[scremmit]

Evening team!

Further to a question I asked a few weeks ago Mrs Scremmet has been to see John the farmer to ask a few questions...

His advice was to buy some of last year's lambs (about now I suppose ) fatten them up and send them for slaughter towards the end of the year...

However- advice on this forum was to do similar but to buy this years weaned lambs and to send them off at the end of the year.

Have I misunderstood, has Mrs scremmet misunderstood, or are both pieces of advice workable?

Please bear with the barrage of questions you're about to be hit with!

Scremmet

[TheSmilingSheep]

Hello Scremmit,

there are much more experienced and wiser voices than mine out here but.... seems to me that there's no right or wrong approach on this question, and many variables....

so, some lambs are sold for slaughter at 4 + months old - generally fast growing, larger breeds....
the 'rarer' or more 'primitive' breeds are often much smaller sheep, and take much longer to grow, generally just on grass, to get to a weight for slaughter (we have Balwens, and we don't take our 'lambs' off until they've had 'two summers', and so are about 18 months old....), so some lambs are taken off at 10 or 12 months, or even at 18 (technically called 'hogget')...

also, lambing takes place at different times....so, you could buy 'last year's lambs', and they may have been born last April, or in December.....

maybe sensible for you to work backwards.... sort of... decide if you want to take 'lambs' off to slaughter at the end of this year, and then decide what breed you might like (or what's available and/or flourishing in your area) and then work out what age you should buy them in to fit in with your plans...

good luck!

[Marches Farmer]

I agree that date of birth and breed will be crucial.  We lamb March/April and take lambs for slaughter at the end of November (Southdowns and Badger Face).  Hoggets go the following February.  Last year's lambs, if a commercial type breed, could be May-born or could be "poor doers".

[pharnorth]

May also depend where you plan to take them. Our local (very small) abbatior only has facilities for sheep <1 year old as scrapes regs mean specific measures after that age.