Store Lambs

kk.man · 16-11-2019 11:07pm

Green farmer wrote: »

Yes, outside in April. Got a right battering last year with the drought and they never really recovered after that. I ended up spending a fortune on meal, which didn't pay for itself. So makes a change have them finishing off grass this year. Will still end up carrying a few dry ewe lambs over until next spring, but won't be spending any money on meal, other then ewes pre lambing.

I've plenty of grass here too. I put in store lambs after Christmas to finish off what's left.
My dry ewe lambs won't be going in but I found the bit of meal they get in January and February pays off. Hoggets get a great start towards my first year when they got nothing.

RobinBanks · 24-11-2019 10:24am

Hi All. What weight do you send lambs to factory or Mart. I weighed my ewe lambs yesterday. They range from 39-52 kg. About 6-7 in an around the 50, more than half around the 45 and a few light ones that haven’t thrived well

Dickie10 · 25-11-2019 2:02pm

hi guys , do many of u put meal in creep feeders for lambs ad lib? lost two lambs with two different meal batches lately , I thought there was too much barley in one so switched then got done again with meal with less barley

Dickie10 · 25-11-2019 2:03pm

feeding morning and evening instead now

wrangler · 25-11-2019 2:05pm

Dickie10 wrote: »

hi guys , do many of u put meal in creep feeders for lambs ad lib? lost two lambs with two different meal batches lately , I thought there was too much barley in one so switched then got done again with meal with less barley

Did you do Post Mortem, do you know it was the meal

AnFeirmeoir · 25-11-2019 4:26pm

Does feeding silage to lambs outside pay off this time of year?. Lambs in high 30s kg . Grass scarce but ive loads if bales.

Robson99 · 25-11-2019 4:52pm

wrangler wrote: »

Did you do Post Mortem, do you know it was the meal

Was the ration a sheep ration ?,? could there have been cattle minerals in it or copper ??

Green farmer · 25-11-2019 4:57pm

AnFeirmeoir wrote: »

Does feeding silage to lambs outside pay off this time of year?. Lambs in high 30s kg . Grass scarce but ive loads if bales.

I've some lambs knocking around. Still drafting off grass,but its slowing. Once that's gone I might put the rest on the slow boat , feed silage outside and let them finish naturally next spring. Lost my shirt mealing them outside last year, so wouldn't try that again, unless finishing them in a shed.

wrangler · 25-11-2019 5:12pm

Green farmer wrote: »

I've some lambs knocking around. Still drafting off grass,but its slowing. Once that's gone I might put the rest on the slow boat , feed silage outside and let them finish naturally next spring. Lost my shirt mealing them outside last year, so wouldn't try that again, unless finishing them in a shed.

Unless they're 36kg plus they'll rob you for meal but the weather this year....meal might be the only option, I'm just after putting in my ewes a month earlier than usual

Green farmer · 25-11-2019 6:35pm

wrangler wrote: »

Unless they're 36kg plus they'll rob you for meal but the weather this year....meal might be the only option, I'm just after putting in my ewes a month earlier than usual

Ground gone very soft alright, alot of water there.

memorystick · 06-01-2020 1:40pm

Dickie10 wrote: »

feeding morning and evening instead now

How much are they eating per day?

Dickie10 · 08-01-2020 3:39pm

about 0.75 kg

kk.man · 08-01-2020 6:52pm

Dickie10 wrote: »

about 0.75 kg

If that is being fed in meals as opposed to creep it is too much IMO.
The most a give in a single feed is 0.3kgs.

Maybe I am being over careful.

memorystick · 09-01-2020 10:07am

kk.man wrote: »

If that is being fed in meals as opposed to creep it is too much IMO.
The most a give in a single feed is 0.3kgs.

Maybe I am being over careful.

I only see them once a day. Going to build up towards 25kgs between 43. That’s shy of 0.6 kg per head.

Dinzee Conlee · 09-01-2020 10:51am

kk.man wrote: »

If that is being fed in meals as opposed to creep it is too much IMO.
The most a give in a single feed is 0.3kgs.

Maybe I am being over careful.

memorystick wrote: »

I only see them once a day. Going to build up towards 25kgs between 43. That’s shy of 0.6 kg per head.

