2 sheep questions

Al R

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
West Wales
I don't think they have to know, just something wrong in the behaviour pattern. Same way a computer program won't work if something as simple as a comma is in the wrong place. Can't go against Nature.

It is interesting how some clever person worked out that tubing lambs doesn't usually seem to interfere with their instinct to suck. That used to be a real problem with cold lambs brought inside to warm up and then returned to their mothers. Or how a ewe will adopt an orphan that is wearing a jacket made out of the skin of their own dead lamb. That is a very old trick.

A lecturer in sheep management told me that putting a ewe that's rejecting a lamb into stocks (so she's forced to take it) will generally accept it when the lamb has digested and passed the milk from that ewe. Don't know if it's true, but it does make sense.

We skin if a ewe loses a lamb in the first few days or at birth. If it's the first lamb from twins dead then we will wet adopt while the second lamb is being born - works every time.

The milk from a ewe passing through trick works most of the time as the poo smells of her own milk, so her smell. Rubbing that poo all over the lamb's head and tail works but wouldn't recommend it as they stink from it so it's not nice but I've seen a student do it and it did work.. the stocks also wears down the ewe's mental health so she has no choice but to take the lamb sometimes works.

I've got a char x Suffolk yearling that hated both of her lambs from birth, head butted one breaking its leg so we adopted elsewhere once mended and the other she wasn't keen on but lay on in him in a 6 acre field one night when he was 8 days old :/
 

Al R

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
West Wales
Whilst I agree with what you're saying in general, that's very different from what @Dry Rot 's lecturer said. I've heard many claim with both calves and sheep that the mother's own milk coming through them will be enough to make them accept them. I personally think that's poppycock.
I've had ewes before towards the end of lambing when not much adoptions going on and this year we had 2 ewe lambs in stocks and then pens and holding them 4 times a day on fostered lambs that were 3 weeks old and they both refused after another 3 weeks, the lambs were 6 weeks old, keen as mustard and were later finished on lamlac :/
 

2tractors

Member
Location
Cornwall
Sheep are very intelligent ---you can see that by the way they have all of us constantly confused and arguing about why they do what they do"

Sheep have a strong social bond, something I never understood until we started Eid weighing, brought in 300 lambs into yard, put 100 in forcing pen and noticed lambs were coming up to the weigher at times in their sibling pairs, given the amount of mixing it was surprising that they kept together!
 

JMx

Member
Interesting to hear another opinion.We've had this debate on here about whether pet ewe lambs go on to make good mothers or not.
Not universally, no... I should of clarified better, I meant lambs who were rejected by their mother, not orphaned cos of death... I also believe that ewe lambs who had a male twin are more likely to have breeding issues... prolapses, bad milkers, poor mums you name it... of course not each and every, have some brilliant ones as well...
 

twizzel

Member
Kept one of my pet ewe lambs last year to help tame up my new ewes. She lambed a good single in the spring when she was about 14mths old, needed help as he came head first but no problems at all mothering up and she was very attentive. Went out after 24hrs and not once did we have any doubts about her :) hoping for a nice set of twins next year:cool:
 

JWL

Member
Location
Hereford
There is also another factor with the pet lambs, they will not be as stressed with people around, you also find that the good mothers are pretty blind to anyone in their way whether it's you or your dog or another ewe.
 

SFI - What % were you taking out of production?

  • 0 %

    Votes: 80 42.3%
  • Up to 25%

    Votes: 66 34.9%
  • 25-50%

    Votes: 30 15.9%
  • 50-75%

    Votes: 3 1.6%
  • 75-100%

    Votes: 3 1.6%
  • 100% I’ve had enough of farming!

    Votes: 7 3.7%

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

  • 1,292
  • 1
As reported in Independent


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

read the TFF thread here: https://thefarmingforum.co.uk/index.php?threads/gfc-was-to-go-ahead-now-not-going-ahead.405234/
Top