[pikilily]

I went to Forfar Mart today to watch the sheep sales for the first time. I had one tup lamb (51kg)  and two ewe lambs (46) in for sale. I must say I was really impressed with the way the sheep were handled. I dont know what the prices are like elsewhere but I was chuffed with my £207 for the three (they are just cross breeds).

I learned such a lot about how things are done, who buys and why, etc etc. It was facinating. 
Emma T

[melodrama]

You should have given me a shout and we could've went for a bridie x x x

[Corrie Dhu]

This years lambs Pikalily?  Must have been whoppers at those weights!!

[pikilily]

Yeh - this years lambs...the 51kg was an entire tup lamb and the two 46kg were twin ewe lambs. Born 23 and 25th March respectively...yeh i was chuffed with them. Oh, Daddy was Mr Texel, Mums both suffolk crosses. The next batch are a month younger, and are looking to be a good size too. What was interesting was that the chap who bought the tup lamb rejected loads of others cos they were not entire. Aparently they are prefered complete with all their 'medals' for the Asian market. Well, if thats the case i will not be depriving either party of their preference in future.. ..... And the lambs grow bigger entire!

Emma T

[pikilily]

Mel- you are on!! i love a guid bridie! Next time!!!!
Emma T

[melodrama]

got yourself a deal Emma 

[VSS]

£1.45 a kilo - not a bad price, but not great. I would have thought that they were perhaps a tidgy bit on the heavy side for prime butchers lambs- the ram lamb in particular. Most commercial meat buyers are looking for an 18 - 22kg carcasse. Heavier than that and the price per kilo begins to drop away - and they don't want them overfat either.

Having said that, its a good start and I am really glad you found it a positive experience.

[pikilily]

Oooops!! just went and checked again...it was 41kgs for the ewe lambs...and still the 51kg for the ram lamb.
 It was £1.65 per kilo, average!
Lol, thanks VSS your reply jingled the old memory cells...i knew it was more than that (£1.45) per kilo!!
Is that better?!
Emma T   

[SallyintNorth]

Well done Emma.  Those lambs grew well!  Had they had much in the way of cake?

Carlisle mart's average was a smidge under £2 per kilo on Monday.  Lambs over 42kg won't get as much as the average; VSS is right that the bulk of the market is wanting around 38kg liveweight (to give 20-21kg deadweight) and a really good, well-finished, double-muscled lamb at that sort of weight will get quite a bit above the average ppk.

It's all about horses and courses - if you feed a lot of cake, are short of grass / ground, or have other reasons for wanting a fast throughput, and are in it for the money, then you'd be mad not to have the type that will finish at 38kg and get them away as soon as they are at that sort of weight.  (Assuming that type suits your ground and system.)  

Suffolks are a heavier breed and not all suffolk crosses are fully fit at only 38kg - so they are often kept on to bigger weights, where they suit the butchers.  (Our butcher wants them 45-52 kg for 25-28kg deadweight.)  But the ppk won't be as high, there are less butchers lambs wanted than export / supermarket lambs.

But if you can fatten largely on grass, or with just a bit of cake, and don't need them away for any other reason, you may get as much or more per head for a heavier lamb at a lower ppk.

[SallyintNorth]

What was interesting was that the chap who bought the tup lamb rejected loads of others cos they were not entire. Aparently they are prefered complete with all their 'medals' for the Asian market. Well, if thats the case i will not be depriving either party of their preference in future.. ..... And the lambs grow bigger entire!

BH swears they grow faster if they aren't ringed.  BUT ... by mid-August we're trying to get everything with testicles off the farm before the air gets full of pheromones... even if you keep the boys and girls well seperated, the tup lambs stop growing when those testicles wake up!      

Also, entire boys are more likely to grow horns, and horned boys are more likely to attract the wrong kind of attention from flies...

One of our neighbours had a wake-up call four years ago.  They breed Swaledales; Swaley boys are mostly going to need around 8-10 months to reach slaughter condition, so, as he can't winter them on his farm, he sells his tup lambs as stores off their mums when he weans in August.  But 4 years ago there was a FMD outbreak in Pirbright and none of us could sell anything except direct to slaughter.  Boy, did he wish he'd ringed his Swaley boys ...!   

[Rosemary]

Aparently they are prefered complete with all their 'medals' for the Asian market.

For halal slaughter without stunning?

[VSS]

Oooops!! just went and checked again...it was 41kgs for the ewe lambs...and still the 51kg for the ram lamb.
 It was £1.65 per kilo, average!
 
Is that better?

Yes, thats better. But still think that the tup is too heavy for the mainstream trade. Halal / Asian trade is good if you have got buyers for that market in your area as they are often looking for the stock that don't meet mainstream requirements. And yes, they do want them entire.

[pikilily]

Oh Christ, Rosemary!!!....I didnt think of that aspect. i feel sick to the stomach now. 
Emma T

[pikilily]

they are fed by mum and grass. they do get a smidge of creep every so often, just to keep them trained to the bucket and to following me! thats it.
I need to investigate slaughter practices for halal, etc..... once i stop feeling sick!
ET

[lachlanandmarcus]

in order to not feel sick it might be better not to investigate too much :-)......