What sheep breeds for market?

[rhysjj]

I have a small mixed flock of welsh badgers, herdwicks and kerry hills. Wondering how these breeds sell well at mart? And if I mix with badger ram would they still go OK for meat at mart. Thanks for help/advice

 

[Wood field]

I have a small mixed flock of welsh badgers, herdwicks and kerry hills. Wondering how these breeds sell well at mart? And if I mix with badger ram would they still go OK for meat at mart. Thanks for help/advice

If it’s for meat at mart I would go texel tup
We had herdwicks x tex and they had good lambs , still a few of the offspring here

 

[Guiggs]

I have a small mixed flock of welsh badgers, herdwicks and kerry hills. Wondering how these breeds sell well at mart? And if I mix with badger ram would they still go OK for meat at mart. Thanks for help/advice

Around here they would rob them off you, not worth sending to market.

 

[delilah]

If anyone wanted evidence that our food system is fecked, it would be that the best tasting animals make the least money on the open market.

If you want to do justice to them and honour their lives, try and sell them direct either retail or to the restaurant trade.

 

[pgk]

If anyone wanted evidence that our food system is fecked, it would be that the best tasting animals make the least money on the open market.

If you want to do justice to them and honour their lives, try and sell them direct either retail or to the restaurant trade.

Took a bunch of Easycares direct yesterday, graded R2 through to E3L, best we have ever had, would be unlikely to have topped the market. For many years supplied 3 pubs and did retail boxes and the Easycares and Black Welsh crosses were always requested for their taste.

 

[soapsud]

Buyers like proven consistency. Here that means small and white faced. I dont fit the mold so DS

 

[delilah]

Took a bunch of Easycares direct yesterday, graded R2 through to E3L, best we have ever had, would be unlikely to have topped the market. For many years supplied 3 pubs and did retail boxes and the Easycares and Black Welsh crosses were always requested for their taste.

Easycare, based on the Wiltshire Horn.

Always makes me laugh these people who come out with the 'they are rare for a reason' line. They all come running back to the rare breeds when they have a problem needs fixing.

 

[Andrewapril]

Putting a suffork tub to Wiltshire horns this season ..see how the lambs fair in the mart!

 

[Ysgythan]

I have a small mixed flock of welsh badgers, herdwicks and kerry hills. Wondering how these breeds sell well at mart? And if I mix with badger ram would they still go OK for meat at mart. Thanks for help/advice

Put a Leicester on them. The ewe lambs would sell well at any mart.

 

[Skintagain]

Put a Leicester on them. The ewe lambs would sell well at any mart.

Or a Charley for meat lambs at least they would have some weight

 

[BAF]

Either a texel or a charollais realistically if you want to sell them live. It doesn't matter how good they taste or how well they kill the majority of the buyers want consistent sized, fleshed and coloured sheep and if yours don't fall into that category then they'll screw you. If I take Southdowns or their crosses to the market theyre easily a tenner back on the trade because they've got wool on their heads.

 

[rhysjj]

So next season if I buy a texel ram I should do better? I'll use the badger ram this year and take it on the chin, seeing as I've already got him. Maybe keep pure badger offspring. sell the crosses and do better next time!! Take it pure badger face fat lambs don't do great in mart either then?

 

[Estate fencing.]

So next season if I buy a texel ram I should do better? I'll use the badger ram this year and take it on the chin, seeing as I've already got him. Maybe keep pure badger offspring. sell the crosses and do better next time!! Take it pure badger face fat lambs don't do great in mart either then?

Depends where you are, if in wales where they are used to that sort of lamb then it will be fine.

 

[Estate fencing.]

Also if you don’t sell to April/may when they get a lot less fussy they will be grand, round here they can be almost as much Ppkg as continental crosses that time of year, but if you sell when the glut of lambs come out in autumn you will be well down.

 

[neilo]

So next season if I buy a texel ram I should do better? I'll use the badger ram this year and take it on the chin, seeing as I've already got him. Maybe keep pure badger offspring. sell the crosses and do better next time!! Take it pure badger face fat lambs don't do great in mart either then?

How many lambs are you expecting to sell in a year? And is fat/store lamb production your main aim, or wanting to keep a rare (for a reason? @delilah ) breed going?

If you're looking to sell market lambs then you won't take many at a tenner (or more) a head down to pay for that terminal ram this year.

The progeny of your existing ram will be way behind on both kilos to sell (lower growth rate, conformation and meat yield) as well as being less desirable to buyers, even if they were similar weights.

I know we josh, but these breeds really are rare for a reason, in our commercial, commodity producing world.

 

[delilah]

How many lambs are you expecting to sell in a year? And is fat/store lamb production your main aim, or wanting to keep a rare (for a reason? @delilah ) breed going?

If you're looking to sell market lambs then you won't take many at a tenner (or more) a head down to pay for that terminal ram this year.

The progeny of your existing ram will be way behind on both kilos to sell (lower growth rate, conformation and meat yield) as well as being less desirable to buyers, even if they were similar weights.

I know we josh, but these breeds really are rare for a reason, in our commercial, commodity producing world.

I would have hoped everyone would agree that the commercial world benefits from the ability to dip into rare breed genetics on occasion. You only have to look at the breeds behind some of the modern sheep to see that.

Not just sheep, Speckle Park cattle are gaining a strong commercial footing in Ireland. Developed in Canada, but there's UK rare breed genetics in there:

https://www.irishspecklepark.com/color-patterns

I see no need to josh about the importance of maintaining a diverse gene bank, be it livestock or crops, we will need them one day.

 

[rhysjj]

I'm not sure were I'm going with them really. Just putting the feelers out on what might work with what I've got. My flock is more welsh badger than anything, just have a few kerry hills and herdwicks for my own amusement. Thanks for all your posts so far, very interesting

 

[steveR]

I have a small mixed flock of welsh badgers, herdwicks and kerry hills. Wondering how these breeds sell well at mart? And if I mix with badger ram would they still go OK for meat at mart. Thanks for help/advice

We popped into Shrewsbury to have a look at the breeding ewes and lambs, on Tuesday.

One pen of lovely Kerry ewe lambs, pretty as a picture but small... Would have been grand for home consumption I thought, but not really marketable in local marts? Charlly tup would be a good terminal sire?

My EC lambs appear to be quite acceptable this year, but as ever, it needs 2 buyers to be interested!!

 

[Estate fencing.]

My EC lambs appear to be quite acceptable this year, but as ever, it needs 2 buyers to be interested!!

Not if you have a good auctioneer.

 

[steveR]

Not if you have a good auctioneer.

Good point....

Shrewsbury appears to have improved... from our POV anyway!