In-lamb ewes sell to £280 in Ballymena

In-lamb ewes sold to a top price of £280 at the breeding sheep and store lamb sale in Ballymena Mart on Monday night.

The top priced pen of springers was made up of seven Texel ewes that were scanned with 13 lambs and were vaccinated for enzootic and toxoplasmosis abortion.

Another pen of seven Texels, this time scanned with 12 lambs, went for £260 and two pairs of Suffolk ewes with twins both made £240.

The highest priced pen of springing Mules was a pen of 12 hoggets that were scanned with 26 lambs and made £235.

When compared to the strong trade for breeding sheep last autumn, the current prices for in-lamb hoggets could represent good value for buyers.

Several pens of in-lamb ewes were not sold on the night, including a run of Mule hoggets carrying twins that were bid to £270 and £275.

Ewes with lambs at foot sold to £525 for a Valais ewe and single lamb, a Dorset ewe with twins made £300, and a crossbred ewe with three lambs made £295.

The highest priced pet lamb made £52 and a run of strong lambs made over the £40 mark. Younger pet lambs typically sold for £30 and over.

A sale of in-lamb Blackface ewes was also held on Monday night with the top price entry making 2,100 guineas from the flock of JJ Brannigan, Dungannon.

Overall, the “Black Beweties” sale saw an average price of 730 guineas.