Spring lamb prices

Last load of lambs went yesterday, pets etc, one was only 2kgs when it was born, They made 139.

We weighed them full going into the shed and then the next morning when they were being loaded, they lost 3kgs overnight, KO was over 50% on the empty weight.

What weights do you start feeding them at wrangler? I’m trying to figure out what il do with a lot of lambs I have are 37 kgish . Do you ab lib yours on meal for six weeks and indoors before hand ?

https://www.agriland.ie/farming-news/lamb-prices-as-high-as-e6-60-kg-for-larger-lots-as-prices-push-on/

A lot of lambs going to kildare amd navan from around here. Not near as many going to athleague/ballyhaunis.

Great to see the price rising for anyone that bought stores. They were dear to begin with so they need these prices.

Great to see such helpful advice here from lads. Just back from the annual purchase. I only bought 40 ewe lambs. The docket is average weight 28.5 kgs for €91.18. Shocking dear today. I had hoped on getting about 100 over the coming weeks but the prices are way too dear. Super lambs I bought. They’re up over €25 per head on last year’s purchases. I saw Chevy rams of 35kg making €125. Baltinglass

Last of lambs gone this morning here.

49kgs - 145 euro.

Delighted with the price 👌

You should get a nice twist on the lambs you bought earlier.

You might be as well off without the second lot - sometimes less is more.

I see intensive lamb is €370 per tonne here now. What are you guys paying?

325 a ton (I think as may check a docket ).Thats for 17% intensive lamb ration collected in bulk .

Last lambs here started on meal about 10 days ago .Eating from ad lib bin feeders .Ewe lambs are about 300/400 g/head/day at the moment and for some reason ram lambs on about the same .Usually the rams would be eating a fair proportion more .That's just from gauging how long the bin lasts and allowing maybe 10% not eating much if any yet .Could be a bit out but not much as know what each bin holds .

This year and last have been probably the years I have had to finish the least amount of lambs on meal ie finished on grass alone .

It's good alright just abit worried it's too much too soon. 7 Euro at this time of the year unheard of. High prices cure high prices.

I agree with you, the day of cheap European food is over. Also with CAP being downgraded for the last number of years farmers just can't go producing food in an unprofitable manner. Looking retrospectively I think the beef protest highlighted this fact but government and EU failed to take notice.

Do you ad lib them outside or inside?. I have had some out for the past2 weeks on almost ad lib (it might go half a day of being empty if im away working) and have really noticed them pushing on the last few days with the exception of 1 or 2 that are either not in the feeder as much or are being bullied out by the bigger lads.

I weigh mine every saturday at the moment but still a bit to go for these boyos to be out the gate so am safe enough

Offered 6:90 to 22.5 for last Wednesday.

The last of mine are only on meal a week and dosed Wednesday and yesterday so be a couple of weeks before selling again. Hopefully will have broken 7 euro by then .

Ram lambs on ad lib will kill very well so usually go at 46 to 48kgs so as to maximise full pay weight without going over and feeding meal for no return.

Ewe lambs will never have the same kill out so would normally draft at c. 50kgs.

Really all depends as some lambs will never come into big weight no matter how long or how much you feed them .

Often sold lambs especially ewe lambs which might kill out 20kgs or less.

These would usually be the very last of them so perhaps on meal along time .Last of the stragglers often kill 13 to 16 kgs but at that stage better off gone as they will usually either stop putting on weight or die.

A bird in the hand and all that.

Price would sometimes influence drafting weight ie if a big price drop likely ( usually early summer)might shift some at lighter weight ,say 40kgs to kill 18kgs whilst in a rising market sometimes hold them a week or two longer than necessary and end up with 55kgs killing very heavy.

When you get down to small numbers at the end it's hard to get an even bunch and wouldn't pay me to be going with 10 lambs in a trailer unless someone else had a number to go to make a load and hopefully cover my time and diesel.

Housed all my ram lambs today. Hopefully be a push on them now.