[Maesgwyn]

I am looking to get in 4-6 meat lambs next year but can not find anyone to help me learn the correct way to look after them. are there any local shepherds around Newcastle Emlyn, Carmarthenshire who could help me please

[Bionic]

Maesgwyn,
I am in Carmarthenshire and have 5 sheep myself, bought earlier this year. I would love to be able to help but am still very much learning myself.
Still, we are in sheep country so there must be loads of others out there who have more experience than I do.
Good luck
Sally

[twizzel]

I guess your options are
1. buy in lamb ewes or ewes with lambs at foot
2. raise orphan lambs on the bottle
3. buy stores at market later in the year


We went for option 2 and it's very labour intensive but still rewarding! We did look at buying a few stores about a month ago but they seem to be making fairly good money at the moment at market so it wasn't really worth it financially. Option 1 is expensive but you would then have breeding ewes who would produce lambs year in year out but much simpler than bottle rearing lambs.

[Canadian Sheepfarmer]

And the problem with breeding ewes is that you have to shear them, find a ram for next year, and then the worries of lambing. Plus you have to get all of the official nonsense started. You are suddenly a sheep producer.
 
 The problem with orphans is that a good 50% will suddenly die on you for no reason apparent to a novice shepherd. If they have not had sufficient colostrum [why were they orphans in the first place? ] they are pretty much doomed. Also can you bear to kill them when they regard you as their Mum?
 
Stores are expensive, but probably the best all round way to go, they are a flying flock, so you can get in and out of them quickly, and give your land chance to rid itself of all the problems that appear with  long stay sheep on a small acreage. But you are still effectively buying lamb.
 
But in your situation just to produce a freezer full of meat, I would consider 50 meat birds, bought day old in June, raised in movable arks on grass. Feed them largely on wheat and 'straights'. You can do the whole thing yourself that way?

[Maesgwyn]

We produce pork both to sell and for ourselves, poultry for the eggs and the odd meat bird though will get in more meat birds next year, you can only eat so much pork before wanting to eat something else. The idea of the meat lambs was also to strip graze the field and in doing so improve the grass, i have seen this done in hampshire and in an arid situation in Spain and both worked really well http://www.holisticdecisions.com/index.html
 

[Small Farmer]

I'm with CS on this.  Store lambs have less commitment and an easier learning curve than going straight into lambing.  Ask a local producer - and you are spoilt for choice - and you may pay more than from the mart but you get a neighbour who'll answer questions,


Your local sheep breed is the rather nice mid-sized Llanwenog - based just a few miles east of you.

[SteveHants]

I know that they are the most 'complex' of the options up thee, but I cannot be doing with orphan lambs - they cost more to feed than they are worth, stores are pricy....


Id always get some ewes, but thats just me.

[Small Farmer]

Id always get some ewes, but thats just me.

That's because you really know all the problems and techniques, and have the kit. There's a lot to be said for learning about catching 'n turning, feet 'n flystrike before long gloves and lubricant gel!

[SteveHants]

I started with just 15 ewes, some hurdles and string. Bought them in the spring to get them tupped in the autumn. I had a full-time job at the time (although, admittedly it was next-door to where my sheep were).


Although, admittedly I was always a yokel and knew one end of a sheep from the other before I began.

[Small Farmer]

Although, admittedly I was always a yokel and knew one end of a sheep from the other before I began.

Damn!  That's where I've been going wrong

[twizzel]

I know that they are the most 'complex' of the options up thee, but I cannot be doing with orphan lambs - they cost more to feed than they are worth, stores are pricy....

Not true, there is money in them. We worked out we spent £60 per lamb to buy, feed, kill and cut and if we had sold them (which we didn't, kept for our freezer) we would have easily got £65/half lamb. If you include labour then yes it's not economic, and we are on a farm so hay/straw cost nothing.

[graham-j]

Hi,how much did you buy your lambs in for,how old were they.Sounds like you got a good deal,dose that price include butchery. or do you do that your self.

Graham.

[SteveHants]

Orphans this year were about £20-ish, a kill and cut is about £30 so I guess they probably spent about £10/head on food which seems reasonable.

[twizzel]

I bought my orphans for £20 a head they were between 1 and 4 days old. Kill and cut was £25 and worked out they had just under a 10kg bag of lamblac each and a 25kg bag of creep, so circa £65/head to raise.

[graham-j]

Hi,that id defiantly worth doing put like that,do you loose many.How much time per day do you need to spend feeding them when they are young.How long do you have to keep them inside.
I have been buying in stores for the past couple of years just to get experience,I have also now bought some ewe lambs to tup next autumn.
The stores are costing me £60 per head,£25 to kill and cut the same as you and then I am selling them for £60 a half.So with any additional feeding very little money in them.
Like I said I thought this was for me was a good safe way to start + the guy I bought them from is local and there if I need advice which in two years luckily I haven't.

Graham.