f**k Up Fortnight

aangus

Member
Location
cumbria
Bought a lovely pen of texel x mule shearlings to add to my flock in September , every thing ok until housing a week ago three go down with twin lamb despite ample feed and lick blocks . Couldn't quite belive it classic symptoms, got vet tested no ketones so not twin lamb after 2 died post mortem revealed OPA, at that age, bought a pen load of absolute sh!te never again why do I bother no wonder they were NRL the vendor must have a serious problem and will be told , too late for me now.
Whats OPA and NRL?
 

Jonp

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
Gwent
When I was buying draft ewes I only sourced from one farm on the mountain tops. Figured, rightly or wrongly, that to have got to 5 year old rearing a lamb every year there wasn't too much wrong with them apart from a few missing teeth.
95% went on to crop for a good few years after I bought them. Was wary about buying pens of 2/3 year olds....why would you sell what appeared to be healthy looking breeding sheep?
 

steveR

Member
Mixed Farmer
When I was buying draft ewes I only sourced from one farm on the mountain tops. Figured, rightly or wrongly, that to have got to 5 year old rearing a lamb every year there wasn't too much wrong with them apart from a few missing teeth.
95% went on to crop for a good few years after I bought them. Was wary about buying pens of 2/3 year olds....why would you sell what appeared to be healthy looking breeding sheep?
Very good point that!

I knew one chap, a good shepherd, who used to rent land near us and was starting up his flock using broken mouthers. They looked as rough as shite (much like the Owner* actually!) but seemed to do the business for him. He'd get another couple of crops out of them with a few fatalities along the way, and then sell the survivors as culls.

It relied on cheap cake being available for winter feeding it seemed to me though, as the usual "C" sugar beet would not have been much use to the toothless old crones! :unsure:



* not that @Jonp would fall into this categoty, I am sure.....
 

steveR

Member
Mixed Farmer
Strangely enough I sent a cow the other week and the invoice was £10 less than the last one. I asked why, thinking it was a mistake. He told me that the price of the tallow/oils going out from the renderers has shot up so it’s costing him less too tip now. So he’s passing the saving along. 🤷🏻‍♂️ At least something has come down in price!
A small Plus Point! Still, it all helps...;)
 

Jonp

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
Gwent
Very good point that!

I knew one chap, a good shepherd, who used to rent land near us and was starting up his flock using broken mouthers. They looked as rough as shite (much like the Owner* actually!) but seemed to do the business for him. He'd get another couple of crops out of them with a few fatalities along the way, and then sell the survivors as culls.

It relied on cheap cake being available for winter feeding it seemed to me though, as the usual "C" sugar beet would not have been much use to the toothless old crones! :unsure:



* not that @Jonp would fall into this categoty, I am sure.....
If you saw me you'd think...Jees he's rough as sh!t. Spend all my money on sheeps and cows...they look lovely.
 
Well today the number of live lambs passed the number of ewes that had lambed:rolleyes: Still I think it's progress. :unsure:
On a more cheerful note some may remember the picture of the lambs we took out the side of a ewe we'd had to shoot.

1649016187482.png


One died but the other two cheered me up today

April 2022 Pet Lambs.JPG
 

Kingcustard

Member

steveR

Member
Mixed Farmer
Well today the number of live lambs passed the number of ewes that had lambed:rolleyes: Still I think it's progress. :unsure:
On a more cheerful note some may remember the picture of the lambs we took out the side of a ewe we'd had to shoot.

View attachment 1026786

One died but the other two cheered me up today

View attachment 1026788
Good to see.... :)

Also good to see the bottle holder, I have been wanting to look at one to make something for teh few we have where the bucket is too much!
 

glow worm

Member
Location
cornwall
Don’t know, she was very polite.said our holding had been randomly selected for an APHA sheep inspection. It had too be started be 6pm Wednesday but I could split it into the paperwork visit and a separate one for the stock inspection. Last year I had a cattle one, he wanted some blood samples. He was dead sound, took 4 samples. Had a brew, looked at medicine records looked at cows and off he went. But he rang just as I went into isolation before my back op. So he just postponed it 6 weeks and came then!
We had a full sheep inspection several years ago even though we told them in advance we had none !! But they came anyway and we were told to file the report they produced for the non existent flock! Honestly, you couldn't make it up! Mind you, a few years before that, we had a FABBL inspection for our beef herd ...2 stores!!!
 

glow worm

Member
Location
cornwall
What I want to know is ... how come we all keep years of records, endure hours of inspections, comply with ever changing rules etc .. and yet .. it seems that if I was a townie yearning for a country life, I could keep pigs, sheep, cattle etc etc with zero experience and apparently little or no official interference. I've Known of back garden pigs never inspected during foot and mouth And seen posts elsewhere from owners of chickens who didn't know what bird flu was. Give me strength! Or failing that
. Tolerance!
 

Jonp

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
Gwent
Iv got just 80 left of my first lambing of 500, they have lambed at 28-32 a day right the way through, they have never had a massive rush or slowed down.
I'm just entering f**k off fortnight in my next 450 now though.
Good luck with the next batch! I don't envy you.
As of 5 mins ago I've left the f*uck up fortnight worries behind with my last lamb. This one is a week later than the rest of the flock.
Cows next, due in three weeks.
 

Estate fencing.

Member
Livestock Farmer
Good luck with the next batch! I don't envy you.
As of 5 mins ago I've left the f*uck up fortnight worries behind with my last lamb. This one is a week later than the rest of the flock.
Cows next, due in three weeks.
I been the most enjoyable lambing I remember. 70 less triplets has mad the job better. I have got into a good routine of finishing everything at 7.30 then just nipping in a penning everything at 10. Only one night I have been out past 11.
 

Jonp

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
Gwent
I been the most enjoyable lambing I remember. 70 less triplets has mad the job better. I have got into a good routine of finishing everything at 7.30 then just nipping in a penning everything at 10. Only one night I have been out past 11.
Same here, the weather has been so kind, ewes and lambs thriving out in very dry fields.
Ewes in shed with small run out paddock, last look at 10pm, first look at 5am with 90% being born as the light comes. Only one mental weekend half way through when I ran out pens (teaser wave!).
No triplets to deal with and no prolapses or ewe deaths. Lost 8 lambs at the beginning and only have two pets (as well as 10 bought in ones). Happy days.
 

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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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