[Big Light]

SATURDAY 20th SEPTEMBER at 10.00am Special Sale of Rare Breeds, including Show and Sale of Hebridean Sheep. ( Hebridean Show is on the night of Friday 19th). Catalogue for the Hebridean Sheep sale has been posted on the caledonian mart website

http://www.hebrideansheep.org.uk/Downloads/Sale%20catalogs%202014/Stirling%20Sale%20Catalogue%202014.pdf
Rare breed catalogue is usually posted closer to date

There are  usually chickens available too

[Fleecewife]

Thank you for the reminder of that Big Light.    For anyone who is new to this, Stirling is the big, and only, annual sale of pedigree Hebridean sheep in Scotland, so is a good place to exchange registered (and unregistered) stock from the Highlands and Islands, throughout the rest of Scotland and well down in to England.

We should be there for a nosey, or possibly for a tup if we don't get the one we want at Melton tomorrow.

There will be plenty of other rare breeds there too, although not all registered.


                                            Wear your TAS badges

[bigchicken]

I attended this sale and apart from the Hebridean sheep it is by far the worst rare breed sale I have ever attended half of the very small entries of rare breeds weren't forward. Can't see this sale lasting much longer a great pity as the Heb folks are very nice people, maybe it's time they thought about moving to a more vibrant sale. Lanark, Dingwall, Thainestone, or Carlilse would be much better in my opinion.

[Womble]

Sorry, just seen this thread, but I also popped by this morning, and I agree that the non-heb entries weren't nearly as good / numerous as they have been in previous years.

I wonder if most of that can be put down to the clash with Carlisle though?

[Fleecewife]

I think that if it became an RBST approved sale then the standard would increase.  It's a vicious circle because the RBST are not interested unless the sale is already well supported.   There used to be a big approved rare breeds sale at Perth which stopped a while back.

The Heb sale is there because it's the Highlands and Islands show and sale.  It used to be held at Oban so the islanders could get there, but moved down to Stirling.  Any further south would not be fair on the folk from further north.  Definitely not Carlisle as that's not Scotland, and we want to keep our Scottish sale - after all, Hebs are a Scottish breed.  Further north would mean folk from south of the border wouldn't attend, and part of the point of the sale is to exchange bloodlines the length and breadth of the country.   Lanark has been discussed, but the society wants to stick with Stirling meantime.

Apart from the poor rare breeds part, how did the Heb sale go?  Where were prices?    We intended to be there but then realised there was nothing we wanted to buy so couldn't justify a day off.

[bigchicken]

Ewes made to £74 after a slow start. Shearing ewes made to £220 for the show champion from Mrs Mason, good trade in shearlings. Ewe lambs sold to £75 with trade mixed in this class. I'm afraid I never wrote down anymore prices so can't give the rams, but I remember the trade being very mixed with better types going for more money.

[Womble]

Yes, that's the one thing I did notice Bigchicken. The best sheep were going for £100+, but an average lamb was only fetching £50. Thankfully amazed I managed to resist buying any - lovely canny wee sheep though  .

[mowhaugh]

I don't think the issue is with Sirtling as a venue, but with the clash with Carlisle, which happens every year.

[Big Light]

Top Hebridean tup prices were £320 and £310, gimmer and ewe prices were very vibrant too with many around the £100 mark.

The rare breed side was very dissapointing with entries well down on last year - i guess the clash with Carlisle requires some thought as there are only so many of us around.

 As fleecewife says The difficulty with a different location is that the society is actively promoting the breed in the north and western and other isles and if you draw it to far south the journey becomes un realistic ( lanark would be an xtra 3 hours at least up and down) and reversely if you take it further north the quality stock and fresh bloodlines don't come up from down south.

I had been a little apprehensive that the lack of other breeds might make the sale a bit of a disaster, however the average prices for females in particular were probably generally higher than they have been for the last couple of years , good tups made there price and even the bottom end of the shearling trade was up - i dont think there was much that went unsold and every seller i spoke to had a smile on their face - which speaks volumes - there was a good ewe lamb trade too. There really wasn't much rubbish either which i guess helps

So all in all a good sale but with a dissapointing side as big chicken says

[Rosemary]

It might be better as a great Heb show and sale on its own without a disappointing RB sale tacked on. Then folks' expectations would be met rather than not met, if you see what I mean.

[Big Light]

You could be right Rosemary , i guess the thing is two or three fold - can a rare-ish society breed sale stand on its own - i guess it more or less did

Does the mart get enough back from a single breed sale to make it viable - ?

then lastly - How do you introduce others to the breed - people who want Hebs would come but how do you show newcomers to keeping sheep that this may be a breed they might want - in a full on rare breed sale folks starting out might actually pick several breeds because they like the look of them or a miriad of other reasons and then later reduce that down to the breeds they find suits them - you probably don't want to lose that opportunity either
 

[Victorian Farmer]

Carlile is a big draw ,Iff there was onley one sale I could go to it would be carlile .It afects so much .If you blow £200 on this sale thats it .Folk travel to this in there droves and it dosent help the others .The small holders next week 2 big trips in a fortnight .The fuel and being away for 15 houres it afects the lot.

[Rosemary]

Expand the sale with wool amd wool products for sale, Heb mutton for sale. BBQ selling Heb mutton.

Find a way to combine it with the Festival