Ringing tails.
- Thread starter Dextersg
- Start date
ShooTa
Member
- Location
- Denbighshire - In the vale of Clwyd!
there was a very good thread a little while ago with people discussing all of thier current views - my very quick scan couldnt find it, you may have to do a deeper search.
- Location
- Fife
Vets against docking and castrating of lambs
https://www.fwi.co.uk/livestock/health-welfare/castrating-and-tail-docking-lambs-should-be-last-resort?utm_content=bufferae70d&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=buffer
thefarmingforum.co.uk
I’ll be docking and castrating with rings this year. However, I’m also moving towards a system which requires neither. 2025 will be the last year for tailing lambs from the core breeding flock. Castration will depend on how experiments go 2022.
A flying flock of culls to terminals is a possibility for the future. Unsure of how I would proceed there.
- Location
- Near Colchester
I tried not ringing or docking the easicare lambs.
We now ring the boys but leave tails on everything. It will be difficult to persuade me that this is not the way forward.
We now ring the boys but leave tails on everything. It will be difficult to persuade me that this is not the way forward.
Righg from the start this year, Made a decision to go with just taking the 'flippy end' off long fails
And not doing bags at all.
And not doing bags at all.
Is the Problem breeding them pure? If for instance females were bought in instead of home bred A terminal ram like a char would make the ram lambs go quicker/ meat better ? iyswim.
An ancient git
Member
Doing tails and nuts again . Could cope with tails , but ram lambs running about later are a pita .
- Location
- Near Colchester
I am breeding pure at present as requiring the girls for the future. I lamb outdoors in May though and don't creep feed until about January when they soon go, fits my system of lots of eco-pasture that needs grazing down in the early winter.
Northeastfarmer
Member
- Location
- Cleveland
I’ll be tailing and castrating as normal
Happy to be old school
Happy to be old school
- Location
- Mendips Somerset
majority will be ok , the problem will be left over ram lambs (poor doers) next autumn , either need good fences or you will pss off your neighbours , or get a reduced price for stores ,cant be run with ewe lambs as they will make a right mess of them hunting them about all winter if you even leave one or two in , would do balls maybe leave tails , been there done that with zwartbles , if you do that with maternal breeds them you need ad-lib top creep and get "everything" gone asap .
JohnGalway
Member
- Location
- Connemara, Ireland
Didn't tail or castrate for the past couple of years, tails haven't been an issue, balls have! Solution, sell all ram lambs at weaning or separate by miles.
- Location
- Fife
I've space enough to run a dedicated tup lamb mob.
I don't think there is any doubt that lowland sheep at any age with long tails under good grazing condition will be more dirty arsed and more prone to fly strike and shearing inconveniences than the same sheep with shortened tails.
There is only short term pain or discomfort associated with tailing. There is long-term pain and even death associated with fly strike.
So there is good reason why the tradition should be allowed to continue.
There is only short term pain or discomfort associated with tailing. There is long-term pain and even death associated with fly strike.
So there is good reason why the tradition should be allowed to continue.
JohnGalway
Member
- Location
- Connemara, Ireland
Lack of fibre ?
- Location
- Mendips Somerset
they dont finish as easily once weaned, so bank on them being not quite there ,when handled
An ancient git
Member
I have left nuts on early born , creep fed , fast finished lambs . That's fine . But it complicates things on the later born lambs . Any weaned lambs are into one bunch , or it screws up my grazing plans here . And the boys are on their feet bouncing after a few mins . I have never felt it's a welfare issue ..... There are many other issues of greater consequence !
- Location
- Montgomeryshire
Yes, but how do you provide more fibre to a mob of lambs on lush, low DM grass regrowth after rainfall? Any time I’ve tried to offer hay in a rack, they won’t touch it if such grass is available.
- Location
- Montgomeryshire
If anyone has seen a big bunch of entire rams running together in the Autumn, they will have seen the rogering that goes on, often with a couple of weaker individuals getting repeatedly jumped. In Australia I’m told it is standard practice to run a couple of sacrificial lambs (runts) in such a mob, so they are the patsies, rather than the more valuable breeding rams.
Is that acceptable?
I will continue to ring all but potential breeding rams, or early born ram lambs that will be gone at Easter. A simple, cheap and almost painless procedure avoids all the problems associated with entire males running about, as well as reducing fly strike dramatically.
Is that acceptable?
I will continue to ring all but potential breeding rams, or early born ram lambs that will be gone at Easter. A simple, cheap and almost painless procedure avoids all the problems associated with entire males running about, as well as reducing fly strike dramatically.
- Location
- Exeter, Devon
Tried it last year as a trial and won’t be doing it again unless forced to. We’re very strike prone here so tails really need to go, and entire rams seem to take longer to finish and sell less well. The added problem of walkers leaving gates open means we’re also getting unexpected lambs, particularly as we run Dorset’s so lambs can appear at any time.
JohnGalway
Member
- Location
- Connemara, Ireland
Maybe* graze them in very high density moving more often on more diverse species & have them compete rather than graze selectively.