[Sprig]

What age do those of you  with Wiltshire Horns send your lambs for slaughter?  This is our first season lambing. Hoping to have a weigh crate by next year but will have to go by eye and age this year. Will be grass fed only. Thanks

[landroverroy]

You don't go by age, you go by weight and degree of fatness. If kept growing and on top quality leafy grass all season, then they should be ready, straight off their mothers (so no check in growth) at @ 12 weeks. But in less than ideal conditions, which is more likely as grass quality deteriorates, then they will take longer. I'll leave it to Google, U tube,  or someone else on here to describe how you assess fatness.

[SallyintNorth]

Eblex Better Returns booklet linky

snapshot of P18 attached

[Sprig]

Thanks both. I know about condition scoring but was also hoping for some examples of other people's experiences (noting that there are many variables in play).

[Possum]

Ours are usually born early to mid-April and we send them off at the end of October when the grass stops growing. The meat is tender and flavoursome and has a thin layer of fat to keep it nice and moist.

[bj_cardiff]

There is a bit of a dark art to guessing a lambs weight and it takes a degree of tril and error. Why don't you post pictures of the lambs so people can see what condition they are in. Ideally they will be around 40kg and have a decent covering of fat, buyers won't like it if they are small and have too much fat, or heavy but underweight

[ZacB]

Prior to a weigh crate we’d march down with bathroom scales & a piece of board to create a flat surface - weigh me & then me plus a lamb. You soon get the feel of when they’re ready to go 

[twizzel]

Buy your weigh crate this year, it’s an essential piece of kit and you won’t regret it. We weigh all lambs every fortnight once they are 6-8 weeks old- tracking growth rates has helped to highlight problems like nemotadirus, cocci, mothers with lack of milk (subsequently removed from flock) etc etc. Once a lamb hits 35kg on the scales we feel its back loin and dock for condition and select fat lambs appropriately.

[Sprig]

Thanks everyone.

[PipKelpy]

I was always told that 37kg was the weight to aim for. I never had a problem getting the pure Dorset Downs to 37kg in time for Easter market, the problem was not getting them too much heavier. One particular single ewe lamb was an absolute thumper and when she was unloaded, the chap said that he would put her in the show sale. I looked around later (Only time I stayed to watch them go through), she didn't even place as Suffolks won all the awards. They also happened to be nearly 2ft taller as well, but in my eyes, you don't eat all the leg bone!

However, saying that, the crosses were slightly harder to get there, they took longer. But I still got the Spring Lamb price, which back when I was getting it, was nearly £3/Kg so I was quite chuffed. But the price dropped considerably several years ago and hasn't really come back the same, I don't think.

Not only that, but I have noticed the weights at the auctions have changed. Shrewsbury take lower weight spring lamb so for me that did help.

Another thing about the scales, BE CAREFUL!! Our scales, I have tested time and again with bags of corn, with mineral blocks etc, so in my eye they are ACCURATE!!

I find it very curious then when I have weighed a lamb before loading and when its weighed at auction within the next hour, its lost anything upto 5 kg in weight! I passed comment once at the auction (not Shrewsbury) about the scales not being accurate. Lets just say I got a few evil eyes looking at me.

I've also weighed them before the "chop" and when you compare that to the box weight, it kind of confirms my suspicion that my scales are more on the accurate side than the auctions.

Our scales are the older crate mechanical type and were originally purchased for pigs and everything is in pounds. (I prefer Kg for some things).

[landroverroy]

How many sheep are we talking about? Is it just a couple for the freezer, or a commercial amount that you're going to be selling through the the markets?

[PK]

Landroverroy’s comment is is a relevant question. Wiltshire Horns are a decent sized meaty breed so if conditions are right there’s no reason why they shouldn’t be ready by their first autumn. However, for us and selling off a few half lambs to friends, we have been happy to keep them longer for a stronger flavour because there is not the commercial pressure to move them on quickly.

[Sprig]

40ish lambs. The  plan is to sell some as boxes others will either go to market/sold live locally before the winter.