I have fed 0.5kg in single feed and I think its fine (would be nuts/pencil ration, not a straight)

I would be nervous about going over this, 25 between 43 is 0.58kg...

You could try it memory, but keep an eye on them. If its a nut you're feeding, I would imagine worst that would happen is you sicken them and they go off their feed for a while... I think...

memorystick · 09-01-2020 11:01am

Dinzee Conlee wrote: »

I have fed 0.5kg in single feed and I think its fine (would be nuts/pencil ration, not a straight)

I would be nervous about going over this, 25 between 43 is 0.58kg...

You could try it memory, but keep an eye on them. If its a nut you're feeding, I would imagine worst that would happen is you sicken them and they go off their feed for a while... I think...

I’m building them up over the last few weeks. They seem ok so far. It’s a ration.

wrangler · 09-01-2020 2:42pm

kk.man wrote: »

If that is being fed in meals as opposed to creep it is too much IMO.
The most a give in a single feed is 0.3kgs.

Maybe I am being over careful.

On our straw/concentrate system we're feeding .5kg Lamb Finisher at the moment in one feed to the ewelambs, or hoggets they are now since 1st January

Dickie10 · 10-01-2020 10:38am

im thinking of building a handy shed in next year or two where the dung stead is a 3 bay has walls and concrete floor already might through in a 100 lambs from December 1 st every year and finsh ad lib. what im at in field is much the same

kk.man · 10-01-2020 12:42pm

Dickie10 wrote: »

im thinking of building a handy shed in next year or two where the dung stead is a 3 bay has walls and concrete floor already might through in a 100 lambs from December 1 st every year and finsh ad lib. what im at in field is much the same

The economics of that is justified this year but not every year is the same in sheep. I have over 100 in a shed I did up and its a joy to work in it. They use up some amount of energy going around in a cold bare field IMO

Sami23 · 10-01-2020 12:51pm

kk.man wrote: »

The economics of that is justified this year but not every year is the same in sheep. I have over 100 in a shed I did up and its a joy to work in it. They use up some amount of energy going around in a cold bare field IMO

Would it not be costing a lot on straw to keep them bedded and clean ?

kk.man · 10-01-2020 1:20pm

Sami23 wrote: »

Would it not be costing a lot on straw to keep them bedded and clean ?

Not at all I have them in since 24th December and only have used a bale and a half of straw so far. Where I am straw is ten a penny too.

Dickie10 · 16-01-2020 3:18pm

yeah id be getting straw in the field next door less than 10 euro a bale

Dickie10 · 16-01-2020 3:19pm

sent 27 Tuesday morning to ICM Navan got 5:40 . 22.5kg came into 121 euro

memorystick · 28-07-2020 8:49am

Will the high prices last?

Dinzee Conlee · 28-07-2020 9:28am

memorystick wrote: »

Will the high prices last?

Hopefully not...

Can you tell I on the buying side :P

MayoAreMagic · 28-07-2020 10:37am

memorystick wrote: »

Will the high prices last?

Probably come down a bit but i think they will stay strong.

It just shows how much the factories were using lamb from the uk to put the squeeze on everyone.

Dickie10 · 28-07-2020 1:40pm

the big question is what happens in the no deal Brexit scenario or even if there is a deal of some sort, British lamb cant be sold on same level as Irish lamb into the EU, therefore Irish lamb will be more value for French, Belgian,Dutch and Scandi countries. These countires have had a huge influx of Muslims the last 10 years there only one way demand for lamb is going in these places. I see a good lot of British sheep farms have culled flocks fairly savagely the last 12 months , were probably seeing the effects of that this summer with lamb supplies in Britain, it will really kick in next summer and late winter and spring when Iirsh factories go looking for lambs in Carlisle mart to bring back and slaughter in ROI as irish lamb.

QA1 · 29-07-2020 8:26am

Well lads have 15 acres aftergrass reseeded ground how many store lambs would it graze roughly? going to buy lambs around 35 kgs and will probably meal them for the last month and do i need to get flock number or will my herd number do

kk.man · 29-07-2020 9:23am

QA1 wrote: »

Well lads have 15 acres aftergrass reseeded ground how many store lambs would it graze roughly? going to buy lambs around 35 kgs and will probably meal them for the last month and do i need to get flock number or will my herd number do

Herd no will do but you need to inform your local DVO first. They will grant it, issue you with a flock register and dispatch dockets.

