Another easycare thread

[JohnAC]

Went back into sheep last year and bought 30 mule ewes and 25 easycares breeding them to a meatlinc ram was pleased with the lambs with my preference leaning towards the easycares. The only problem I seen with them was the easycares seemed to take a lot of bad bags as we had to cull 6 out of the 25 witch to me seems a lot, at lambing the ewes were very milky so maybe we had been to good to them pre lambing or is it because they hadn’t the wool round there bag. Bought another 70 easycares this year so will see how they go lambs are doin well so far with the first singles ready to go this week. What I’m asking is this the norm or is it a breeding problem with the sheep I bought

 

[Woolless]

That is a very high rate of mastitis. The question is, is the fault genetic, managerial or a combination of particular circumstances this year? You are unlikely to get a definite answer.

For what it's worth, we've had a cold spring on the Scottish east coast and I had three cases of mastitis out of 210 Easycare ewes so far, none of which have lost a quarter. And most of my ewes will have a splash of Texel in them, which should make them more prone to it. All this talk of how ewes need a big fleece to keep them warm etc, how do wild sheep with a shedding coat cope?

 

[JohnAC]

That is a very high rate of mastitis. The question is, is the fault genetic, managerial or a combination of particular circumstances this year? You are unlikely to get a definite answer.

For what it's worth, we've had a cold spring on the Scottish east coast and I had three cases of mastitis out of 210 Easycare ewes so far, none of which have lost a quarter. And most of my ewes will have a splash of Texel in them, which should make them more prone to it. All this talk of how ewes need a big fleece to keep them warm etc, how do wild sheep with a shedding coat cope?

They were lambed in the house in March on good silage and 19% ewe nuts and were in good order could they of been to well done too? An as such blew the bags of them

 

[MJT]

Went back into sheep last year and bought 30 mule ewes and 25 easycares breeding them to a meatlinc ram was pleased with the lambs with my preference leaning towards the easycares. The only problem I seen with them was the easycares seemed to take a lot of bad bags as we had to cull 6 out of the 25 witch to me seems a lot, at lambing the ewes were very milky so maybe we had been to good to them pre lambing or is it because they hadn’t the wool round there bag. Bought another 70 easycares this year so will see how they go lambs are doin well so far with the first singles ready to go this week. What I’m asking is this the norm or is it a breeding problem with the sheep I bought

Had similar problem with some I purchased, when the seriously cold snow and wind was blowing in I had fair bit of problem with blackbag compared to the texel x Welsh and Welsh/cheviot ewes they were with. That’s my experience which them, I’l be giving the remaining two quartered ewes another chance and see how next year goes, maybe/hopefully just one of those things .

 

[Pan mixer]

They were lambed in the house in March on good silage and 19% ewe nuts and were in good order could they of been to well done too? An as such blew the bags of them

I wonder if you have done them too well, ours have had nothing but grass - but at a very low stocking rate in the winter - 1-2 ewes an acre on what is mostly good grassland.

 

[Woolless]

They were lambed in the house in March on good silage and 19% ewe nuts and were in good order could they of been to well done too? An as such blew the bags of them

Mine had good silage, fodder beet and a nice view of the north Sea, so you might be right!

 

[M-J-G]

Mine had good silage, fodder beet and a nice view of the north Sea, so you might be right!

So as someone with grass for most of the year do I rule them out?

 

[Tim W]

Went back into sheep last year and bought 30 mule ewes and 25 easycares breeding them to a meatlinc ram was pleased with the lambs with my preference leaning towards the easycares. The only problem I seen with them was the easycares seemed to take a lot of bad bags as we had to cull 6 out of the 25 witch to me seems a lot, at lambing the ewes were very milky so maybe we had been to good to them pre lambing or is it because they hadn’t the wool round there bag. Bought another 70 easycares this year so will see how they go lambs are doin well so far with the first singles ready to go this week. What I’m asking is this the norm or is it a breeding problem with the sheep I bought

What were these sheep ----are they ''pedigree easycares'' or shedders bred from a hill ewe or a from a mule or a Lleyn
Curious as the term easycare is applied to many types of shedding sheep

 

[Woolless]

So as someone with grass for most of the year do I rule them out?

No, why would you?

 

[JohnAC]

What were these sheep ----are they ''pedigree easycares'' or shedders bred from a hill ewe or a from a mule or a Lleyn
Curious as the term easycare is applied to many types of shedding sheep

They were bought from a large recorded easycare flock don’t know about pedigree but should be 3rd or 4th cross easycare were in Northern Ireland so not that many large flocks of them about over here

 

[Tim W]

They were bought from a large recorded easycare flock don’t know about pedigree but should be 3rd or 4th cross easycare were in Northern Ireland so not that many large flocks of them about over here

I'm pretty sure I know where they come from then and would be surprised if the problem was due to the sheep themselves---they've probably just come from a harsh living to a bit more luxury than they can handle

 

[JohnAC]

I'm pretty sure I know where they come from then and would be surprised if the problem was due to the sheep themselves---they've probably just come from a harsh living to a bit more luxury than they can handle

So we need to run them a bit harder? How do you do that without sacrificing lamb performance?

 

[Woolless]

So we need to run them a bit harder? How do you do that without sacrificing lamb performance?

If you didn't do it, it might be worth having your silage analysed and then balancing a ration from there. I've only run into trouble when I've been caught out and done it too late. As my ewes were on red clover silage this time, protein wasn't an issue. I managed to buy some fodder beet which provided them with more energy. Ewe rolls would have provided both but would have been significantly more expensive and they simply didn't need an 18% protein supplement.

 

[gwi1890]

So we need to run them a bit harder? How do you do that without sacrificing lamb performance?

You’d be surprised how well they perform in harder conditions

 

[Woolless]

You’d be surprised how well they perform in harder conditions

As said previously, it is a broad church particularly depending on what they've been bred up from.

 

[M-J-G]

No, why would you?

I was getting the impression that they need to be run very tough to stop them getting mastitis from bagging up too much.

 

[Woolless]

I was getting the impression that they need to be run very tough to stop them getting mastitis from bagging up too much.

Not in my experience, no. I wouldn't say they're that prone to it really. I would be more than happy to run mine on grass all winter, if I had access to it.

 

[M-J-G]

Not in my experience, no. I wouldn't say they're that prone to it really. I would be more than happy to run mine on grass all winter, if I had access to it.

I'd always thought they'd be more intended for softer climbs.
It was just that this thread was making me wonder if they were the kind that needed to be kept very hard in order for them to be manageable, like a hill Cheviot does.

 

[CopperBeech]

This is next block on rotation for my single ewes with lambs at foot. If they needed to be kept tight there wouldn’t be a tit left amongst them!

 

[Bones]

This is next block on rotation for my single ewes with lambs at foot. If they needed to be kept tight there wouldn’t be a tit left amongst them!

I want that