- Location
- Isle of Skye
Why is it a disgrace? Maybe they just run those increasingly rare sheep that can lamb by themselves.
Lambing staff
- Thread starter Chris123
- Start date
Lynemorebf
Member
- Location
- Perthshire
1400 blackface ewes all lambed outside apart from a handful of triplets. Father and I roughly 700 each - 2 separate hirsels. Will help each other draft grit ewes off from time to time and put singles back to hill.
Any problems generally taken inside to pens to deal with other than maybe something that’s been Lambed in field and she isn’t keen on sticking around with lambs we’ll use make shift pens in field - gimmers usually.
Works okay, majority get on themselves. Great breed to work with in our environment
Any problems generally taken inside to pens to deal with other than maybe something that’s been Lambed in field and she isn’t keen on sticking around with lambs we’ll use make shift pens in field - gimmers usually.
Works okay, majority get on themselves. Great breed to work with in our environment
Jasper
Member
Hello just read your post please could you explain hirsel
Aspiring Peasants
Member
- Location
- North Pennines
I was commenting on the statement that they weren’t farming sheep, but just winching the dead ones into a wagon. Not good PR for our industry
- Location
- Isle of Skye
I don't think we have enough facts to pass judgement really.
I wasn’t really criticizing them, there sheep look good (never see any lame or poor doers). I expect 20 years of being shepherded like this there really isn’t anything to do other than pick up the dead. More my point is some systems need one person per 50 and others need one per 2000.
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ringi
Member
Interesting to know how the economics compared to having a shepherd help the sheep when needed but marking all ewes the shepherd touch to be culled.
They would lamb sheep of course.
- Location
- Isle of Skye
Exactly, different sheep on different systems, what annoys me a bit, is the assumption that it's impossible to operate at scale without bad husbandry.
Same here not that it's much consolationThat about sums up the lambing I’ve had this year☔️
Hilly
Member
- Location
- Scottish Borders.
What do you do in your spare tiMe ?You're all just playing at it, I lamb 500 beltexes before breakfast for a fortnight, calve 20 cows every morning, turn every ewe out with 2 and go to my other job in the afternoon. Only get knacker man in for one bag of lambs when they're all finished.You lot need to start shaping up
Hilly
Member
- Location
- Scottish Borders.
Usually better husbandry ! As s irish dairy farmer i. Usa said when you milk 10,000 cows everyone hates you so if you fuk up they will crucify you !
- Location
- East Sussex
We lamb around 4,500 Romney and Romney Crosses in 4 flocks. A total of 4 full time, 2 x pensioners (one is me!) a single Vet student who this year was very good and a couple of part timers. Grandchildren at weekends.
One flock of 700 inside for a 3 weeks and all the rest outside.
One other part time feeding cattle and calving, 55 cows and over 250 other cattle all outside and organising livestock transport.
We could do with more staff really but struggle to find any that want to work full time.
One flock of 700 inside for a 3 weeks and all the rest outside.
One other part time feeding cattle and calving, 55 cows and over 250 other cattle all outside and organising livestock transport.
We could do with more staff really but struggle to find any that want to work full time.
Hilly
Member
- Location
- Scottish Borders.
If i was not so tied with my own place id have loved to come and help and hopefully learn alot more about the romenys but im the only staff here so i cant .
- Location
- East Sussex
Not much to learn with us.
Just leave them alone as much as possible.
Go early in the morning and go again late afternoon.
Run the twins light and the singles tight so they don't get too fat.
Haven't lambed a single for a few days and must of lambed 300.
Come and help me with the shedders instead ---just be prepared to spend time drinking coffee and eating donuts ;
I’m on lambing 250 ewes of my own (hasn’t gone partially well because of abortions first few days) before work 5-6.30, dinner 12.00-1.00 and after work 7.00-8.30. I haven’t got a vehicle that can drive round them so all on foot but when the suns out it’s a pretty good job. I ring lambs as they are born so not to make a job at the end. I would only check 2 times a day but have 5 footpaths across the lambing field (f**king locals 
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Hilly
Member
- Location
- Scottish Borders.
Thats exactly what i do here ..
This year I lambed 800 old broken mouth mules outside again in March. What a disaster from start to finish. My wife helps when she can but we have 3 young kids, the youngest two are quite severely disabled so they take most of her time and quite rightly their needs come first. It’s doesn’t help that we have quite a lot of store cattle to feed as well. Although we are well mechanised on the cattle front we just need more help. But we just can’t find any at all locally. Not that’s worth having. It’s very hard as well being a one man band as you don’t have the time to train someone really.
That’s the thing I’m weighing up what to do risk wise… Iv culled nearly 100 ewes for not rearing a lamb this year … not a situation I want too end up in again