[namethatsheep]

I know one can't buck the market but Soay lambs must be worth more than £3-4.

At the Lanark sale today (29 August) prices were:

1 Ewe with twins @  £28
1 Ewe with single lamb @ £28
8 Ewes @ £10-£17
7 Wedders @ £12
3 Tups £8, £13, £26 ( top price for really good specimen)
12 Tup lambs @ £3
28 ewe lambs @ £4-£10.50

They seem just too cheap

Borerays:
Ewes up to £95
Ewes with lamb up to £80
Tup lambs to £80
Ewe lambs To £115

[lintmill]

none of the soays were registered, maybe that is why?

[Fleecewife]

We bought our first (unreg) Soay from Lanark mart about the turn of the century. They were sold in pens - we bought a pen of 4 for £8.  Someone then pleaded with us to let her buy a certain one from us, for which she paid £5.  So our first Soay cost £1 each, including a tup lamb. Nothing changes!

As Lintmill suggests, registered Soay do fetch more, certainly when bought direct from the breeder.

It's not acceptable to pay so little for an animal's life, is it 

I hate seeing the butchers bidding, but it apparently 'puts a bottom in the market'.

[Coximus]

I've seen pens of soay and Hebridean go for 10 a life for meat and Ive seen soay lambs go for #5 every year - too small for many meat buyers and anyone who isnt familiar with them wont want to know, they're just too small.

[kelly58]

Thats sad   

[Fleecewife]

Really Soay ram lambs are way too small to sell.  Very few folk have room to take on animals which will need another couple of years to grow big enough for slaughter.  In fact, their carcases at 28 months are not much smaller than Hebs and Shetlands, especially the gigot - quite an acceptable size for a family meal, and an amazing taste.
Maybe breeders should take responsibility for their Soay lambs and not send them through a mart when they are so young and tiny.  Why produce them if they're considered as rubbish?  It's the breeders who should think in advance what will happen to these lambs, and if they have restricted space, only breed their Soays every third year.

[kanisha]

If its necessary to breed at all. No reason why you can't keep all male ram flocks or a wether in with some ewes.

[Coximus]

To be fair, if they need to breed to keep the flock paying for itself - they should consider xbreeding - a texel x hebridean ram would be more than able to give a 1/4 texel 1/4 heb 1/2 soay lamb that gets a good size at 9-12 months, and having sold a few in the ring, they fetched #1.40/kg not great as they were a bad grade, but they were 39kg off grass at 11 months, and #55 is not bad for one. The soays lambed without difficulty and the 4 of them all had twins, so no issue their.

[shygirl]

I think the livestock should be registered if it is sold as a rare breed. I personally think thainstone rare breed mart is often a dumping ground for the poor quality stock you cant sell privately. most good breeders have a waiting list for good quality registered stock and don't need to put through the mart, the best ones sold at home. by the time you have paid commission, fuel and considered your time, its maybe better to put them in the freezer or give them away. They only have a limited breeding future with no papers so they arent being sold to preserve the breed either.
normal stock sales are different.

[harmony]

Generally sheep prices are down everywhere. Commercial as well. I was at Melton Rare Breed Show and sale at the weekend. Not many buyers and lots of stock unsold and taken home.