shetland lamb rams to band or not to band

[jerzeygurl]

that is the question


would i be better off selling them as rams or banding them all at birth? or a combo?

[Bearfootfarm]

I dont band any of mine any more. I used to , and then I'd have people looking for breeders. And for meat lambs it doesnt matter much , and they will grow faster. If they arent going to be bred OR slaughtered I WOULD band them since an intact ram can be dangerous

[redbudlane]

We used to cut but we are going to start banding this year. I just go ahead and wether all my ram lambs because I don't want to keep any myself for breeding or mess with keeping more rams here while trying to sell them. I've had good luck selling them to spinners as pets. I don't have very many though, not enough to sell as meat really. If nothing else I'll keep them myself for their fleeces but I still want them wethered.

[kabri]

If you have a way to keep them separate if not using them for breeding, then I would not band. We have customers who prefer intact lambs for meat, rather than whethers, so that is the main reason we don't band. But it's also a huge pain keeping them separate from the ewes in the fall when the weather turns and they start getting "frisky" before it's butcher time!

[ShortSheep]

Hi Jerzey,

Your rams will have to have something special to offer if you want to sell them as breeding stock, and you won't be able to evaluate them at birth. It will take months to evaluate them. Not only their bite, conformation, fleece quality, and testes, but you'll have to wait for the horns to grow in to make sure they clear the head.
So there is a chance that they will be breeding quality, but they may not be. Then, you'll have to have them wethered later in life, or sent to market.
I like to wait to see how they turn out, so we don't wether at all.
You can sell them as pets at weaning if they are wethered.
I personally wouldn't band them at birth. Shetlands banded too early can get urinary calculi because the urinary tract stops growing too early, and can trap stones.

[kesoaps]

Unless they're headed to a 4-H market event, we don't band our ram lambs anymore, either. The last one I did a couple years ago, I ended up being very sorry for later. I figure if no one buys them for breeding, then they head off to freezer camp. And I can always breed a ewe or two prior to freezer camp, too!

[animalfarmer]

Most of our lambs not kept for breeding are slaughtered at or around weaning.It is also true that unbanded rams grow faster.Milk fed lambs are great roasted whole or done on the grill.Best of luck.

[jerzeygurl]

thanks for all the responces , i thought this thread had died lol

[billooo2]

I was talking to a person who has had Shetlands for several years. Almost all of their ram lambs go for meat, and they don't band. She said that they have held some ram lambs until 18 months of age, and the meat still tasted fine. She assumed that it was because of the fact that Shetlands are much slower to mature.