[bucketman]

This might sound stupid. You see loads of info on pigs about fattening for slaughter but can see much for lambs? might be looking in the wrong place   But people must do it.
So are they like pigs where you buy young ones feed water and care for them then send them off to the slaughter. Or is there more to it. The crofter who come in here has told me bits but I dont get it. He just seem to keep them and give them names to do with there age.
Lambs Gimmers? and some others.
Cant work out when he sends them off for meat

[SallyintNorth]

Lambs get sent off when they're 'finished'.  They're 'finished' when they have the right amount of flesh covering their bones.  Have a read of 'Understanding Lambs and Carcases' from Eblex - near the bottom of this page

How long a lamb takes to finish depends on a lot of things - breeding, the ground it's on, its mother and her milk (which also depends on her breeding and the ground she's on), the weather, a host of things.

Some lambs finish in 12 weeks or even less, never having needed a dose of anything nor a speck of cake.  Others, of the same breeding, may need 6 months or more, and some cake, to achieve the same end result.

Some breeds don't mature in their first year, so are finished as 'hogget' at 14-16 months old.

And all points in between.

Some farms finish all their lambs, selling them as fat either in the ring or direct to slaughter.  Other farms finish some, those which finish before the grass starts to die back at the end of the summer, and sell the rest as 'stores'.  Dairy farms often buy store lambs at the end of the summer, to graze the pastures over the winter while the cattle are housed.  When the lambs are finished they get sent off for a cash crop, the pastures are in good order and 'clean' (all the cattle bugs eaten up and neutralised, is the theory), ready for the cattle to come out in spring.

[TheSmilingSheep]

That was hugely useful - thanks for sharing....

[bucketman]

Thanks sounds like Pigs are a lot easier

[Dogwalker]

easier but a lot more expensive to feed.

[devonlady]

I find one as easy as the other providing you have good fencing but, as said, pigs are more expensive to fatten (but you get a sight more meat!)

[Backinwellies]

How can pigs be easier than watching lambs graze grass?..
  If lamb is just for you then 'finish' isn't critical. We sent off 7 lambs at about 7 months ..having eaten nothing but grass and the odd hand full of cake to make them easy to handle. I would say 4 were properly finished but I wasn't making a second hour journey to abbatoir.  Man at abbatoir said they were good carcasses.  Sold best and are eating smaller ones ourselves .. Lean and Delicious!

[devonlady]

But pigs are more fun, Backinwellies

[shygirl]

pigs are easy as you buy them at 8 weeks and don't need much land.
by the time lambs are weaned they are almost finished.
have you thought about getting bottle fed lambs to finish or a couple of ewes to breed from?

[Marches Farmer]

Can you get a local farmer to use your land for grass keep over the summer?  That way you'll get up close with them and can hang around and learn stuff when he does the daily check, and make a decision when you have more information and experience.