A Very Warm Welcome To Our New Members Page!
We're always delighted to welcome new breeders to our society and whether you're new to the sheep game or just new to the Hampshire Down breed we hope we can make it as easy as possible for you to get your pedigree flock up and running.
We hold several society sales throughout the year and you'll find us attending shows throughout the length and breadth of the country. So if you have a question please don't hesitate to contact us through the contact page or call into our stand at the many exhibitions we attend including the Ploughing Championships and Tullamore Show.
To help those new to pedigree sheep breeding we've provided a summary of steps that are required in order to get your pedigree flock established, and if you wish, to begin performance recording. We hope you find them useful and we look forward to welcoming you into this growing breed!
Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine - Flock Number
In order to keep sheep in the Republic Of Ireland, a breeder must first apply to the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine for a flock number. Details can be found using the link below:
www.gov.ie/en/service/f90f21-application-for-a-flockherd-number/
Once your application for a flock number has been successful you can start buying sheep!
South Of Ireland Hampshire Down Sheep Society Membership
Membership of the South of Ireland Hampshire Down Sheep Society is required in order to get your flock registered, participate in society shows and sales, and to birth notify and register new lambs born into your flock. It also allows you to carry out performance recording within your flock on the Sheep Ireland system.
A prerequisite condition for joining the South Of Ireland Hampshire Down Breeders is that you must own two female Pedigree registered Hampshire Down sheep of any age.
To join the society you'll need to complete the application form, which can be downloaded at the bottom of this page, print it off and complete it.
Once you've transferred the application fee** to the bank account listed on the form you should post it to the secretary's address, also on the form, making sure to include the pedigree certificates for at least two registered female Hampshire Down sheep.
We recommend that you send these registered post for your own peace of mind.
Once the society secretary has set your society registration up they'll send you an email confirming your flock prefix and name.
As part of the flock registration process the secretary will set your flockbook up on the Sheep Ireland system and they will also transfer your pedigree sheep into your name on the system.
**The South of Ireland Hampshire Down Sheep Society Membership fees (2023/2024)
If you're already a Sheep Ireland LambPlus member with another breed then your existing sheep Ireland account will be extended to include your Hampshire Down flock. More information on the LambPlus program can be found below.
Fees and Key Dates
For fees and key dates please see our fees and membership page
Sheep Ireland's LambPlus Program
The Sheep Ireland system is where the Hampshire Down flockbook is administered in the Republic of Ireland.
This means that the records of all birth notified pure bred Hampshire Down sheep are held on this system.
As part of the application process to join the South of Ireland Hampshire Downs you will receive a Sheep Ireland account. This allows you to record events and performance within your own flock.
In addition to this you may wish to join Sheep Ireland's LambPlus program***. This program offers many additional benefits to breeders including genetic evaluations (EuroStar Ratings). These genetic evaluations allow breeders to assess the performance and breeding traits of individual sheep using the Eurostar ratings. If a breeder isn't a participant in the LambPlus program the EuroStar ratings won't be available to appear in sales catalogues.
Lambplus membership is also required for breeders to be eligible to sell rams to other sheep farmers for the Sheep Improvement Scheme (SIS) currently in operation in the Republic of Ireland.
More information can be found on the LambPlus page on the Sheep Ireland website.
***Sheep Ireland LambPlus fees (2024)
We're always delighted to welcome new breeders to our society and whether you're new to the sheep game or just new to the Hampshire Down breed we hope we can make it as easy as possible for you to get your pedigree flock up and running.
We hold several society sales throughout the year and you'll find us attending shows throughout the length and breadth of the country. So if you have a question please don't hesitate to contact us through the contact page or call into our stand at the many exhibitions we attend including the Ploughing Championships and Tullamore Show.
To help those new to pedigree sheep breeding we've provided a summary of steps that are required in order to get your pedigree flock established, and if you wish, to begin performance recording. We hope you find them useful and we look forward to welcoming you into this growing breed!
Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine - Flock Number
In order to keep sheep in the Republic Of Ireland, a breeder must first apply to the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine for a flock number. Details can be found using the link below:
www.gov.ie/en/service/f90f21-application-for-a-flockherd-number/
Once your application for a flock number has been successful you can start buying sheep!
South Of Ireland Hampshire Down Sheep Society Membership
Membership of the South of Ireland Hampshire Down Sheep Society is required in order to get your flock registered, participate in society shows and sales, and to birth notify and register new lambs born into your flock. It also allows you to carry out performance recording within your flock on the Sheep Ireland system.
A prerequisite condition for joining the South Of Ireland Hampshire Down Breeders is that you must own two female Pedigree registered Hampshire Down sheep of any age.
To join the society you'll need to complete the application form, which can be downloaded at the bottom of this page, print it off and complete it.
Once you've transferred the application fee** to the bank account listed on the form you should post it to the secretary's address, also on the form, making sure to include the pedigree certificates for at least two registered female Hampshire Down sheep.
We recommend that you send these registered post for your own peace of mind.
Once the society secretary has set your society registration up they'll send you an email confirming your flock prefix and name.
As part of the flock registration process the secretary will set your flockbook up on the Sheep Ireland system and they will also transfer your pedigree sheep into your name on the system.
**The South of Ireland Hampshire Down Sheep Society Membership fees (2023/2024)
- Year 1 - €100
- Year 2+ €50pa for LambPlus members (€70pa for non LambPlus members)
If you're already a Sheep Ireland LambPlus member with another breed then your existing sheep Ireland account will be extended to include your Hampshire Down flock. More information on the LambPlus program can be found below.
Fees and Key Dates
For fees and key dates please see our fees and membership page
Sheep Ireland's LambPlus Program
The Sheep Ireland system is where the Hampshire Down flockbook is administered in the Republic of Ireland.
This means that the records of all birth notified pure bred Hampshire Down sheep are held on this system.
As part of the application process to join the South of Ireland Hampshire Downs you will receive a Sheep Ireland account. This allows you to record events and performance within your own flock.
In addition to this you may wish to join Sheep Ireland's LambPlus program***. This program offers many additional benefits to breeders including genetic evaluations (EuroStar Ratings). These genetic evaluations allow breeders to assess the performance and breeding traits of individual sheep using the Eurostar ratings. If a breeder isn't a participant in the LambPlus program the EuroStar ratings won't be available to appear in sales catalogues.
Lambplus membership is also required for breeders to be eligible to sell rams to other sheep farmers for the Sheep Improvement Scheme (SIS) currently in operation in the Republic of Ireland.
More information can be found on the LambPlus page on the Sheep Ireland website.
***Sheep Ireland LambPlus fees (2024)
- €50pa
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