The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Livestock => Sheep => Topic started by: Daisys Mum on January 26, 2011, 11:25:05 am
-
I have just received my cheque from Stirling auctions for my 2 ram lambs, they sold at £36.50 each. They were unregistered Shetlands. Hope this helps anyone who is thinking of sending any off just now.
-
I'm plucking up the courage for some lambs to go to market tomorrow - Inverurie - been 'plucking up' since the snow went and yes the money would be good to get to help towards the feed for the ewes and goats so I guess I've just got to get on and do it!!
-
It's really useful to know what they are making as we will have some surplus lambs next year, also unreg shetlands and they would go to Inverurie (Thainstone) too.
Has anyone sold them via/to an abbatoir as well? (not sure how that works)
-
Why not try selling them to the butcher save paying the market.
-
We asked several local butcher and they said they were all sorted - and as I can't keep them all there's not much choice. The mart said they have to be there about 10.00 - 11.00 for a belly clip - is there anything I should be doing, apart from the paperwork?
-
No try and keep them dry the night before thats all.
-
Butchers are not interested in small Shetlands, I usually take them to abattoir and have them butchered to sell on myself but there was not enough meat on this pair. They were also causing problems at home in that they had to be kept with my horses and 1 of them was very agressive or I would have kept them until they put on a bit of weght.
Clare I don't think that there is anything else that you have to do but mine were taken along by a friend with his lot.
-
I can't really get them inside but they do have shelter is that ok. I've booked them in and not really looking forward to it, I knew the day would come but ....
-
Would i be right in thinking DAISYS MUM sold in a store market since the hoggs were not fat and BRUCKLY is selling in a prime market.Belly clipping costs money at the mart ,if you shear your own sheep you can do it at home,often killing lambs are sold store as the deductions are less and no belly clipping.
-
Thank you Shep53 - makes sense to me - yes they are for the prime market - do you know what sort of price they will knock off for doing this? Saying that it will probably cause the lambs less stress if someone who knows what they are doing does it - rather than me messing about in a muddy field!! It's good to know the facts before I get there - thank you
-
We had ours killed privately by the local abbatoir and butchered. We didn't belly clip. We sold half lambs and will do so again next year. I don't like the idea of selling them through the mart since you don't knwo how they will be treated there and afterwards, but that's just a personal preference.
-
No I agree with you Rosemary - I would much rather do what you've done but we have no outlet for the meat friends and family are 100's miles away or abroad and OH doesn't like lamb!! but I love looking after them
-
That is what I do normally too Rosemary but this time it was just not possible, they were only 8 months old but one was terribly agressive and attacked anyone who went into the field, the final straw was when he got me right in the stomach, I have a 3 year old granddaughter and my daughter is 7 months pregnant so it was too great a risk to take keeping them until they were ready for the butcher.
-
I have similar misgivings about marts but one thing in their favour is that by using them and keeping them viable the supermarkets can't do what they would dearly like and have all stock sold direct and no public open mart auction prices, just private deals between big farmers and big supermarkets.
So although I am concerned if I do ever send any, I also have a hat on where I want to keep them viable and running for all farmers sakes. Tricky one.
-
I'm happy to sell breeding stock through the ring - is that hypocritical? Just seems different somehow.
I don't criticise anyone for doing it and I may have to at some point but at the moment, given our small numbers, I'm planning to stick notes in egg boxes come the summer and see if we can shift them that way.
And yes, I do note the point about "use it or lose it".
-
Good evening,since you are i presume you are not a mart regular the auction should have told you the deductions.Store - commision+v.a.t varies between marts . Prime- commision+v.a.t ,m.l.c. +v.a.t. , insurance and maybe £1 belly clip. Dont forget your movement document and fill in a food chain infomation declaration ( available at mart office )
-
Thanks again shep53 - I've done all the paperwork - done early so no last min. panic - they just don't mention £'s so much - at a £1'ish a belly clip I think we'll leave it to the experts - Your right this is my first time taking lambs to the mart - been to the rare breeds and purchased to the grand scale of 1 ewe. It's a bit learning curve but needing all the advise given - thank you
-
hope all goes well, look upon it as an education day look at and handle other peoples sheep so you can judge your sheep. change and wash clothes in case of scab or lice
-
And I though the complete over trousers/top look would be sufficient - will take a change of clothing too and although hard for me that's what I got to see it as 'an education' and I guess I'll never catch up but I'll try - thanks
-
ever tried using hampshire down, texel, beltex and suffolk rams, these are the type butchers are looking for in the lambs. they get meatier whilst growing on there dams. hence better price for your lambs at market. ;D
the jacobs, shetlands, hebridean, and other stickleg rams don't put meat on your lambs, hence don't get excited at market. ;)
-
No I guess they don't excite the meat market and your right if I was doing it totally for the meat then I have the wrong sheep - but as I don't have space for more than 10/12, and I'm in it for something nice to look at - sorry I know I'm 'pretend' but I love the look of the Jacob's and yes sometimes males will go and not reach supper prices but they contribute to the feed cost of the ewe's and the goats - and they save me weekend upon weekend of mowing. Saying that I do take their health and welfare seriously and I hope they were the 'happiest' lambs going to market today.
