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Author Topic: advice on dealing with ram lambs please  (Read 4437 times)

countrygirlatheart

  • Joined Apr 2008
advice on dealing with ram lambs please
« on: April 10, 2009, 09:49:03 pm »
Advice please ..... new to this (first year with lambs).....  I have 4 entire ram lambs, about 8 weeks, 3 of which are destined to go to market at four months-ish (which will be difficult!).  As they were late January lambs they were kept indoors for about six weeks so they are used to being handled and aren't frightened.  Now one in particular is what you might call over-confident (not nasty just a cheeky little b****r)and has started to follow me around and push his head against me.  I have now stopped handling him and ignore him/discourage his attentions by turning him round and pushing him away and telling him off. 

What is the best way of telling him off so that he doesn't become a problem ??.  He is obviously going to get bigger and stronger before he goes.  I read somewhere you shouldn't push their head away as it encourages them to challenge you??

any advice welcome,  also any advice on how to copy with sending your first lambs off to market !!   At the moment am thinking about the ram lambs going straight to market at weaning.  Is this cruel?? (the last thing I would want).  I know I can't keep them but will find it hard to send them off.  Haven't given them names so that's something I suppose!

Pentre1230

  • Joined Apr 2009
Re: advice on dealing with ram lambs please
« Reply #1 on: April 10, 2009, 10:18:19 pm »
In an ideal world the person who sold them to you should have castrated them before they where a week old, he is just being a "typical" boy and spring is in the air, depends on how long you are going to keep him as to his weight, obviously you don't want him chasing you round when he is 100 kilos plus!! If they where "molly" lambs they are always going to be friendly. Pushing his head will encourage him best way is just to ignore him. You don't say why you are only sending three lambs to mart and not all four? have you some other purpose for him? 

If you are going to send them to mart, send them as fat lambs say 35 to 40 kilos live weight, it is difficult if you have become attached to them, however you have given them a good life and it is not cruel,  and if the trade is good the mart cheque should soften the blow!!

countrygirlatheart

  • Joined Apr 2008
Re: advice on dealing with ram lambs please
« Reply #2 on: April 11, 2009, 08:04:35 pm »
thanks very much for your reply ....  ignoring seems to be helping already as he is less pushy

the 4th ram lamb is potentially going to be run on as he is more show quality than the others

I don't have a weigh crate .... do they weigh them at the market??  if they are not about 40kg should you not send them ?  Is find a 'private buyer' an option?  (I understand this means that they go direct to an abbatoir rather than through a market)  these things are probably straightforward to those in the know!

Pentre1230

  • Joined Apr 2009
Re: advice on dealing with ram lambs please
« Reply #3 on: April 12, 2009, 06:35:48 pm »
Hi, Yes some marts weigh but not all, which is daft really, by all means you can send them if they are not quite 40kg, but ideally the closer you are to that figure the better. Yep you can find a "private buyer" all ours go via this method rather than a mart and they will go direct to an abattoir, the lambs are either collected off farm or delivered to a collection centre, most times another farm, then after a week you get your kill out figures, grade and cheque!! ask you private buyer what price they are making at the moment deadweight, it has been up to £4.00 per kilo d/weight for new season lamb, obviously as time now goes on and more lambs are ready they will flood the market and the price will begin to fall. Last week "Old season" lamb was making about £1.87 kilo live weight. Hope that helps...

countrygirlatheart

  • Joined Apr 2008
Re: advice on dealing with ram lambs please
« Reply #4 on: April 12, 2009, 09:12:59 pm »
Hi   thanks again for the reply        what's the 'grade' bit about?    oh .... and how do you go about finding a private buyer for such a small number?

Pentre1230

  • Joined Apr 2009
Re: advice on dealing with ram lambs please
« Reply #5 on: April 12, 2009, 09:50:46 pm »
Hi, Cattle and Lambs that go to abattoirs are graded, without getting to much into it you will get grading letters for sheep of say R2, R3L, R3H, it follows a system abbreviated EUROP, to be honest with you I wouldn't worry about it to much. There are always buyers around for small numbers, most areas will have a local agent, who sources cattle and sheep from farms etc for large abattoirs, they will have to supply a regular number so they will be happy to take them off you.

Whereabouts in the country are you? try speaking to your local farmer and ask him/her who they use or look in the yellow pages under livestock dealers. To weigh them you don't need a weigh crate for that amount, a simple way is borrow a set of weigh scales, the type that has a hook at either end for hanging up, they normally weigh up to 100 kilos, find a tote bag that feed comes in they are normally one tonne tote bags, sand also comes in them, there are four handles/loop at each corner, in the bottom cut four holes that you can put the lambs legs through, then with a friends help or if you are strong enough lift the bag up onto the hook of the scales and read the weight, just having three its a easy way to do it if you want to weigh them. There are weigh bands about for cattle and pigs that are like a tape measure, you place the tape normally under the front legs and round the animal like a belt and on the tape it will give you a weight reading, although I have never had any faith in them and never found them to be really accurate.. Hope that helps..   

countrygirlatheart

  • Joined Apr 2008
Re: advice on dealing with ram lambs please
« Reply #6 on: April 15, 2009, 08:58:47 pm »
thanks again for your help, much appreciated

 

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