[harmony]

[quote author=PipKelpy link=topic=110001.msg738524#msg738

I find it very curious then when I have weighed a lamb before loading and when its weighed at auction within the next hour, its lost anything upto 5 kg in weight! I passed comment once at the auction (not Shrewsbury) about the scales not being accurate. Lets just say I got a few evil eyes looking at me.

I've also weighed them before the "chop" and when you compare that to the box weight, it kind of confirms my suspicion that my scales are more on the accurate side than the auctions.





5kg is a lot. Farmers around me know exactly how much a fat lamb will lose between their home and which ever auction they go to. On a busy day where they travel and stand for a long time before going in the ring the loss can be significant. They will take it into account when they select their lambs.

[Bramham Wiltshire Horns]

What age do those of you  with Wiltshire Horns send your lambs for slaughter?  This is our first season lambing. Hoping to have a weigh crate by next year but will have to go by eye and age this year. Will be grass fed only. Thanks


Hi Hi sprig
I hope you are well

I have been involved with wilts for the last 3 years


Year 1
We bought a tup and when we was due to pick up some ewes but had issues with the trailer so wasn’t able to put it to use
So I let a friend who had half a dozen wilts use the tup
When he lambed he said he had castrated them using the rubber band method so I dare say he did some but not others and they was a real mix of weights
He got them to around 40Kg and When he took them to the butcher the butcher said they came back a bit light
I think this was down to not taking into consideration the weight of the head and balls etc.

Year 2 I bought 5 of the guys better ewes and put them to the tup, I kept them entire this time to see how they would grow out and what I find is they looked more like a teenager in terms of been a bit more scrawny ( not in a bad way) but I felt the emphasis was on growing bone than fleshing out so decided not to send them off in autumn but to keep until this year when they will go in 4 weeks as they are on some good grass now and hoping to flesh out a bit

Don’t forget that they are a native breed and are slower than the commercial types to finish
I also never pushed them with creep or hard feed

The eating is beautiful in the wilts

Year 3 (just lambed) I have castrated them this time so I know they are done properly so will see how they compare to last year

It’s all a learning curve and an experiment

The gimmers grow alot better than entire males in terms of fleshing out

But will see how they turn out

Once I have built my breeding flock of females up I will put them to a Hampshire down or Charolais as I have seen them in flesh and they grow out really well

On thing I will say is that in terms of ewes I will certainly keep the nucleus of the flock wilts
The mother are really milky often rearing triplets and with the ease of lambing and shedding ability they are valuable to my system

I do have a FB page if you want to follow our progress

@bramhamwiltshirehorn


sprig
I hope you are well

I have been involved with wilts for the last 3 years


Year 1
We bought a tup and when we was due to pick up some ewes but had issues with the trailer so wasn’t able to put it to use
So I let a friend who had half a dozen wilts use the tup
When he lambed he said he had castrated them using the rubber band method so I dare say he did some but not others and they was a real mix of weights
He got them to around 40Kg and When he took them to the butcher the butcher said they came back a bit light
I think this was down to not taking into consideration the weight of the head and balls etc.

Year 2 I bought 5 of the guys better ewes and put them to the tup, I kept them entire this time to see how they would grow out and what I find is they looked more like a teenager in terms of been a bit more scrawny ( not in a bad way) but I felt the emphasis was on growing bone than fleshing out so decided not to send them off in autumn but to keep until this year when they will go in 4 weeks as they are on some good grass now and hoping to flesh out a bit

Don’t forget that they are a native breed and are slower than the commercial types to finish
I also never pushed them with creep or hard feed

The eating is beautiful in the wilts

Year 3 (just lambed) I have castrated them this time so I know they are done properly so will see how they compare to last year

It’s all a learning curve and an experiment

The gimmers grow alot better than entire males in terms of fleshing out

But will see how they turn out

Once I have built my breeding flock of females up I will put them to a Hampshire down or Charolais as I have seen them in flesh and they grow out really well

On thing I will say is that in terms of ewes I will certainly keep the nucleus of the flock wilts
The mother are really milky often rearing triplets and with the ease of lambing and shedding ability they are valuable to my system

I do have a FB page if you want to follow our progress

@bramhamwiltshirehorn