TexX ewes - which Tup to use?

[Nithsdale]

Died out very well then but they needed to at only 440p/ kg

As far as I'm aware they weren't paying much more for this job.

But, These lambs certainly wouldn't have made any more live... too light for the live ring.

 

[Ysgythan]

Did you go to Biggar show @Nithsdale Farmer @glensman?

 

[glensman]

Did you go to Biggar show @Nithsdale Farmer @glensman?

I'm afraid that's the wrong side of the Irish sea for me.

 

[Nithsdale]

Did you go to Biggar show @Nithsdale Farmer @glensman?

No. Serious wet here at times today... with some localised flooding. So I expect Biggar was similar

 

[Poorbuthappy]

As far as I'm aware they weren't paying much more for this job.

But, These lambs certainly wouldn't have made any more live... too light for the live ring.

ABP was 470/475 this week. But they tend to die like corks there.
There can't be much in it wherever you send them, they just arrive at the final figure differently!
Though I agree lambs want to be heavier for lw

 

[Nithsdale]

So late yesterday afternoon I fetched in the batch of Texel lambs I had dosed and sprayed 2-3 weeks, ago hoping there would be 1 or 2 ready now their retention is up.
37 drawn, 41-45kg and very fit. Too rich for my usual processor, so had a look at the markets. Couldn't find any trade info for yesterday, last night, but trade looked good on Monday. Took these to Dumfries today, only to find out Castle Douglas had crashed yesterday
Iv already seen the sale report for today and it reads well but stood ringside, trade certainly was not!

41kg in the ring £73.50 so I'm below £70 by time costs are off. Was very close to bringing them back home
Neighbour had some 47.5kg and only managed £84 (why they didn't have them away a couple weeks ago, I don't know!).

The lambs killed on Friday were lighter, and leaner, but made £14.50 more...

 

[Guiggs]

So late yesterday afternoon I fetched in the batch of Texel lambs I had dosed and sprayed 2-3 weeks, ago hoping there would be 1 or 2 ready now their retention is up.
37 drawn, 41-45kg and very fit. Too rich for my usual processor, so had a look at the markets. Couldn't find any trade info for yesterday, last night, but trade looked good on Monday. Took these to Dumfries today, only to find out Castle Douglas had crashed yesterday
Iv already seen the sale report for today and it reads well but stood ringside, trade certainly was not!

41kg in the ring £73.50 so I'm below £70 by time costs are off. Was very close to bringing them back home
Neighbour had some 47.5kg and only managed £84 (why they didn't have them away a couple weeks ago, I don't know!).

The lambs killed on Friday were lighter, and leaner, but made £14.50 more...

Price dropped here yesterday...
42.5 @£77
41 @£75
If you had brought them home then what good would that have done you?

 

[Nithsdale]

Price dropped here yesterday...
42.5 @£77
41 @£75
If you had brought them home then what good would that have done you?

If it jumps £10 back up next week it would have been well worth it!

I see no reason for the drop after a decent trade on Monday, so do not expect it to remain at this level.

 

[Guiggs]

If it jumps £10 back up next week it would have been well worth it!

I see no reason for the drop after a decent trade on Monday, so do not expect it to remain at this level.

It is virtually August though..
Limited demand for lamb at home according to to reports... getting them even bigger and further out of speck can't be ideal surely?

 

[Nithsdale]

It is virtually August though..
Limited demand for lamb at home according to to reports... getting them even bigger and further out of speck can't be ideal surely?

If I keep them a week, they put on 2kg, the avg (going by the ring today ) would be 43kg.

Hardly out of spec

 

[Guiggs]

If I keep them a week, they put on 2kg, the avg (going by the ring today ) would be 43kg.

Hardly out of spec

Yeah fair point,
And what if say x amount of farmers in each market had done the same and maybe that leads to even more lambs returning the following week and let's say there's still no demand and so..lets say the price drops another 10, 15, 20p a kilo....
Yesterday's money wouldn't look so bad then!
Just saying like..

 

[ThatsSomeSheep]

Unfortunately trade seems to be dropping.

I will send 20 - 25 away tomorrow morning. Looking like 40kg is only going to make around £72 according to today's QMS average SQQ figure. Bugger!!

Also, to update on my own Suffolk experiment. Suffolk lambs out of Tex x Cheviot gimmers are fairly good but haven't come to weigh as quick as Texel lambs (from a variety of yowes).

This has really pd me off, given the recent trade and the fact that the figures for the Suffolk tup I bought suggested very fast lamb growth.

Personally, don't think I will be buying another Suffolk. Will keep using this one (of course) but possibly just on mules to breed Suffolk Mules for my Texel bad-boys to play with.

TSS

 

[glensman]

If I keep them a week, they put on 2kg, the avg (going by the ring today ) would be 43kg.

Hardly out of spec

I've never seen good quality heavy lambs (48-50 kilos) out of "spec" in the live market yet.

