f**k Up Fortnight

Had a similar problem last year with ewes on rocket fuel haylage and too much cake. This year they're on meadow hay and have had very little cake. Milk supply good and no cow udders. Couldn't justify cake spend and went for better grass management. Hopefully I've learnt my lesson on overfeeding cake and using grass as a cheaper alternative.
We have a line of Welsh ewes and their maternal cross offslring we call 'tethi mawr' (big tits!). They end up with cow udders that wont fit in lambs mouths no matter what we do with them. Got so bad we've stopped keeping replacements off them 🤦🏼‍♂️
 

Estate fencing.

Member
Livestock Farmer
Had a similar problem last year with ewes on rocket fuel haylage and too much cake. This year they're on meadow hay and have had very little cake. Milk supply good and no cow udders. Couldn't justify cake spend and went for better grass management. Hopefully I've learnt my lesson on overfeeding cake and using grass as a cheaper alternative.
Mine are in rye grass silage that’s good enough for milking cows, last year ewes had no milk at all so this is much better.
 

Jonp

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
Gwent
We have a line of Welsh ewes and their maternal cross offslring we call 'tethi mawr' (big tits!). They end up with cow udders that wont fit in lambs mouths no matter what we do with them. Got so bad we've stopped keeping replacements off them 🤦🏼‍♂️
I must have had ewes from the same gene pool! Welsh ewes gave the most problems...think you need to not overfeed them - being mountain sheep
 
I must have had ewes from the same gene pool! Welsh ewes gave the most problems...think you need to not overfeed them - being mountain sheep
We do try and hold them back they are up here till late March and lamb indoors 15 April onwards.
20220322_174326.jpg
 

Jonp

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
Gwent
Same as my welsh ewes, it hard to keep them on poor enough ground down here but do produce 1.3 lambs for almost no cost or effort.
Got my first SWM ewes as drafts from above Bedlinog...hard as nails and do really well on easier ground.
Breeding my own closed flock to keep breeding mules from them.
Hope I don't end up with sheep that loose the mountain sheep traits...so far so good though.
 

BAF

Member
Livestock Farmer
Got summoned home to lamb a ewe lamb yesterday afternoon - fat head 1 leg out. We'd been tb testing all day so I was glad of a sit down in the truck for 5 minutes.
The long haired commander had tried to catch the little f**ker but couldn't get near it. I was never a rugby player but I did a decent impression of one as I dived at the awkward creature.
Anyway 10 minutes of the mehmsahib chasing her around had sorted out the stuck leg. I was going to let herself have a go at pulling this one anyway but as it was straightforward now she asked to have a go without any prompting. Nice big ewe lamb. Chucked them in a pen and had a coffee.
Bitch bag ewe starts bunting it 🙈 I suckled the lamb so at least it had some colostrum in its belly before I had to go to the chickens. 1030 I check her again and she's not battering it but still doesn't want to love it. Same again suckle the lamb and go to bed. This morning the bloody ewe had jumped out and buggered off! Caught her and stuck her in the adopter of shame. She will love it or spend the foreseeable in jail and then come EID go and get acquainted with Muslim culture!

Also I I'm going to start using tethi mawr! I impressed the wife with my grasp of the Welsh language when we met. Ysgol. Ambwilans. Amythig. Cegidfa. And everyone's favourite pop dy ping 😂 (not sure if that's how you spell it)
 
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beardface

Member
Location
East Yorkshire
I hate them with a vengeance (or maybe it's just the one that I have :scratchhead: )

After it had strangled it's second lamb, I hung it up in the shed and went back to using a bit of rope like we used to do in the olden days :whistle:
View attachment 1023802

I use a bit of rope and a spoon. If you can stop the buggers from pushing your halfway there. Always manage to lamb through the spoon too.
 

kfpben

Member
Location
Mid Hampshire
She was all for it until I said we’d have too plan it so we were there while 1 of the big store sales was on 🤦‍♂️ Then I got the “do you ever stop thinking about f**king work for 5 minutes?!” 🙄🙄🙄🙄
I went on holiday to Scotland in September and took the Mrs to a calf sale at Portree in the pouring rain- she loved it!
‘Just happened’ to catch up with a couple of TFFers.
 
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yellowbelly

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
N.Lincs
Woke up this morning to see this on the lambing camera.....

...(for those of a squeamish disposition, don't 'click' on it to enlarge - for the rest of us, who are used to it, 'click' away)....
20220323_071234.jpg :banghead: :banghead:

Plus a draft Cheviot with a big swolen head sticking out. Delivered it and it's twin safe and sound, so it's not all bad news :whistle:

Only 3 more days to go 'til the proper start date so hopefully things will settle down soon 🤞
 

MJT

Member
Glad it’s not just me by looks of it, due date for our next lot is Sunday, first proper live lambs today. But had hell of a lot of trouble with abortion in bunch of ewe hoggs. Probably 20-25 so far out of 180 ish. Probably complete coincidence but no problem at all until I notice couple of neighbours ewes that had aborted (black bloody manky tail type abortion) up against the fence next to ours , and now all hells broken lose in them .
 

Bob the beef

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
Scot Borders
Glad it’s not just me by looks of it, due date for our next lot is Sunday, first proper live lambs today. But had hell of a lot of trouble with abortion in bunch of ewe hoggs. Probably 20-25 so far out of 180 ish. Probably complete coincidence but no problem at all until I notice couple of neighbours ewes that had aborted (black bloody manky tail type abortion) up against the fence next to ours , and now all hells broken lose in them .
Unfortunately probably no coincidence. I would get some Alamycin into the rest ASAP
 

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

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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/
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