-
Hope you found today interesting
-
I was planning on taking my shetland / jacobs cross ram (5 months old) to market next week; I wonder what he'll fetch?
I don't have a working freezer at the mo' so the abbatior is probably not a sensible option ::) .
mab
-
Today was interesting and actually for a complete softie not as bad as I thought - gave myself plenty of time, no stress loading up, nice steady drive and nice informative people when arrived - no making fun of me for being a newbie - not that I thought there would be but full of info and very helpful and respectful - will post details of result for anyone interested as sometimes it's not easy to find out these sorts of things - but auctioneer said they looked good - so at the end of the day I did my bit.
-
oh Im glad it went as well as it could do, I hope you get a resonable payout.
I have Shetlands because they suit our rough exposed land, limited buildings and the fact theres just me doing the sheep most of the time and I can tip them up easily. I have thought about crossing eg with cheviot as the ewe lambs are popular for then putting to a continental sire but for the moment I am happy with the low input low output, and the meat is a-ma-zing compared with the commercial continental breeds.
-
Hi there, I sent some ram lambs off early January and got £82.50 each for them. This was the slaughter market at Caledonia Mart in Stirling. Size really does matter there. My boys were 50 kgs. I try to lamb early so they get as long as they can to mature before going off. I started off with shetlands but have cross bred and increased the size of my ewes and lambs. My experience is that some people with smaller ewes (of more traditional breeds) use a bigger tup to get better sized lambs. Others keep their lambs till they are older before doing anything with them which means feeding them over winter. I think with sheep you have to find out what suits you and what your reasons are for keeping them. I try to keep my ewe lambs but the boys need to pay for the hay and grazing rental - for me they have to pay their way.
Carol
-
I spoke too soon and rudely about the continental breeds :-OO
when on the track leaning over to feed the non tupping 3 ewes day before yesterday, I was nudged from behind and turned round to find about 100 stray Texel type ewes staring at me! One has jumped in with the 3 girls, thankfully the rest are eating my neighbour cattle farmers grass now....have been trying everyone but still havent found the owner of Griselda (as I have named the one in with mine) and her 99 friends.
If I dont find out tomorrow, I will have to wait till I can catch the flighty Griselda and then ring Animal Health with the tag details...
My 3 are looking very confused cos as Shetlands this one is about 3 times their size with a great big roman nose, great bruiser of a thing tho quite sweet.
-
You'd think the owner would notice...
-
For those who sold through Thainstone, you must be quite near me? They certainly pay you quickly. We sent our stores off in October, just 2 wetherers left, they are going direct to slaughterhouse then into our freezer! Dont know of the cost yet, thats on the 'to do' list this week, could maybe let you know??
-
You'd think the owner would notice...
you would yes! esp as they are ewes and look in lamb, all very healthy tho and strapping lasses! have exhausted all the neighbouring/nearby farms so guess will have to go the official route. I guess I have finally found some point to all this sheep tagging.....
-
Maybe you can keep one as a thank you once you find the owner... Strange that no nearby farmer misses them, but you will have to check your ewes afterwards for any worms or other nasties they may have brought with them...
-
Of course as strays they don't need AML1's and don't standstill the affected holdings etc. Stupid regulations....
-
It's just possible they have been rustled and dumped.
-
it might be a farmer who has rented ground from an local, which is the norm. could be living 10 miles away!
-
Of course as strays they don't need AML1's and don't standstill the affected holdings etc. Stupid regulations....
I know! But thankfully we took our lambies off for the chop about a week before the strange sheep turned up and have no more movements planned. Once I catch one and have the tag nos I will be checking with police and animal health if owner doesnt turn up. I suspect it is someone who doesnt live too close. But Im still puzzled as to why they havent come looking, esp as theyre ewes.
-
Well better get prepared to lamb a few large ewes then as well as your Shetands...
-
how many can you keep for the free labour.food ect/ :D
-
managed to catch one this morning and have rung Animal health with the flock no,they are trying to find the owner. Lots of farmers have been up here to check if they are theirs but no success there yet.
mmm do you think I can keep a giant lambie! prob not but am quite fond of the one in with mine, giant Griselda! maybe I should buy her at discount rate!
