Reading some of the recent threads about the price of lambs got me reflecting on a couple of recent sales and provides real food for thought as to the real value of a ram (as well as the price of a ram, which is not the same thing!).
We have two breeds, Coloured Ryelands and Greyface Dartmoors. At the recent Ryeland annual show and sale in Ludlow a significant number of the Coloured Ryeland Ram yearlings failed to make the reserve price (100 guineas), most that did sell went for under 200 guineas and only 4 (including 2 ram lambs) went for more than 250 guineas. If that is what you get (or not!) for a pedigree animal which has cost you £15 to register, plus sale fees and transport then, even with the price of lamb as it is, they are practically worth more dead than alive!!!
Now there is a brisk demand at present for coloured rye lands (an ad for 2 of our 2 year old ewes and a ram on preloved got lots of response and sold pretty promptly). The situation with the Greyface Dartmoors is way worse than this - seems like they have fallen out of favour and good registered animals (rams and ewes) will likely be going to market since I need space for newcomers - which is a real shame.
At the same time having observed furious bidding for yearling rams (admittedly the good ones!) I got to wondering why everyone wants a yearling ram rather than a 3 year old? We have several 3 year olds on site, and believe me their bits still work perfectly well and they know exactly how to service the ewes with the minimum amount of effort compared to the youngsters who seem to spend all their time constantly sniffing everyone!
Think about it. Do you sell your best lambs? Probably not. It is usually a case of "keep the best and sell the rest" so buying a yearling means you are already getting the "rejects", and paying top price for a ram that has no proven record of fertility. However, think about what happens 2 years down the line. The 3 year old ram has worked hard and covered all the ewes they can, and you are starting to find that he can only go to a reducing number of ewes because he has sired all the rest in the past 2 years. So off he goes to sale. Now as a 3 year old, he is frowned upon and the price is low, despite the fact he has plenty of vigour left and he was the "best" of the crop a few years ago and is still a top notch sire, but at a bargain price.
Am I missing something here or am I the only one who prefers to buy 3 year olds? (Or is it just my Yorkshire blood making me tight with the readies!!!!)