QA1 · 29-07-2020 11:40pm

Sound kk man don’t no much about sheep
got talk to my neighbour this evening he said I’d be as well off to buy 25 to 30 kgs lambs instead and sell again in mart October time would I still need to get quality assuared like the cattle and presume no movements **** with sheep like cattle thanks

memorystick · 30-07-2020 12:51am

QA1 wrote: »

Sound kk man don’t no much about sheep
got talk to my neighbour this evening he said I’d be as well off to buy 25 to 30 kgs lambs instead and sell again in mart October time would I still need to get quality assuared like the cattle and presume no movements **** with sheep like cattle thanks

Sell them in February

drive it · 30-07-2020 9:50pm

Any price on live weight for store lambs?

memorystick · 06-08-2020 7:16pm

How do they compare with last year?

Dickie10 · 07-08-2020 1:42pm

I GOT 100 last week from Kenmare, 31.5KG/ €70

Albert Johnson · 11-08-2020 10:17pm

Dickie10 wrote: »

I GOT 100 last week from Kenmare, 31.5KG/ €70

How does that compare to last year? I don't think I've ever seen as many men to buy stores here in the North West atm. The long keep lamb and any sort of a half decent ewe lamb is up €10-15 a head on last year. Men selling hogget's are fairing better than previous years and are well able to give it again for nice ewe lambs of any colour. There's small horned and crossbred lamb's that are only little balls of wool making €50 and up. A lot of the men that used to buy the longer keep lamb have changed to a shorter-term store as they can't compete for the lighter lamb. The men that used to buy 200+ and up to 300-400 weekly are now only buying 100-150 because there's too much competition ringside to put together bigger bunches.

Dickie10 · 11-08-2020 10:25pm

only €3 more than last year. very good quality lambs

memorystick · 13-08-2020 12:15pm

Dickie10 wrote: »

only €3 more than last year. very good quality lambs

Well that answers a lot of questions. Going to wait until end of September to buy.

mrfitz · 18-08-2020 12:26pm

Will you get more for ewe lambs when it comes to selling them later in the year?
I was thinking of buying a few stores soon and try finish them on grass and a bit of meal near the end of the year, is this feasible?

Dickie10 · 18-08-2020 10:38pm

that depends on your plans in the spring, if your not sstuck for ground you could buy lighter lambs and leave them there til next paddys day they will have grown over winter a bit of frame and once the get spring new grass from mid february on they will pile on weight and kill out. if you want them finished between november and februraary you will need to give them meal.
if your going for the first option try to get lambs with a good frame and length. prices are decent around paddys day paying to 23kg. maybe €5-50 aaverage

k mac · 19-08-2020 10:22am

Dickie10 wrote: »

that depends on your plans in the spring, if your not sstuck for ground you could buy lighter lambs and leave them there til next paddys day they will have grown over winter a bit of frame and once the get spring new grass from mid february on they will pile on weight and kill out. if you want them finished between november and februraary you will need to give them meal.
if your going for the first option try to get lambs with a good frame and length. prices are decent around paddys day paying to 23kg. maybe €5-50 aaverage

If buying in early October and keeping as you said till paddys day what weight lambs should you be looking at and does it matter what breed you buy when you are not keeping them long term. Mainly Suffolk and texel around here in the west

memorystick · 19-08-2020 2:21pm

Easter is first week of April next year. How important is this? Usually sell middle of February.

mrfitz · 19-08-2020 2:26pm

What about Tullamore of Carnross for buying stores? I'm looking for a few lowland stores at the minute to put with a ram until I let him out with ewe lambs in October

RobinBanks · 19-08-2020 4:50pm

k mac wrote: »

If buying in early October and keeping as you said till paddys day what weight lambs should you be looking at and does it matter what breed you buy when you are not keeping them long term. Mainly Suffolk and texel around here in the west

I'm no expert but that kinda what i do. Buy Hilltex or Char/tex or suff/tex ewe lambs 38-42kg in Oct and run over the land for winter and aim to kill in March, feeding them for the last few weeks with an intensive lamb ration to get fat cover on them. I am in north mayo

