Store Lambs

Most times you put a creep feeder out, the lambs don't know what meal is and they learn slowly themselves, I don't know how you'd deal with lambs that are used to meal. Even to let a creep feeder empty for 12 hrs leads to gorgeing........ maybe someone else has experience of changing lambs over to creep feeders .

We use an advantage feeder here , it has slides on it to restrict feeding, it works well but you have to use lamb pellets.

https://advantagefeeders.ie/product/500/

Hi All, i have a batch of texel ewe lambs. My original plan was to kill them when they were fit, but wasnt keeping close enough eye on them because the majority are now 55-60kg. What options do i have?

1. Send to factory, knowing i will only get paid up to 22kg dead
2. Sell at mart as breeding hoggets. Is it a bit early in the year to sell them? as in farmers not buying for grass yet
3. Sell to butcher. Do butcher buy heavier lambs
4. Hang onto them until later in the year and sell in the mart

I have very little experience with sheep other than buying some store lambs to run over the paddocks in the winter.

Where are you based? Might be interested in a few for breeding next year.

Anyone at a mart lately..I assume its too soon for store lambs? I have a glut of grass at the moment and would like a few

Thanks for that..I was also wondering about picking up a few aged ewes with lambs at foot ..sell lambs when fit and ewes a while after?

Will there be many lads buying them this year? Trade is good but meal will be expensive.

Didn't the fat lambs take a jump back in price last week?

Some prices in Drumshambo for stores last Thursday

11 lambs €68 @26kg

56 lambs €115 @36.5kg

Some price's from Tullow yesterday

sold 60 lambs yesterday to a neighbour of mine as he buys them every year probally averaged about 34 kg and got 97 euro for them happy enough.kept the heaviest and smallest lambs myself as its great to have a good customer for my store lambs .

If you're buying, there was better value a couple of weeks back. I heard today that there was a much better trade in Macroom yesterday.

Was hard get 32kg lambs last year at fair value though, I ended up having to buy lighter ones too as didn't want spending over 100 euro for store lambs over 30kg. Luckily they went very well for me, but bought full bred texel ewe store lambs this year at 30kg for 85 euro a piece 8bweeks ago and there averaging 41kg now already

That’s serious thrive. I thought a kg per week was good. Fair play

I would always heptavac, especially important if shearing them as they will be more suseptible to the cold even in doors. More than pays for itself with the cost of a few dead ones.

Will take serious amount of meal now to finnish them lambs. They will at least eat minimum a kilo of meal each a day, and should be gaining minimum 1kg weight a week providing the have a decent frame. My advice would be if they are smallish and don't have a frame that could hold 22kg dead weight then leave them outside and throw your best silage as well as a decent grass field at them and try get a frame on them of at least 35kg before fattening on full meal in the shed.

I lost 4 last year and they got one shot. I have done the two this year.