 

[Nithsdale]

Yeah fair point,
And what if say x amount of farmers in each market had done the same and maybe that leads to even more lambs returning the following week and let's say there's still no demand and so..lets say the price drops another 10, 15, 20p a kilo....
Yesterday's money wouldn't look so bad then!
Just saying like..

Ah, but if you think like then you'd never send your lambs in the first place - always living in fear of a 'glut week'... because if yours are ready everyone else's must be ready!!.. and you won't get the good price from last week. Living in fear of the drop...

You play the game, sometimes you have to roll a dice.
It's all hypothetical now, anyway. The lambs are sold.

 

[Nithsdale]

Unfortunately trade seems to be dropping.

I will send 20 - 25 away tomorrow morning. Looking like 40kg is only going to make around £72 according to today's QMS average SQQ figure. Bugger!!

Also, to update on my own Suffolk experiment. Suffolk lambs out of Tex x Cheviot gimmers are fairly good but haven't come to weigh as quick as Texel lambs (from a variety of yowes).

This has really pd me off, given the recent trade and the fact that the figures for the Suffolk tup I bought suggested very fast lamb growth.

Personally, don't think I will be buying another Suffolk. Will keep using this one (of course) but possibly just on mules to breed Suffolk Mules for my Texel bad-boys to play with.

TSS

Going by today, I'm sorry to say, 40kg will be around £70.
Saw some decent 38kg lambs struggle to get above £68 today.

These prices aren't bad... but it's a shock to the system compared to where we were 5 days ago.


My Suffolks are growing well - although some are not quite as I hoped, as iv talked before. But when they are ready, they weight well.

I'm going to go through the TexX ewes tomorrow and be hard on them. Anything I'm not keen on will be cast and replaced by Lleyns... I also have some very smart TexX ewe lambs picked out I intend to keep

 

[glensman]

Going by today, I'm sorry to say, 40kg will be around £70.
Saw some decent 38kg lambs struggle to get above £68 today.

These prices aren't bad... but it's a shock to the system compared to where we were 5 days ago.


My Suffolks are growing well - although some are not quite as I hoped, as iv talked before. But when they are ready, they weight well.

I'm going to go through the TexX ewes tomorrow and be hard on them. Anything I'm not keen on will be cast and replaced by Lleyns... I also have some very smart TexX ewe lambs picked out I intend to keep

The right texel/lleyn ewe is as good as it gets IME.

 

[Nithsdale]

It was Dumfries show yesterday. A great day was had by all, it would seem, with a good atmosphere. With a general feeling of it being the best show for several years. It was also one of the largest livestock entries the show has ever had... and minus 2 heavy (but short) downpours either side of mid day, it stayed dry and warm. Quite lucky really, as it has been very wet all day here, today.

Work last week:
The Suffolk lambs have been weaned (probably quite late by somes standards, but needed to wait on the silage ground freshening up so there was foggage to put them into..). I also gathered the hill, and have drawn/marked my ewe lambs and weaned the wedders. The hill ewes are fairly fit so I'm in no real rush to take the ewe lambs off just yet.
Hopefully get a draw of Texel lambs this week, then will crack on with weaning the rest of them, too.

 

[Nithsdale]

Suffolk lambs are coming on well, now. Being on better grass and weaned. They've certainly made up for the slight stall earlier in the season.

Took a draw fat on Tuesday - 60 Suffolk lambs (and also 70 Texels), 40-45kg very fleshy and looking very, very well. Still waiting to hear which day they are going, but I'm expecting next Tuesday. Once these are away there will only be 20-30 Suffolks left... and I expect them to be gone by the end of the month or first week in September.

We are getting an awful lot of rain here though - mostly showers, rather than wet days. But the rain is heavy, and mini flash floods in the roads and yard. I can't remember the last day we didn't get a soaking... sadly, this rain is causing the Suffolk lambs to be a bit dirty of the arse, whereas the Texels are still very clean.


Still, so far, pleased with the lambs

 

[neilo]

Will you be using the black ended (see what I did there) rams over some Lleyn ewes this year, to get a proper comparison against your Texels? Out of the Texel X ewes, they really should be good as the Texel blood will be helping them in a lot of respects. I suspect you'd have been every bit as pleased if you were selling 3/4 Texel lambs out of those ewes too.

It would be an interesting comparison perhaps?

 

[S J H]

Suffolk lambs are coming on well, now. Being on better grass and weaned. They've certainly made up for the slight stall earlier in the season.

Took a draw fat on Tuesday - 60 Suffolk lambs (and also 70 Texels), 40-45kg very fleshy and looking very, very well. Still waiting to hear which day they are going, but I'm expecting next Tuesday. Once these are away there will only be 20-30 Suffolks left... and I expect them to be gone by the end of the month or first week in September.

We are getting an awful lot of rain here though - mostly showers, rather than wet days. But the rain is heavy, and mini flash floods in the roads and yard. I can't remember the last day we didn't get a soaking... sadly, this rain is causing the Suffolk lambs to be a bit dirty of the arse, whereas the Texels are still very clean.


Still, so far, pleased with the lambs

When were they born @Nithsdale Farmer ?