Age you can butcher ram lambs

grayh0und wrote: »

We have a few ram lambs we've held onto - they were born around April - and we never got them castrated.

Is it too late to humanely band them?

Follow up question, how long could we hold onto them before butchering for ourselves? I understand the older they get, the less tender the meat would become.

cheers

Their still perfectly saleable if you were to sell them to the factory. I’ve about 60 uncastrated ram lambs in the field now, that will be heading to the factory over the next month or two. No distinction between hoggets and will take them up till end of may usually. Getting late after that. Butchers won’t touch them now though. Legally I think you’ve not meant to castrate once their more then a few weeks old. Some people prefer the taste of hogget then lamb.

wrangler wrote: »

Any ewe lambs with them, they shouldn't have a strong taste if they're not with ewes

No, all separated since last August. Your right though, would be nothing wrong with them. I think I read somewhere that it’s only once they get older then a year and a half that the taint starts to become slightly noticeable.

grayh0und wrote: »

Great feedback, thanks lads. Ram lambs are separated from the ewes so no worries there.

Some lads with small flocks , go out and buy a ram lamb or two in the autumn, for €100, put them with their ewes and resell them on to factory in march/April for €130. No related stock that way.