The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Livestock => Sheep => Topic started by: Connor on December 30, 2013, 11:04:30 pm
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I am going to get 6 ewe lambs and fatten them up to the correct weight never done it before so a question or two?
What weight do they have to met?
Are ewes accepted or just rams?
What prices are there for the lambs in Northern Ireland?
Should i keep a few for tipping next year then selling them or just keep and lamb in the spring?
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You can see all ni market info at lmcni.com , updated daily. Most would take lambs to mart at around 45kg liveweight and at the minute get between £70-£80 depending on type etc. , hopefully rising in spring. (Rams &ewes). As to whether you'd be better keeping & tipping / selling or lambing next year, who knows? With small numbers it will probably depend if you enjoy working with them or not.
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At the moment we get around the £60 mark for a half a lamb but there is the killing and cutting cost then the cost of fuel to take them too the abattoir and to collect the meat the following week to be taken into account.
You then have to have family/friends/neighbours who are willing to buy it from you and have it ordered in advance.
They are happy to take either sex in for slaughter.
We did keep one of our very first ewe cade lambs in 2012 who will hopefully lamb for the first time in 2014 for us :fc: