At this stage, farmers will have drafted or will be in the process of drafting spring lambs for the factory.
A number of farmers across the country will have lambed down their flocks in December and January, in order to have lambs ready for slaughter in April and May.
Factories, when it comes to spring lambs, are looking for a spring lamb that is going to kill out at a carcass weight of between 19kg and 21kg in most cases.
Therefore, in order to maximise farm profits, it is important that farmers weigh their lambs regularly and draft them as soon as they are fit.
Regular weighing and handling will avoid lambs being drafted that are overweight, that have poor conformation, and that are over-fat or under-fleshed.
The kill-out percentage of lambs depends on a number of different factors, which include the age of the lamb; the sex of the lamb; the time of year the lamb is drafted at; and whether or not the lamb is meal-fed or not.
Listed (below) is the estimated kill-out percentage of lambs at different ages.
Data source: Teagasc
The kill-out percentage of lambs drafted pre-weaning is higher compared to lambs drafted later in the season, according to the data compiled by Teagasc. So, it is important to keep this in mind when deciding on when you plan to send lambs to the factory.
Ideally, you want to be drafting lambs that have a nice cover of flesh – roughly a fat score of between 2 and 3.
Presenting clean lambs to the factory
It is important that farmers avoid presenting dirty lambs for slaughter. It is vital that the tail area – in particular – is free from faecal contamination. Furthermore, the stomach area of lambs should be clean and, in some cases, the fleece might have to be clipped, to avoid soil contamination.
Some farmers may decide to finish lambs on forage crops post-weaning; therefore, the incidence of the fleece becoming contaminated with soil is increased.
To ensure that lambs are clean on arrival to the factory, it is best to fast them an hour or so before loading and to transport them in a clean and dry trailer.
Handling
Over the last few weeks, the number of spring lambs being presented to factories has gradually increased.
Sometimes it can be easy to forget that these animals are still quite young. Therefore, it is important that they are handled carefully when being drafted.
When farmers handle a lamb to evaluate the fat cover of that particular animal, it is important that they are handled with care to avoid damaging the carcass.
Moreover, it is best to avoid over-loading lambs in pens or on a trailer, as this can result in carcasses becoming bruised and damaged.
Summary
In order to maximise on-farm profits – especially in cases where farmers are creep feeding lambs – it is vital that lambs are drafted at soon as they are fit.
Therefore, the following points should be considered when drafting lambs.
These include:
- Speak to processors to find out what carcass weight they are paying up to;
- Regularly handle and weigh your lambs;
- Draft lambs as soon as they are fit;
- Handle lambs with care – especially spring lambs that are still quite young;
- Make sure that lambs are clean when being presented to the factory.