Ewe lamb management

[will6910]

Aye, feel your pain. Difficult to get the balance right re conditon/nutritional requirements and lamb size if having to house them early doors! Best advice would be to scan and keep singles separate and on fairly hard rations, assuming they're in good nick to start with.

Scanning will be start new year hopefully to see what I’m left with inlamb

 

[Anymulewilldo]

We buy big tupping lambs, tupped to lamb when I'm halfway through the ewes so I have space for them. They get bolused, flukes, wormed & dipped then sent away down to sea level mid October, grazed grass, mineral blocks and best haulage if the weather turns, scanned early Feb; come home late March about a fortnight before they are due; start trickling a few ewe and lamb nuts into them before housing. only turn out with singles, sell any twins as cade lambs. Then we wean them early (late July) and get them away as soon as we can after they dry off onto tack grazing for the second winter then they mix with the main flock after scanning as shearling a. I know it's a system that depends on circumstance and what's available but it works for me. Ewe lambs scan between 135-160% and then as shearlings 175-185%

 

[Anymulewilldo]

Tupping ewe lambs drives generic gain faster

And it stops those huge fat gormless shearlings that drop their lambs and leg it as hard as they can with no intention of calming down. Little ewe hogg drops her lambs, gets up looks bewildered and while she's doing that the lamb has chance to bleat at her and they are away! I only lamb 50-60 dry shearlings a year (less now I've banned the old fella from buying shearlings) more work in them than the 250 ewe lambs later on! Good job we aren't all the same

 

[will6910]

We buy big tupping lambs, tupped to lamb when I'm halfway through the ewes so I have space for them. They get bolused, flukes, wormed & dipped then sent away down to sea level mid October, grazed grass, mineral blocks and best haulage if the weather turns, scanned early Feb; come home late March about a fortnight before they are due; start trickling a few ewe and lamb nuts into them before housing. only turn out with singles, sell any twins as cade lambs. Then we wean them early (late July) and get them away as soon as we can after they dry off onto tack grazing for the second winter then they mix with the main flock after scanning as shearling a. I know it's a system that depends on circumstance and what's available but it works for me. Ewe lambs scan between 135-160% and then as shearlings 175-185%

At min mine at home on some rough grass to tidy up. Fields aren’t that overly dry. Wondering if should give them some silage just to make sure they well filled ?

 

[will6910]

Lambs this evening

 

[MDL POWERUP]

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Lambs this evening

Look fine and looks like there is some grass, doesn't look wet compared to some fields here...

 

[neilo]

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Lambs this evening

Would they even look at any silage you put out, when they have a bite to go at like that? If they are still in just a group of 20, that presumably haven't seen bales before, it would go off long before they started nibbling I'd have thought.

 

[will6910]

Have my other ewe lambs with so 25 in batch now. I’d just take them some fork fulls out in rack when time comes as have Silage open for heifers anyway

 

[will6910]

Look fine and looks like there is some grass, doesn't look wet compared to some fields here...

Looks dry but still plenty wet

 

[Anymulewilldo]

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Lambs this evening

look well as they are. I don't think they would look at forage while they have that much grass. Our Hoggs don't touch haylage until we get snow or very hard frosts

 

[will6910]

Thanks. I’m prob being to wary and fussy :/

 

[Anymulewilldo]

Thanks. I’m prob being to wary and fussy :/

Have you considered blocks/buckets? Great way to keep them topped up

 

[will6910]

Have you considered blocks/buckets? Great way to keep them topped up

All I’ve ever gave is high energy buckets over tupping then ewes and ewe lambs go to molasses once they come inside onto Silage. Lambs have energy bucket out with them at min

 

[will6910]

Lambs this evening. This grass they have now till they come inside. Will it be enough still? Other grass from closed up fields are rubbish to and need save what I have for spring in other fields

 

[Anymulewilldo]

I'll be down with the lorry in the morning ? My sheep lie awake at night dreaming of a bite like that at the moment! ?

 

[will6910]

Maybe I’m just to wary about things

 

[glensman]

Maybe I’m just to wary about things

It's not just the length of the grass but the area of grazing per lamb, so those lambs are on easy street for a number of weeks yet.

 

[will6910]

It's not just the length of the grass but the area of grazing per lamb, so those lambs are on easy street for a number of weeks yet.

25 In that field. 11 acres but a acre or more is to wet to graze

 

[will6910]

Decided to start feeding the lambs a little bit with conditions off the ground and weather