livestock 1
Member
I’ve tried caking ewes and lambs many a time and can’t get away with it end up with too many miss mothered
Would need smaller batches I think
Would need smaller batches I think
Going to have a Swale of a time! (I hope)
- Thread starter AftonShepherd
- Start date
You’re needing more motherly ewes,you should try the Cheviot!! We have to cake the ewes after lambing as no grass here until into May . Very little problem with mismothering after feeding.
Stw88
Member
- Location
- Northumberland
I’ve found if the ewes lamb in the field their in there is little trouble with miss mothering at feeding time but ewes lambed inside or in another field and shifted straight away is totally different. Vary rare I have anything miss mothered, even the odd triplet in a field of 70 twins. everything gets fed once a day, generally mid morning, now that the end is in sight their just getting fed first round.
I've just started feeding a couple of bunches of ewes again in lambing fields.
We usually stop any cake as lambs start dropping, and just put out a few blocks.
But we've almost no rain- which has been great for lambing and calving-, it's still too cold to grow much grass, (and not a snowball's chance in hell of any granules at that money).
The sheep are finding lambs again seemingly.
I told the boy a hundred quid spent on that bunch of 60 ewes and 70+ lambs* will be good investment if it keeps em milking.
*still mebbe 10 to lamb as 2nd cycle kicks off
Another bunch that're scalped to the floor i'm looking at dropping a bale or two in feeders for them.
We usually stop any cake as lambs start dropping, and just put out a few blocks.
But we've almost no rain- which has been great for lambing and calving-, it's still too cold to grow much grass, (and not a snowball's chance in hell of any granules at that money).
The sheep are finding lambs again seemingly.
I told the boy a hundred quid spent on that bunch of 60 ewes and 70+ lambs* will be good investment if it keeps em milking.
*still mebbe 10 to lamb as 2nd cycle kicks off
Another bunch that're scalped to the floor i'm looking at dropping a bale or two in feeders for them.
Got 2 bunch’s of 250 twins and 70 dry hoggs on 2ha paddocks. They seem to be able to find there lambs again fine.
livestock 1
Member
Mine wouldn’t and they are all numbered ive tried but not worth it for me
Go round on a morning and mother odd ones up big ish batches similar numbers either side of what you quoted
Must be the better ground in the land of milk and honey
livestock 1
Member
Mule and Swale ewes on the whole they are motherly sheep just such a blare up and carry on 400 shearlings in amongst them mainly twins I just wouldn’t do it
You must have a good farm when you can stop feeding when the lambing starts, if we were to do that it would be carnage.
Aspiring Peasants
Member
- Location
- North Pennines
As a result of reducing cattle numbers I was able to house nearly all the ewes from January. Got more grass now than we've ever had and not feeding after lambing
livestock 1
Member
Not a good farm by any means. There’s a bit of clean ground sheep went in in the beginning of April helps as above
Would loose more lost off caking, it would work if I had them in smaller lots not sure I want to do that though
Housing isn’t an option here,reducing numbers would maybe work but then we would have too much grass in the summer.
Aspiring Peasants
Member
- Location
- North Pennines
There's no easy answers
Same here with Welsh ewes. Paid £40 for them years ago round them up at shearing and count how many lambs they have had. Live on the same field all year with no feed.
- Location
- Cheshire
I prefer putting out beet or carrots post lambing. Sheep eat as they want, no huge bunches of lambs left behind as the ewes all race for corn. Ewe hoggs get a snifter of corn for a month after lambing too keep them going. But all singles and in bunches of only 100, in handy size fields too.
- Location
- Fife
Beautiful country.
- Location
- East Ayrshire
Sorry, not sure I'm a natural blogger lol. Very few of my photos look the part when I check back either. Down to a handful of ewes to lamb and still happy with ease of lambing and mothering ability. Might have lost a few more twins than I realised but they weren't getting checked as often as the cheviots and I'll get a final count in a couple of weeks.
This girl with the twins has impressed me, one of the narrowest ewes we brought home but despite being scanned and treated as a single, she lambed these two just over a fortnight ago and is making a cracking job of them.
This girl with the twins has impressed me, one of the narrowest ewes we brought home but despite being scanned and treated as a single, she lambed these two just over a fortnight ago and is making a cracking job of them.
- Location
- East Ayrshire
Thought I'd a photo of a Cheviot tup back in with them this norning and was going to comment that I'm glad they're not aseasonal, which also showed a good cluster of lambs. Be more with coloured faces than I thought early on but still all doing well. Obviously hasn't saved properly so I'll try again the next decent morning 
- Location
- Fife
Thought I'd a photo of a Cheviot tup back in with them this norning and was going to comment that I'm glad they're not aseasonal, which also showed a good cluster of lambs. Be more with coloured faces than I thought early on but still all doing well. Obviously hasn't saved properly so I'll try again the next decent morning
As I've learned to my cost (when Shetlands lamb in August), a proportion of every breed of sheep will be aseasonal.