-
I think you should keep her as compensation, not ear tagged? no proof ;D
-
Sadly she does have a tag, thats why I caught her and how I got the flock no. No reply on the phone when AH called it tho, hopefully they just werent in....Some of the others didnt seem to have tags tho, altho they all look in decent condition.
-
The mystery is solved. despite what the landowner said the land IS being rented for sheep tack so they should be there! The tag didnt solve the mystery (no answer when phoned) but Animal health lady knew of a chap a few miles off who rents out ground and has a lot of sheep, and she was right! The sheep has been thru a couple of owners so wasnt their flock no.
he was a nice chap, the owner, and Griselda is going back to her pals of similar stature today, leaving my stunted little Shetlands in peace.
We dont think they came over the fence, but through a gate not properly closed and up the track, but will be keeping an eye out for any more incidents, have the owner's contact details now.
Just glad they arent lost or abandoned (they are being fed but over the other side of the hill )
Here is Griselda with 3 of mine, not hard to spot which one is her...:-D
(http://i342.photobucket.com/albums/o405/lachlanandmarcus/P1020073.jpg)
-
Is it just me or has Griselda got very upright ears for a sheep? Maybe she's part horse! ;D
mab
-
i thought the horse as well coupled with the long legs
-
Poor Griselda :-))) I thought pushmepullyou.... ;D
-
Is Griselda a Llanwenog? Very striking appearance, but not quite my cup of tea....
-
Could she be a very poor CLUN
-
A possibility too I guess... yep, looking at the ears you may be right.
-
I think Clun was what the Animal Health lady thought she was too, Id never heard of it but reckon she could be right, at least a cross of it. The colouring is like Llanwenog but the stature+colour makes me think Clun now too.
Ahh if only Griselda knew she was a talking point!
-
my god, part sheep part goat part horse !!!!! is that a breed? or plenty of mix and match!!
-
the other 3 are they romney x texel?
-
ERrrr no they are all Shetlands! ;D
-
I wouldn't have guessed they were Shetlands - I'm no expert mind, but my own are Shetland so I ought to recognise them. Perhaps is 'cos they're all white - makes 'em look like some softy lowland breed.
I'm feeling bad this am - I took my first (and only) lamb to Norwich market today. When I left him in a strange concrete pen on his own and got back in the car he was peering at me through the bars & bleating :'( . I felt bad about putting a tag through his ear - marking him as an item of livestock; Now I feel like a child abductor - his mum keeps looking at me as if she expects me to bring him back.
Oh well.
mab
-
I wouldnt have said they were shetlands either, must be the camera angle and yes all white? mine are a mottled colour or dark brown, fairly thin, they look quiet chunky in the pic
-
I never said they were great examples of Shetlands! but Shetlands they surely are!
Heres the rest of the gang (again ALL SHETLANDS).
(http://i342.photobucket.com/albums/o405/lachlanandmarcus/P1020016.jpg)
-
they are lovely, its a cracking picture :wave:
-
ahhh greta photo, ahh yes I see they are shetlands now ;D
-
Sorry to highjack post :)
Mab where abouts are you didnt realise you were close til you said norwich market which is about 25 miles from us,i have been to the market quite a few times lately but sadly for me came home with nothing due to the fact that all the pens had about 10-15 sheep in so were sadly out of my budjet,i take it from your post you had a ram lamb for sale(as you said he)shame if id have known i am on the lookout for some company for my ram who is still in with the ewes at the moment.
Karen
-
Alas! I should have advertised him here! Oh well; too late now. :-\
I'm in Bungay (just over the Waveney so in Suffolk).
Whereabouts are you? - it's nice to know there's someone other than me & norfolknewbie out this way :) Actually now that I think about it we should be on the members map...
mab
-
Hi Lachlanandmarcus. Your Shetlands look lovely :sheep: Maybe the white one in the first picture looks a bit odd because her little ears are weighed down by ear tags. Griselda looks like a pure Clun Forest, but very thin, at least compared with the huge chunky one on my wall chart - 'British Sheep Breeds'. Glad you got the ownership sorted out.
-
---sorry to interrupt!
Hi Mab and Piggy I`m from Thurne in Norfolk too--- :wave:(http://i954.photobucket.com/albums/ae26/thomsett_bucket/lambs089.jpg)
Tilly
Lachlandmarus-- What a lovely photograph of your shetlands ;D
-
Hi Mab and Tilly i am in Beccles.
-
Hi Tilly! :wave: (quickly checking google maps for thurne)
I Didn't know there were so many of us down here.
And Beccles :o - Piggy we're practically neighbours!
mab
-
Back on subject; I got the cheque from the mart today:- £48.15
Weight 38Kg
price £51
various charges & vat came to £2.85
mab