The weight of ewe lambs at ram turnout is key, as problems will arise if ewe lambs are mated too light.
Like every other year, sheep farmers are very active and keen to get a hold of ewe lambs – with a premium of €10-15/head being paid by farmers above the general run of prices for lambs at sales over the past two months or so.
Prices for ewe lambs have even exceeded that of some plainer hoggets at sales.
Some farmers have the intention of buying ewe lambs and keeping them as hoggets to sell them next year, or even to breed them themselves the following year.
Others will look to join them up with rams in a few weeks’ time, with the idea of lambing them down next spring.
Mating ewe lambs does bring on an extra workload over the coming months. However, breeding ewe lambs, provided that they are managed to meet their nutritional requirements, can reduce the cost of rearing replacements and they can increase flock output and profitability too.
Having ewe lambs heavy enough at mating is key. Farmers should be targeting their ewe lambs, for most lowland breeds, to be 60% of their target mature weight at mating time, according to Teagasc.
In general, many farmers target their ewe lambs to be weighing at or in excess of 50kg at ram turnout.
Therefore, if you have, or are on the lookout for ewe lambs for the upcoming breeding season, it is important to keep in mind the weight of the lambs that you have or are buying, and what weight they need to be when breeding starts.