[Mustelid]

Hi there,

I have seven sheep for sale, six ewes and one castrated male.

Four of the ewes and the male were late lambs in the summer of 2013. The two older ewes were born in 2011. None of the ewes have had lambs,methought I'm told the younger ewes should be fine for lambing next season.

All of the sheep are in great condition and are tame and friendly having been bottle fed.

The reason I'm selling them is that I need to redo a large amount of fencing and I'm also in the process of planting a small woodland and wildflower meadow. It would be logistically difficult to move the sheep around during this process, so I'm hoping to sell them and then buy some more at a later date.

I would rather they didn't all go to market for meat if possible, hence trying to sell them on here first. I have no idea what they're worth, so some advice on that front would be most appreciated.

Thanks,
Gavin

[Me]

Hi Gavin, regarding value what sort of sheep are they? Soay/Suffolk?

[Mustelid]

Suffolk, Suffolk crosses and a texel.

Thanks,
Gavin

[Me]

So they are heavy sheep, look at cull prices for big sheep and extrapolate from there

[Mustelid]

So they are heavy sheep, look at cull prices for big sheep and extrapolate from there

Thank you, yes they are most definitely heavy! Where would I find accurate cull prices?

[SallyintNorth]

Your local mart report.  Ludlow cull ewes averaged £73 on Monday

[Mustelid]

Your local mart report.  Ludlow cull ewes averaged £73 on Monday

Thanks very much.

Well, if anyone is interested, please give me a shout.

I'm presuming the cull price is according to weight?

[Me]

I think if you take some good photos in the sunshine and post them in market place with a price of circa £70-£80 each you may get some interest

[SallyintNorth]

I'm presuming the cull price is according to weight?

Weight, condition and conformation.  Basically, the more good meat there is on a ewe, the more she'll fetch.  If you post some pics we can offer more advice.  Take some from the front, some from the side and some from the rear.

[Mustelid]

[Me]

They look to be in good nick. Are they tagged?

[Mustelid]

They aren't tagged.

Yes, they're all in great condition... the perks of having a six acre field between seven of them!

I'm open to offers on these guys.

[SallyintNorth]

They look like good commercial sheep in good condition  

However, most farmers will not want them for breeding, I'm afraid, as having been unbred for so long they will be too fat. 

If someone on here wants to give it a try, they'd need to try to get some of that condition off them over summer, which may not be very easy of course.

As to value; they'd fetch good money at your fat market, they're good young sheep with a lot of condition on them.  Unless they're rolling fat, in which case you would get less.  Are you able to condition score them?  If they're 3-3.5, they'd fetch good money; if they're fatter than that, then less so. 

[Mustelid]

Thanks for the reply Sally.

I wouldn't have a clue how to condition score them...

A farmer friend of mine has mentioned that they might be too fat/old to breed even though four of the ewes are just two years old.  He also explained that the size of them could be an issue, though that isn't something I've ever looked into sorting... how do you stop sheep from eating?!

It looks like market might be the place for them.  I had hoped that a fellow smallholder might find a use for them, but I understand how that might not be the case. 

If need be I can keep them, but them being out of the field will enable be to get the work I need to do done quicker.  My plan is to then buy in some pure breeds.

[SallyintNorth]

I wouldn't have a clue how to condition score them...

If you are interested in learning, visit the Eblex Better Returns Nutrition and Forage page, scroll down and read 'Condition scoring of ewes'

Briefly, CS1- emaciated, C2 - lean, C3 - perfect, C4 - fat, C5 - way too fat

Basically, feel along her spine and at the base of her tail; if you can't feel the sticky-out bits on the tailbone, she's fat.  If you can't feel them at all, she's very much too fat (CS5.)  If you can feel them but only if you press really hard, she's too fat (CS4).  If you can feel them if you press a little, she could be just right. (CS3)

On the spine, if you can't feel bones at all, she's way too fat (CS5).  If you can feel the sticky-out sideways bits without having to press hard at all, she's probably about right (CS3).  If you have to press hard, she's fat (CS4.) 

Test on the loins, and behind the shoulders.

(We don't need to discuss anything less than CS3 for the sheep in that pic, they aren't thin  )

how do you stop sheep from eating?!

They'll eat what they need / want if it's available.  So, if you have only one field and no subdivisions, then the usual option is to make them lamb every year - the work of growing and rearing lambs keeps them trim

And/or, if you know you have too much grass over the summer, then let them get thin - down to CS2, even - over winter, so that they have some leeway to gain flesh over the summer.  Don't give them cake or much in the way of hay over the winter unless they start to become really thin.

The main worries about fat sheep getting pregnant are

• increased risk of getting stuck on their backs when they are full of lambs
• increased risk of prolapsing due to insufficient room for the growing lambs
• increased risk of difficult lambings

Some people also say that a fat ewe won't get in lamb in the first place, and then she just gets even fatter, and may get stuck on her back when she's got a heavy fleece on her.