Feeding ewe lambs

[Guiggs]

Just wondering what people's thoughts are on this,
Got 40 odd to put into the flock, going to tease them and put a tup in for one cycle first week of November, should I give them some cake and if so how much?
I've heard it said here that to much can damage udder development but about 3/4 of them are a bit under for tupping and I feel if I'm lambing some I might as well make it work while,
What do you think?

 

[jemski]

I've been feeding mine about 300g a day just to give them a little boost and to get as many to tupping weight as possible, but will stop a couple of weeks before tupping as I already get more twins than I'd like in my ewe lambs.

 

[Guiggs]

I've been feeding mine about 300g a day just to give them a little boost and to get as many to tupping weight as possible, but will stop a couple of weeks before tupping as I already get more twins than I'd like in my ewe lambs.

Thanks @jemski
What feed are you giving them?

 

[msheep66]

Just wondering what people's thoughts are on this,
Got 40 odd to put into the flock, going to tease them and put a tup in for one cycle first week of November, should I give them some cake and if so how much?
I've heard it said here that to much can damage udder development but about 3/4 of them are a bit under for tupping and I feel if I'm lambing some I might as well make it work while,
What do you think?

What breed are they?

 

[Guiggs]

What breed are they?

Lleyn and lleyn/ tex

 

[jemski]

Thanks @jemski
What feed are you giving them?

Just lamb finisher nuts

 

[neilo]

I've been feeding mine about 300g a day just to give them a little boost and to get as many to tupping weight as possible, but will stop a couple of weeks before tupping as I already get more twins than I'd like in my ewe lambs.

Similarly, mine are on good grass, rotationally grazed and have a Rumevite block to go at, with the aim of getting as many as possible to my target tupping weight. Teasers will go in in the next day or two, once I've pulled them out of my pedigree flock. I'll knock the blocks off before the tups go in, and November will see grass quality dropping off a bit anyway.

 

[Guiggs]

Similarly, mine are on good grass, rotationally grazed and have a Rumevite block to go at, with the aim of getting as many as possible to my target tupping weight. Teasers will go in in the next day or two, once I've pulled them out of my pedigree flock. I'll knock the blocks off before the tups go in, and November will see grass quality dropping off a bit anyway.

I should have said mine have Rumevite blocks but on permanent pasture, would that affect the amount of concs to offer them?

 

[neilo]

I should have said mine have Rumevite blocks but on permanent pasture, would that affect the amount of concs to offer them?

They'll just take more Rumevite blocks if the pasture is poorer. If you don't mind the work of feeding them, nuts or cereals would be considerably cheaper.

 

[Guiggs]

Tup has gone in today,
They've had approx 300g of finishing blend a day for 3 weeks, noticed quite an improvement but room for a bit more,
Should I stop feeding now and risk them checking but minimise risk of twins or keep feeding at the same rate?
They will be moving onto better grass in about a fortnight!

 

[TALDLONKTUP2]

Why would (any one) want to keep lambs that can't get themselves to tupping weight in 7 months? It goes against the functional sheep philosophy that we hear so much about on here....

 

[Guiggs]

I hear you but personally I'm trying to up numbers so I can't be as ruthless as I'd like and also the majority of my grazing is old pp and amenity ley so they are up against it. About half are tupping weight, I just wanted to push the others along.

 

[Midlist]

Is it that they choose to sell their best lambs for £100 early on?. So much benefit in keeping your own ewe lambs, so why not keep the best. Do people depend solely on the ram breeders to improve their own flocks. Is this wise.

 

[Lovegoodstock]

Is it that they choose to sell their best lambs for £100 early on?. So much benefit in keeping your own ewe lambs, so why not keep the best. Do people depend solely on the ram breeders to improve their own flocks. Is this wise.

Im not sure, I rn a different sytem by buying ewe lambs direct off of same farm, for decades following my father, but even if they sell the best at over 100 to take the money, surely then they are keeping/ breeding from the worst performers, and a false economy even if maintaining a closed flock? Is breed not a major factor? Without feeding ewes or lambs the majority of mine are away at 40k at 12 weeks, although on maybe kinder and better land than many, but struggling to get to mid 40 kilo at 7 months surely isn't an efficient sheep?

 

[Ysgythan]

Is it that they choose to sell their best lambs for £100 early on?. So much benefit in keeping your own ewe lambs, so why not keep the best. Do people depend solely on the ram breeders to improve their own flocks. Is this wise.

Because the best tend to be singles.

 

[TALDLONKTUP2]

Because the best tend to be singles.

Absolutely, but any twin worth keeping should still be getting to 60% plus of mature weight in 7 months on it's own, it shouldn't be a big ask

 

[neilo]

Absolutely, but any twin worth keeping should still be getting to 60% plus of mature weight in 7 months on it's own, it shouldn't be a big ask

I'd like to think so too, but does flock/pasture management not have an effect on that at all? Some farms always struggle to finish lambs, should their twin lambs necessarily still be ditched if they don't reach 60% of mature weight?

I had a load that weren't up to my tupping weight last year, as we struggled with Iodine deficiency post weaning. They grew on OK after identifying and sorting the issue, but I wasn't happy enough to tup them so they ran empty. Ewe lambs bred the same way are almost all at tupping weight this year, so genetics similar but different management (or lack of).

 

[TALDLONKTUP2]

I'd like to think so too, but does flock/pasture management not have an effect on that at all? Some farms always struggle to finish lambs, should their twin lambs necessarily still be ditched if they don't reach 60% of mature weight?

I had a load that weren't up to my tupping weight last year, as we struggled with Iodine deficiency post weaning. They grew on OK after identifying and sorting the issue, but I wasn't happy enough to tup them so they ran empty. Ewe lambs bred the same way are almost all at tupping weight this year, so genetics similar but different management (or lack of).

I think the 'crap pasture' card is way over played, mine get their penultimate selection on weight in early August. It'd have to be a bad lamb not to have made it by now......As for management issues, who am I to judge!

 

[TALDLONKTUP2]

I'd like to think so too, but does flock/pasture management not have an effect on that at all? Some farms always struggle to finish lambs, should their twin lambs necessarily still be ditched if they don't reach 60% of mature weight?

I had a load that weren't up to my tupping weight last year, as we struggled with Iodine deficiency post weaning. They grew on OK after identifying and sorting the issue, but I wasn't happy enough to tup them so they ran empty. Ewe lambs bred the same way are almost all at tupping weight this year, so genetics similar but different management (or lack of).

If only you'd thrown out some salt licks Neil....!.
....damn, how could I have missed that one!

 

[Six Dogs]

I'd like to think so too, but does flock/pasture management not have an effect on that at all? Some farms always struggle to finish lambs, should their twin lambs necessarily still be ditched if they don't reach 60% of mature weight?

I had a load that weren't up to my tupping weight last year, as we struggled with Iodine deficiency post weaning. They grew on OK after identifying and sorting the issue, but I wasn't happy enough to tup them so they ran empty. Ewe lambs bred the same way are almost all at tupping weight this year, so genetics similar but different management (or lack of).

Absolutely agree!
We are on all HLS and struggle to grow lambs from weaning until they can go onto stubble turnips or any aftermath of someone else’s.
My driver for efficiency is to select the females that are performing best within the constraints of our system,as we all know no two Farms are the same!