-bred lambs at foot, and just make sure the udders are sound and the ewe seems healthy.

My cousin advised me to do similar. He reckons that the best stock he bought was in the cull ring in Blessington. Even with a tooth or two missing, he found that there was at least one good year, and often two, in them, when relocated to lowland grazing.

J.O. Farmer · 10-09-2014 7:03pm

Nekarsulm wrote: »

My cousin advised me to do similar. He reckons that the best stock he bought was in the cull ring in Blessington. Even with a tooth or two missing, he found that there was at least one good year, and often two, in them, when relocated to lowland grazing.

If there missing half there teeth they won't thrive as good as they should. With them you've 2 options replace the missing ones or get rid of them all. Only one of those options makes sense. After that you'll get one really good year and you'll get the lambs and hopefully turn a profit on the ewe. They might be good for the second year too.
The dentist work though is worth it. No teeth is better than 2. They can get a full mouth of grass each time.

ganmo · 10-09-2014 7:28pm

Nekarsulm wrote: »

My cousin advised me to do similar. He reckons that the best stock he bought was in the cull ring in Blessington. Even with a tooth or two missing, he found that there was at least one good year, and often two, in them, when relocated to lowland grazing.

Everybody head to blessington :P best of stock there

Green farmer · 10-09-2014 8:15pm

When buying culls, the trap we all fall into is , I'm after getting one good year out of them,,, I'll try and get a second .... Then maybe a third...... Then a skinny ewe that just needs to be fattened, but keeps going downhill and costs you €30 to the knackery .

MayoAreMagic · 11-09-2014 10:03am

True greenfarmer, but if you kept her for 2 extra years in the meantime and she had 2-3 lambs, is that 30 euro a good investment?

Green farmer · 11-09-2014 7:21pm

Maybe , but at that age she's just giving you single lambs instead of doubles,so she's just covering costs instead of making money. Shes probably taking an extra cycle or two to get pregnant, so when the others have lambed she's still stuck in the shed. I know cause I keep them around too long. I Have to change though

MayoAreMagic · 12-09-2014 10:46am

Yes that is true, but if you are looking at costs then you have to remember what you paid for her, and what you would be paying for this young ewe that you want to replace her with, and of course, the question of why the younger ewe is being sold comes into it, which was the initial point.

Personally, this thing about keeping them too long is not something that I really buy into. The truth is if you decide to keep her, or any ewe, longer than you should have then it is your own judgement that is at fault, not the ewe. She is there in front of you, it's not as if she fiddling the scales when her lamb is on it!

Green farmer · 12-09-2014 7:37pm

You have a point there. It's just knowing when not to push your luck with the ewe too far. I've done it a few times and once the ewe becomes a bag of bones it's very hard to reverse the process. Especially if she's in lamb. I think when you have young sheep, you can eliminate out the non productive ones in the first tear or two and have good sheep that will give you twins for years. However those twins will eventually become singles. When this happens it might be time to replace them with young sheep again. I've bough a maternal ram recently so the idea is to breed my own to have a batch coming through every year. I'll let ye know how it goes for me . That's the plan anyway.

Purchasing sheep with lambs at foot

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