Posted: Saturday 17 September, 2005
Well, I'm just back from the rare breeds sale at Carlisle. Carol, Graeme and I left at 6.30 this morning and got there about 8.30am.
We had a look round the poultry and waterfowl, which were just arriving, then had a look at the pigs and some of the sheep. The auctions started at 10.30, so two hours seemed like ages, but there was loads to see and lots of the breeders were happy to discuss their entries with us.
I watched the pigs being sold. There wasn't a huge entry but it was the first time for many years that pigs had been sold there. There were a few Tamworths - maiden gilts(£90), sows (£150) and weaners (£32-£70); one Berkshire gilt (£100); one Saddleback gilt (£100); one Saddleback gilt with a litter of nine three week old pigs (sold for £450, which I thought wasn't bad value); four Saddleback weaners (£45)(these were not suitable for registration as they didn't conform to the breed standard as their "saddles" weren't complete); < acronym title="Gloucester Old Spot">GOS weaners £70) and a Welsh boar (£170). There was also a pen of Tamworth x GOS weaners, which were ginger with black spots. These went for £35-40 each, which seemed a good buy to me.
We also saw the Highland and Dexter cattle sold. Top priced Highland we saw was £700 for a 15 month old heifer. Dexter cows were about £200 - £300 with calf at foot. None of the Dexter bulls sold.
The Hebridean sheep were next. Prices for females were between £5 (yes, five pounds) and £50, with most selling for about £30. Rams were selling for between £5 and £25.
Then came the Ryelands. We had spoken to a couple of breeders before the sale started. These are seriously nice sheep. They look like teddy bears, they are very docile and friendly, don't have escapologist tendencies and are quite small. Wow. Lots of people think they are seriously nice sheep. The breeders we spoke to had three shearling ewes for sale and were hoping to get £150 each; they sold for £110, £280 and £320 each. Top priced shearling ewe was £360. Ewe lambs and aged ewes were between £90 and £140, with few exceptions; rams, surprisingly cheap, we thought, at under £200. Coloured Ryelands were a wee bit cheaper. I think my Ryeland flock is on hold meantime!
Unfortunately, all this excitement meant that we missed most of the sale of poultry. If I had been better organised and focussed, I would have bought some pullets. The prices were reasonable and the stock looked in good condition. Maybe next year.
I've subscribed to a rare breed mailing list so I get notification of rare breed sales in the UK, so I might not have to wait a year for the 14th Annual Carlisle sale.
Well, it's cold and wet here, so I'm off to light the fire then to pickle pears.
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Comments
Rosemary
Thanks for your comment. I've responded to you by email.
For anyone else interested, the two pig vendors at Carlisle were:
Mrs Angela Roberts, Oakdene, Portinscale, Keswick, Cumbria CA12 5RF
Tamworths, Berkshire, GOS and Saddleback
Mr John Sutcliffe, Lowick House, Lowick, Nr Ulverson, Cumbria, LA12 8DX
Saddlebacks
gayle grenfell
Hi,thank you so much for your page as it gives a load of information and is a joy to read, my husband and myself[kids grown and left] are still looking to rent a small cottage with a little land and keep some pigs ect ourselves as the cottage we rent now belongs to u.k. coal and there is no land here. so you never know might be emailing for advice if that is ok?. regards gayle.
Comments are now closed for this post.
Anke Sieker
Saturday 17 September, 2005 at 8:30pm
Thanks for posting some prices. Although I am still (at least) a year off buying my first weaners (and those will be initiallly for fattening only, so autumn won't the best time for buying), its great to see some prices and some info on stock being sold (or not!), especially for breeding stock. Hope that the sale of pigs at Carlisle grows in the next few years!
What is the website that lists the sales/shows you mentioned? I so far only checked the RBST one, and it seems most are too far away for anyone from Scotland (I live in the Borders)
Regards, Anke.
PS.: Your website/Diary is great, very encouraging!