Continued demand for Lleyn Sheep - Stirling Sale Report

The 2009 Lleyn Sheep Society Sales continue to be a success, with a clear demand for Lleyn yearlings and rams at the new Stirling venue. 498 yearlings were sold, to average £114.12 and all but one ram went on to new homes, averaging £508.06.

The top seller, a shearling from N Lawrence, Blackpots, Aughnagatt, Ellon, was the Champion Ram at the Stirling Lleyn Sheep Society Sale and sold to established breeder W Davison , Poldean, Moffatt for 900gns. Homebred, and out of homebred ewe (D379), the ram was sired by the Royal Highland Show 2008 Breed Champion (050255), also from the Lawrence stable. A yearling ram by the same sire is entered in the Lleyn Sheep Society Sale at Carlisle sale on Thursday 24 th September.

The grandsire, bought at the Lleyn Sheep Society sale in Carlisle 1996, is from Flock 172, belonging to Charles Sackville Hamilton. This ram has sired several successful progeny, including the 2008 Royal Highland Show Breed Champion, the joint top price ram at Carlisle in 2002 (5000gns, also sold to W Davison, Poldean) and two further top sellers, which fetched 2000gns each. The champion pen of gimmers at the 2009 Lleyn Sheep Society Sale in Thainstone mart, had similar breeding to the Stirling top priced ram, sold to Judge Sandy Tulloch, Waulkmill, Lumphanan for £160.

Lively bidding saw the pre-sale show Champion Gimmers, from D Alexander, Millside Farm, Galston, sell to Martin Cromby, Falkirk , Stirlingshire for £150. Mr Cromby also bought the Champion pen of Ewe Lambs from Farmstock Genetics for £102.

The next highest priced pen of ewe lambs from JF Allan, Burghmuir, Biggar sold to new breeder Becka Macleod, who runs a small flock of 50 pedigree Lleyn. She bought her first Lleyn ewes from D McGowan, Inneoch Farms, Alyth in 2007, acquiring 20 in-lamb gimmers. The ewes performed so well that a further 10 gimmers and 6 ewes were bought from the McGowan flock in 2008, along with a DW Ellis, Cernioge Bach, Betws y Coed bred tup from B Kirkham. Ms. Macleod's flock had their first taste of success this year, winning the top pen of five ewe lambs at Thainstone Lleyn Sheep Society sale, which later sold for £85.

One noteable ram buyer was J & M Osborne, taking home five rams in total. A Lleyn ram, purchased in 2008, had made a lasting impression with his performance at lambing time. None of the ewes sired by him needed any assistance during lambing, so Mr Osborne bought four rams for crossing onto the Blackface ewes and one ram, four gimmers and 10 ewe lambs to produce pure female replacements.

Average prices

Yearling ewe average £114.12 - 90% clearance

Ewe lamb average £63.66

Ram average £508.06 - 97% clearance 1 ram unsold

Notable Prices

Gimmers

Ewe Lambs

Rams