Feeding ewes pre / during tupping

[TheRock]

What’s people’s thoughts on a feed for pre and during tupping?
Hard to get winter grass here and it’s £1 a week if you do? Plus will do away with driving around all day and those sheep that go missing, catch on briars etc.

Sugar beet? Ewe nuts? Lamb pellets? Or anything else?

 

[Skintagain]

What’s people’s thoughts on a feed for pre and during tupping?
Hard to get winter grass here and it’s £1 a week if you do? Plus will do away with driving around all day and those sheep that go missing, catch on briars etc.

Sugar beet? Ewe nuts? Lamb pellets? Or anything else?

If you are going to be struggling for feed all winter do you really want massive scans of lambs?

 

[TheRock]

If you are going to be struggling for feed all winter do you really want massive scans of lambs?

Don’t want a massive scan, just would like to have a wee bit more than usual, and avoid winter grazing.

Have them on fodder beet from December.

 

[Skintagain]

Don’t want a massive scan, just would like to have a wee bit more than usual, and avoid winter grazing.

Have them on fodder beet from December.

Ok. I’m a little confused. If they are eating grass at home until December whats the difference to someone else’s grass to flush them unless you only have old shite?

If you only have old shite some crystalix or max buckets or rumivites would do the trick without getting mobbed.

What sheep do you have and what do you currently scan at and where do you want to be?

 

[TheRock]

Ok. I’m a little confused. If they are eating grass at home until December whats the difference to someone else’s grass to flush them unless you only have old shite?

If you only have old shite some crystalix or max buckets or rumivites would do the trick without getting mobbed.

What sheep do you have and what do you currently scan at and where do you want to be?

Have a lot of old grass, but working my way round reseeding it as I’ve only taken over.

Don’t like lick buckets, good for spreading disease in my view. Just looking to scoot round with the snacker.

Mainly blackface

Scanning at 1.3, looking to go up to 1.5

 

[Bury the Trash]

Just Use straight whole Oats I would say, not sure how they would come out of the snacker tho as I've never used one.

 

[Bill dog]

They come out a snacker fine. I fed whole oats, until about a month off lambing, when I added some dark grains and soya to rev it up a bit .

 

[Agrivator]

Just Use straight whole Oats I would say, not sure how they would come out of the snacker tho as I've never used one.

You need to drive very slowly to try to leave them in neat heaps rather than broadcasting them. But either way ,all the rooks from miles around will hear the bike coming.

 

[Bury the Trash]

You need to drive very slowly to try to leave them in neat heaps rather than broadcasting them. But either way ,all the rooks from miles around will hear the bike coming.

Ah ha.

An old fert spreader out the nettles and put on wheels with a long extended shut off lever sounds like for me then.,
If I was doing it and want to save humping bags.

 

[Skintagain]

Have a lot of old grass, but working my way round reseeding it as I’ve only taken over.

Don’t like lick buckets, good for spreading disease in my view. Just looking to scoot round with the snacker.

Mainly blackface

Scanning at 1.3, looking to go up to 1.5

Anything that will go through the snacker at the cheapest bang for your buck will do your job.

Personally don’t see how lick buckets spread disease any worse than if they are eating fodder beet off the floor all together mixing around all winter or feed from your snacker.

 

[neilo]

I fed Alkagrain (which is mostly whole barley) through a snacker in the Autumn of 2012 when we had no grass. There was surprisingly little waste and it certainly helped me out of a hole, without spending a fortune.
I've been using Chrystallix blocks on the poorest tupping pastures since, which have helped but at a cost.

 

[Guleesh]

Remember to consider not only the initial feeding cost at tupping, but also the extra expense of the additional twin carrying ewes you'll need to manage in spring, then also add up the higher lamb losses that the twins will have compared to the singles, and then the fact your remaining twins will be worth considerably less per head than your singles especially little blackie twins.

Unless you've got 1000s of ewes then I doubt there'll be a huge difference in profit margins with or without feeding at tupping.