What size lambing pens

Location
Cleveland
lamb outside but if the weathers bad (as it is now) bring them in for a day or two as they lamb...I'm going to make some lambing pens inside...what size do people prefer? 6x6 6x5 5x5 ect ect?

also are the iae hurdles any good for this or rubbish quality?
 

Longlowdog

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
Aberdeenshire
My wee Beltex have 6x6 purely because I hate to see ewes standing on lambs when they turn round or when they are trying to get to feed or water and the price difference between gate sizes did not justify buying smaller ones. I see plenty of large ewes with twins in Solway 5x5 pens and 4'6''x 6' steel pens at work and there are no problems one could actually level at the pen size.How long you may keep the ewes confined and personal preference will probably make more difference than measurable factors.
If you buy gates with fixed hoops on one end you will be unable to make a line of pens where all the gates interlock. Gates with lugs and pins are far easier. I saw a company where each end was made with lugs at slightly differing heights within a two inch range so the gates remained level on a concrete surface, that was a feature I liked.
 
All ours are 6 x 6. And we still get a few sat on. Only have 6' hurdles. Have considered buying 5' fronts to make all pens 6 x 5 but not sure I'd gain many more pens in the shed. Lambing some outdoors this year so hopefully it will give us a bit more slack indoors.

To answer your question I quite like the IAE ones but they don't make them like they used to! Get one each of several suppliers and see what appeals. The best we ever had came from Agricentre but not sure what make they were.
 

DrWazzock

Member
Arable Farmer
Location
Lincolnshire
Every single year I have the argument with the other partners. Why not buy a 10 pack of galvanised hurdles? They say no, because ewes can see through between the rails and will spend all day trying to butt neighbouring lambs. So, we start manufacturing our own hurdles out of battens and plywood so they can't see through them. The speed we work, they probably cost £50 each, but never mind, the sheep can't see through them.

Unfortunately though, they can't be properly sterilised and orf lives in the wood and an angry ewe and woodworm can bash one to pieces. Never mind though, cos it's all worth it, cos the sheep can't see through them.:banghead:
 

Jackson4

Member
Location
Wensleydale
are you lambing in them or moving ewes to them as they've lambed? The pens dont need to be that big if they have lambed if only for a few minutes. I move my ewes (when i havent got a roast and glass of wine) and 50 of them go into kennel building cow cubicles an dont get hardly any squashed lambs... but then i have the right 'type/looks' 'well fed' 'inbred' 'untested so no selection' 'carcass with a tight skins' blah blah blah from another thread were luckily i'm too busy :sleep:
Bigger is obviously better but 5x4 if lambing in and 6x3 if moving to at the least i'd say.
 

Fen girl

Member
We lamb in a 6x4 with a light area at the back plenty of room
ImageUploadedByThe Farming Forum1457303883.563792.jpg
 

Jackson4

Member
Location
Wensleydale
Every single year I have the argument with the other partners. Why not buy a 10 pack of galvanised hurdles? They say no, because ewes can see through between the rails and will spend all day trying to butt neighbouring lambs. So, we start manufacturing our own hurdles out of battens and plywood so they can't see through them. The speed we work, they probably cost £50 each, but never mind, the sheep can't see through them.

Unfortunately though, they can't be properly sterilised and orf lives in the wood and an angry ewe and woodworm can bash one to pieces. Never mind though, cos it's all worth it, cos the sheep can't see through them.:banghead:

Best thing is to stop the ewes from seeing next doors lambs, they were causing so much damage to the wire mesh here and rejecting their own lambs, so took my staple hammer (carpet fitting tool) and got some round bale wraps and here they are two years later, no butting, no rejected lambs, no wrecking mesh and lambs getting mixed.. superb work for a yorkshireman.
 

DrWazzock

Member
Arable Farmer
Location
Lincolnshire
Best thing is to stop the ewes from seeing next doors lambs, they were causing so much damage to the wire mesh here and rejecting their own lambs, so took my staple hammer (carpet fitting tool) and got some round bale wraps and here they are two years later, no butting, no rejected lambs, no wrecking mesh and lambs getting mixed.. superb work for a yorkshireman.

So there's something in it then. we have not toiled in vain.
 

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Red Tractor drops launch of green farming scheme amid anger from farmers

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As reported in Independent


quote: “Red Tractor has confirmed it is dropping plans to launch its green farming assurance standard in April“

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