Dickie10 · 19-08-2020 5:37pm

k mac wrote: »

If buying in early October and keeping as you said till paddys day what weight lambs should you be looking at and does it matter what breed you buy when you are not keeping them long term. Mainly Suffolk and texel around here in the west

in early october a decent lamb born in late april should be 34kg min. so average 36kg buy. suffolk and texel perfect even hornys will have a decent frame and weigh in well come paddys day, might not have enough fat cover but i would be surprised if they were not 70% 3s. its all abiut the age being in them and spring grasss is as good as any meal in late feb onwards. the biggest factor is if its a dry spring , dry cold march even if you think you havent much grass they will dig it out and pile on weight a wet march is much tougher but ironically will prob have early grass because temp will prob be above average.i would try to target dry fields to have for them by late feb with a green pick

Dickie10 · 19-08-2020 5:44pm

mrfitz wrote: »

What about Tullamore of Carnross for buying stores? I'm looking for a few lowland stores at the minute to put with a ram until I let him out with ewe lambs in October

might be ok once there going to as good a ground, farmers selling in carnarooss and tullamore will prob be bringing them off serious ground, bar areas of north westmeath/oldcastle. so they wont thrive on if coming off as good a ground as your own. be careful for batchs of pet lambs looking like stores. big sheep farmers could have up to 60-150 pets in a given year from high prolific flocks.

i get mine from Kerry because there is slightly less competition down there from neighbouring counties. now with milk quotas gone lads on good land in cork,kerry,limerick and tipp are intensive dairy and wouldnt let a sheep around the place . its Laois , Carlow are before the store lamb man territirry kicks in. I know the lorry man that hauls mine up, always drops in Laois, Kildare and sometimes westmeath before me. He never goes much further north than South Meath. A lot of farmers here go west, its a handier run to Maam Cross and Dowra for Louth, Meath and Westmeath farmers hence more competition. Even in good grass years some lads from longford and cavan/monaghon try store lambs. so price is higher in west of ireland marts.

k mac · 19-08-2020 5:51pm

RobinBanks wrote: »

I'm no expert but that kinda what i do. Buy Hilltex or Char/tex or suff/tex ewe lambs 38-42kg in Oct and run over the land for winter and aim to kill in March, feeding them for the last few weeks with an intensive lamb ration to get fat cover on them. I am in north mayo

What sort of money should I he paying. Would like to stay away from any horneys...the quieter breed the better. Not great handling facilities and might chance a few in fields with just a few rows of electric fence but with deep drains around them

RobinBanks · 19-08-2020 9:58pm

k mac wrote: »

What sort of money should I he paying. Would like to stay away from any horneys...the quieter breed the better. Not great handling facilities and might chance a few in fields with just a few rows of electric fence but with deep drains around them

Coming in at €75 for ewe lambs and averaging €122 at sale. Last year I put them into a spot with just barbed wire after they had reseeded ground grazed and they broke my heart. Gone all the time. 3 lines of poly wire along the bad ditch stopped them from breaking.

You could probably get them cheaper than that but I just went to mart picked ones I like and bought them!

Farmer_3650 · 22-08-2020 7:59pm

RobinBanks wrote: »

Coming in at €75 for ewe lambs and averaging €122 at sale. Last year I put them into a spot with just barbed wire after they had reseeded ground grazed and they broke my heart. Gone all the time. 3 lines of poly wire along the bad ditch stopped them from breaking.

You could probably get them cheaper than that but I just went to mart picked ones I like and bought them!

What weight were them lambs when you bought them? Store lambs made great money last year but I can't see much to be made from them going by the prices I've seen this year.

Farmer_3650 · 22-08-2020 8:02pm

mrfitz wrote: »

What about Tullamore of Carnross for buying stores? I'm looking for a few lowland stores at the minute to put with a ram until I let him out with ewe lambs in October

Like someone else said, better off buying off bad land. I find lambs that come from dowra or elphin do well on good ground. Bought lambs in Roscommon in the past and didn't do near aswell as the elphin lamb as they were coming off good ground.

Farmer_3650 · 22-08-2020 8:06pm

dentalimplants wrote: »

store lambs is cheap

Not cheap in this part of the country anyways.

Store Lambs

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