White Clover wrote: » Marteye suggests they finished selling around 1pm. Am I missing something?
early_riser wrote: » Neighbour went in around that time to collect ewe lambs he bought said they were still selling ewes, they didn't start the ewes til around 3 cause of all the lambs in yard, just saying what he told me
thelegend1979 wrote: » 47kg and 44kg. Didnt sell one pen of 43kg. Fancy suffolk milford cross ewe lambs.
leoch wrote: » hi western promice........wat in ur opinion it the best store ram lamb to buy now to put on flesh\finish over the winter months ,i know most men will have there favourites .....i like anything with a bit of texel in it be it hilltex or ant texel cross wat u think
Dickie10 wrote: » i just put a creep feeder or actually two out with about 200 lambs and feed intensive lamb nut ad lib, with hay when grass gets scarce, found the only way to finish lambs quick. make sure low enough barley content or else dead lambs
k mac wrote: » Same as OP hoping to get a few store lambs, have no experience with them, they are for a field around the house that is very wet so my thinking is sheep will be the best to keep it tidy and cleaned off without poaching it. So not overly worried if they leave money this year if they broke even would be happy as I am treating it nearly as an experiment to see how I get on with them, and if they go well might get into more in future (sick of beef prices)! Plan is to get this small field and another fenced properly by a contractor so will at least have comfort that they won't be breaking out, and can swap from one field to the other. Was thinking 15 store lambs for the 2 fields which are about 3 acres in total,(would also have another 3 acre field but might not be fenced enough to keep them). Have them ready for the factory in April. So to ask the same question, what breed, weight and price should I be thinking of. Also on the lameness as the field is wet would I be right in thinking lameness would definitely be a problem. On the footbathing I could make a small pin in the field with gates and can borrow footbaths but do the sheep not have to go on concrete after footbathing for it to be effective? Sorry for all the questions. Appreciate any advice
Kevhog1988 wrote: » I have a few ewe lambs here now i was going to push on for the factory. Should i hold them back and sell as hoggets next year or let them off?. All off hardy suffolkx/LLeyn ewes who we lamb outside.
kk.man wrote: » What did these make as hoggets this year... That's the question you have to ask yourself. I often kept the best of Suffolk ewe lambs here. They be as good and as big as the Borris types but you sell them at 30 to 40e less. Its all about what your customer wants.
memorystick wrote: » How long would you feed them for?
Dickie10 wrote: » i would be picking off in groups of about 20 as they come fit, weigh and go through thier feet every fortnight. around march 1st i wouldnt feed , usually nothing left at that point maybe 10-15 screws, even left run til may 1st they usually weigh like lead and come into great money as hoggs at that time
Western Pomise wrote: » Tbh I wouldn’t know too much about the finishing over the Winter game....you definitely need to be supplementing the lambs diet with a good quality mixed nut/Krunch or cereal/forage crop if it’s available locally. I think that it’s important to buy lambs with a bit of a frame to them....regardless of breed. Often lambs in marts or on Donedeal this time of the year are pets or runts that had problems early in their life....so you could be buying trouble if you don’t do some research. Personally I think if you could buy a healthy bunch of lambs with a bit of x bred vigour in them and keep them dosed and given vitamins regularly they will kill out well in time. Likes of a Suffolk lamb off a mountain cross or horned ewe,Texel x off a horned ewe,Cheviot x off a crossbred ewe etc..... the Cheviot Cross can take time to put on fat but they carry serious weight.
OneMan37 wrote: » True, I bought lambs in July, mostly for under €60. Surer of them not being runts that had problems. Doing okay. Will prob start to feed after Christmas as have a good bite of grass ahead of them atm.
memorystick wrote: » I see ram lambs at 25-30 kgs being sold. Is it safe to castrate lambs of this size and would they go back much? No experience with this type as I usually buy ewes or wethers. Thanks
k mac wrote: » Would the factory still kill these is there not something about the meat being tainted
memorystick wrote: » I usually buy in autumn and sell in spring. You’d never see a batch of 50-55 kgs rams for sale before spring lamb.
