[Jukes Mum]

I think the decision has been made that we are going to have to sell our flock of Ryelands 
We lost one to flystrike a couple of weeks ago and I am really beating myself up about it.
I'm thinking that maybe I don't have the time available that the sheep need to be looked after properly.

So, how would be best to sell a flock? I really don't think I could take them to market (and with the haircuts I've given them they look awful!).
Would you try to sell the flock in it's entirety as a starter flock for someone, or split out the boys (some wethers, some of this years boy lambs not castrated) and just sell the girls with the tup, or...?

They are a "right mismatch" of registered ewes, non registered ewes, ewe lambs, boy lambs, last year's wethers and a registered tup (related to this year's girl lambs).

Thinking now that it's going to be more difficult to sell them than keep them :-(

[roddycm]

My commercial friend just had all her ewe lambs sheared same as she does every year. It helps with growth. So it's not too late to give them a tidy up if they really do look bad. It will make It easier to sell them for sure!

I would advertise as a starter flock and then be willing to sell in smaller groups. You could also put some ram lambs in the freezer if they don't sell!

I am sure you will be able to sell them, try on here, fb and your local ads mag!

Good luck!

[bj_cardiff]

I'd bunch them into groups, ewe lambs, ewes, ram lambs and wethers as each will be priced differently. At the end of the ad you can say you have others and would prefer to sell as a flock, then list what you have and put a price for everything.

[Backinwellies]

Agree with bj      …… but are you sure you want to sell them all?  What about grass? 

  Clik sorts problem of possible fly strike.

[Jukes Mum]

I don't want to sell them: I love them dearly. I just feel as though they'd be better off with someone else 

[Womble]

I don't think you should make any decisions for at least another month  .

[bj_cardiff]

I don't want to sell them: I love them dearly. I just feel as though they'd be better off with someone else 

Oh gosh no, if your thinking that then the chances are that your the sort of owner who cares dearly for their animals. Some people are careless with sheep and the amount of times I've heard that 'sheep just love to die' is incredible. They usually die for a good reason!

The thing with flystrike is that unless you've seen a really bad case you don't realise how bad it is and don't recognise the symptoms. In my second year of sheep keeping I lost a sheep to fly strike too and I can sympathise with you and how your feeling completely.

In a couple of weeks the threat will of passed. In may next year spray them with crovect or similar and then again after shearing and again if necessary and I'm sure you'll be fine.

[SallyintNorth]

Only you can decide which is the right balance for you, [member=42972]Jukes Mum[/member]   

If you can’t check - or don’t want to commit to checking - them twice a day, minimum, every day through the fly strike season, and the getting-stuck-on-their-backs season, and more frequently in the run up to and throughout lambing (if you choose to lamb) then, as a diligent owner who will feel it if they suffer, you may be making the right choice.

But if you are happy to do the necessary checks and so on, and are just worried that through inexperience you’ve lost one and may lose another - well, we’ve all been there, and we all lose one, or have a mishap with one, every so often, no matter how experienced we are. 

I like Womble’s advice.  Whenever I have a huge decision to make, I always give myself three weeks to consider the decision I think I’ve made, before committing to it.  If at no time during that three weeks did I waiver, or have a fitful night worried I was making the wrong choice, then I stick with it. 

And, sad but true, remember that whoever you sell your sheep to may not look after them any better than you can.  And possibly worse.  So if in your heart you want what is best for the sheep, and you would like to keep them, then do spend some time thinking about how you could equip yourself better to care for them better.  Maybe there is someone local to you would love the chance to learn a bit about keeping sheep, and could do some of the checks when you find it hard.  Maybe one of the local farmer’s kids would do a few checks for a bit of pocket money.  Or a retired farmer might cast an eye over them for you, to pick up anything you might have missed.  Lots of possibilities if you decide that’s the way you’d like to go.

Equally, if in your heart you realise that adequate sheep care demands more than you really want to give, then stick to your guns and find them the best homes you can, and don’t let anyone dissuade you or guilt you into keeping them.

A dog is for life, but you can always eat your sheep.  . And sometimes that is the best all round.  Whichever way you decide to go, don’t let any of us pressure you in any direction.  Only you know what is in your heart and where the balance lies for you. 

[Jukes Mum]

Thank you for such lovely replies.
I had crovect'ed them earlier in the year, but couldn't get anyone to shear them so decided to do them by hand, then clic them after shearing. Due to a rather dodgy back, terrible technique and the heat, I didn't finish shearing them until the beginning of August when the weather changed to perfect flystrike conditions. I was shearing the penultimate sheep, when the last unsheared one wondered past looking "not right". I couldn't see anything at first, but upon inspection, he had about a square foot of raw flesh down one side and a slightly smaller area the other side. He was black. Maybe if he was white I may have noticed some discolouration?
The sheep are in the field next to the house so tend to be 'watched' rather than checked. I'm not convinced that I'd have noticed anything if I'd looked at him a day earlier.
Anyway, I think the issue is that I have too many. Last year we ended up with more boys than we could eat, grew rather attached to a couple of the girls we should really have sold, yada yada, until 4 sheep are now suddenly 16!
Maybe I should just scale back rather than selling them all. I will certainly bear in mind your sage advice and hold fire for a couple of weeks before making any decisions.

[Nelson International]

I’ve spent a good chunk of this first year thinking maybe I’m just not cut out for shepherding. Like others say, I think it’s a good sign to be concerned.

One thing that one of the books I’ve read really cautioned against, though, was overstocking - it said that too many sheep is at the root of many problems smallholders experience. Something similar happened to a friend - after a few good years and trouble free lambing his flock has grown and he had a torrid time lambing, which has him really questioning how to proceed. So maybe it’s a case of slimming down, not quitting? 

[Backinwellies]

We have all been there!!    we all lose the odd animal which we blame ourselves for …. but we do that because we really care!
   
Sounds like a good sort out needed....   how many 'breeding ewes'  plus ewe lambs is realistic for you?  Dispose of all extra's male and female and locate a shearer who will do small numbers.   No shepherd is immune from fly strike attack (opps I mean no shepherd's sheep are immune!) …