Welsh hill cull ewes and lambs

[Badshot]

I remember reading that the small Welsh ewes and lambs aren't particularly sought after in the fat trade.

Is this still the case?

What's a usual value for them off the hills?

 

[Anymulewilldo]

£30-£60/head

 

[BAF]

This spring I bought about 100 Welsh ewes with lambs at foot in at £50 and shipped them straight back out at £85. All parties were happy. Personally I'd say at £50/life the lambs - Cheviot crosses mainly - would pay for the cost of buying the whole lot and the profit would be culling the ewes. At £85/life they could possibly break even if everything sells well. But I think they're planning on sticking the ewes in lamb again and they're on clean dairy grass so the ewes should thrive.

 

[Badshot]

This spring I bought about 100 Welsh ewes with lambs at foot in at £50 and shipped them straight back out at £85. All parties were happy. Personally I'd say at £50/life the lambs - Cheviot crosses mainly - would pay for the cost of buying the whole lot and the profit would be culling the ewes. At £85/life they could possibly break even if everything sells well. But I think they're planning on sticking the ewes in lamb again and they're on clean dairy grass so the ewes should thrive.

I'm thinking more of store lambs and cull ewes for winter grazing.

 

[unlacedgecko]

This spring I bought about 100 Welsh ewes with lambs at foot in at £50 and shipped them straight back out at £85. All parties were happy. Personally I'd say at £50/life the lambs - Cheviot crosses mainly - would pay for the cost of buying the whole lot and the profit would be culling the ewes. At £85/life they could possibly break even if everything sells well. But I think they're planning on sticking the ewes in lamb again and they're on clean dairy grass so the ewes should thrive.

Are you John Wood is disguise?

 

[BAF]

Are you John Wood is disguise?

might have to buy myself some dealer boots

 

[Estate fencing.]

might have to buy myself some dealer boots

Need a magic lorry as well that turns culls into genuine draft ewes.

 

[Badshot]

£30-£60/head

Is that £30 a lamb and £60 a ewe?

 

[Anymulewilldo]

Is that £30 a lamb and £60 a ewe?

No, ewes and lambs depending on the size/condition are usually £30-£60/head in the autumn

 

[Bald n Grumpy]

Local MKT reports said Welsh cull ewes from £65 upto £140.
Welsh ewes vary greatly depending on where they come from

 

[hendrebc]

There's welsh and welsh though. Some ewes will be 30kg some will be 80kg+ you can't really compare market report prices without seeing them.

 

[Derrick Hughes]

Used to fatten thousands , always used go a week after Christmas , there was a big export market then though

 

[Bald n Grumpy]

There's welsh and welsh though. Some ewes will be 30kg some will be 80kg+ you can't really compare market report prices without seeing them.

Pretty much the point I was making. A Welsh ewe that's been "grazing" Snowdonia is not the same as a Nelson or tregaron type ewe. So the term "Welsh ewes" covers a lot of differences.

 

[Pistonbroke]

Some " Welsh" ewes in Hereford are as big as Suffolk x mules.

 

[Anymulewilldo]

Some " Welsh" ewes in Hereford are as big as Suffolk x mules.

The type that the Dolgellau type Welsh could walk underneath and their ears wouldn’t make contact

 

[unlacedgecko]

Some " Welsh" ewes in Hereford are as big as Suffolk x mules.

They'll be the Llandovery type. 120kg monsters.

 

[unlacedgecko]

The type that the Dolgellau type Welsh could walk underneath and their ears wouldn’t make contact

Shetlands with Welsh accents and some flocking instinct.

 

[Anymulewilldo]

Shetlands with Welsh accents and some flocking instinct.

We used to run hundreds of the little Dolgellau types all over everywhere and when you gathered the renegades and put them inside they would just lie down and starve to death

BUT! And this is the important bit… Tex or Char on them and we’d be weaning fat lambs straight into the market from now onwards for bugger all input. Back when you could always sell well fleshed lights. Nowadays those 32/34kg lambs aren’t really the thing

 

[Pistonbroke]

They'll be the Llandovery type. 120kg monsters.

There's no type anymore,ours were always talybont but there's everything there from ginger lions to Cheviots now. There's men from dolgellau buying tups there. Some llandovery breeders sell at sennybridge Cheviot sale and vice versa,our neighbour started with Glamorgans and has whitened them over the years with outcrosses, they're big ewes that bring a lot of twins and triplets. Not a hill breed anymore

 

[Pistonbroke]

We used to run hundreds of the little Dolgellau types all over everywhere and when you gathered the renegades and put them inside they would just lie down and starve to death

BUT! And this is the important bit… Tex or Char on them and we’d be weaning fat lambs straight into the market from now onwards for bugger all input. Back when you could always sell well fleshed lights. Nowadays those 32/34kg lambs aren’t really the thing

As they're all breeding for more size, they're getting harder to fatten off grass without feed. I reckon we need to harden up ours a bit and cut the bills