now theirs a thought - its all confusing then - Thinking a mix of a couple of hebs, and a few (undecided) mules - all past their best but with good wieght on - if it was per kg I would keep on till sept when they've gained weight but if its per head, why bother, the grass is worth more as a grass wedge for winter.
You talk as though you think 'per head' means every Mule fetches the same as every other Mule.
'per head' and 'per kilo' are just the units of the bidding.
Fat lambs are weighed and bidders bid per kilo. So if there are 10 lambs in the ring, average weight 40kgs, and the bidder thinks they are worth £80 each, they'll bid up to £2/kg = £80/head. The pen will therefore cost 10 x 40 x 2 = £800.
Cull ewes are not weighed and bidders bid per head. So if there are 10 ewes in the ring, reasonably fit Texel ewes that probably weigh about 80kgs, and the bidder thinks they are worth about £80 each, they'll bid up to £80. The pen will therefore cost 8 x £80 = £800.
Sheep come into the ring, buyers assess the sheep - type, conformation, weight, age, fitness - and bid accordingly.
If your sheep are thin Mules they will fetch less
per head than another pen of Mules that are fitter.
Any pen of Texel ewes is likely to fetch more than any pen of Mules - there's more meat on a Texel, and they have better conformation so less butchering per kilo.
The same is true of Mule vs Texel lambs - the latter will fetch more per kilo, as there will be a higher 'killout percentage' with the Texels, and better quality meat that takes less butchering. So, following that pen of 10 Texel lambs that fetched £2/kilo, you might see a pen of 10 Mule wether lambs that average 40kgs fetch £1.70/kilo = 10 x 40 x 1.7 = £680.
A pen of Heb ewes will fetch very little, I'm afraid.
If you do take Hebs and Mules together, make sure they go into the ring as two pens - one of all Mules and one of all Hebs. You should always aim to have sheep that are very similar together in a pen; if they are a mixed bag, you usually get a price per head that reflects the worse in the batch, not the better. Most buyers won't want Hebs at any price, so there will be less who will bid on a pen that contains Hebs. So even if the Mules were good Mules, you may get very little for a mixed pen.
If your sheep are in good condition now, and cull ewe prices are high, and you have other uses for the grass, then I'd send them in now. If they're thin and you have grass to spare, then it may be worth feeding them up a bit and sending them in when they're fitter.
The other consideration is seasonality. It's crystal ball time, but Ramadan often causes increased sheep prices, particularly if it falls before mid-July, when there is less lamb available.
Topic: Cull ewes (Read 7805 times)
