Finishing some lambs indoors

[romneymarsh]

I reckon there is only a margin ,( even then slim when the last lamb leaves the shed ),if the lambs are already grown to weight but lack finish(+40kg) . If not the store ring is the place to be if you haven’t got good grazing ahead. There will always be someone a bit more optimistic with ‘cheaper ‘ feed to take them on. If you have breeding sheep on the farm they take priority. I would always opt for a finishing pellet.

 

[andybk]

We have some leftover lambs that we have inside, are there problems with feeding bruised propcorn barley to lambs? Apart from the vit e?

prop is acid , makes problems worse , they dont like it either , be better caustic treated ,small amount of alkali wheat / barley , will help feed alongside normal whole grain , (you cant feed much of either they dont like the taste )mixed in with normal grain and some soya / distillers sbp be a good feed (distillers will have some fibre in it )

 

[GTB]

I've never had anything but problems from feeding straights and blends to lambs. Gone back to using finisher pellets now. As said as a rule of thumb, allow 25kg per lamb and get them gone. Adlib pellets and straw (not hay) is what I've found to work best. Straw is better for the gut than hay.

 

[Frank-the-Wool]

If they weigh say close to 40 kg now then they will be worth close to £70.00 as stores on the present trade.

The only time that feeding lambs on hard feed ever stacks up is if you can time it right in the Spring about 3 weeks before the price of hoggets shoots up!

Can you not find a few acres of beet tops?

 

[romneymarsh]

If they weigh say close to 40 kg now then they will be worth close to £70.00 as stores on the present trade.

The only time that feeding lambs on hard feed ever stacks up is if you can time it right in the Spring about 3 weeks before the price of hoggets shoots up!

Can you not find a few acres of beet tops?

Depends what breed they are.
Big variation .
I’ve never found stores of a ‘certain breed’ actually weighing 40kg make the money.

 

[ISCO]

We fattened our lambs this year on whole oats and a 20% blend mixed 50/50 and it worked fine

 

[crazy_bull]

These are tail end mixed bag that vary from 50kg leggy suffolks that never finished to 38kg Shapley but unfinished beltex X's, plus 4-5 wronguns that might never do.

I could put them on some beet tops somewhere I guess, but it is a faff looking at a group of 50, somewhere else. At least if they were in the shed I can feed/check them in the dark, run them through the race to grade and get rid off ASAP as opposed to dragging the mobile race down to some far flung field in the pitch dark to get loaded for market.

Selling as stores might be an option.....

The hay is for nothing miss shaped horse bales they can't sell, the barley is also for nothing (samples out the lab). The oats or pellets would have to be bought in and the straw has a value.

C B

 

[Frank-the-Wool]

These are tail end mixed bag that vary from 50kg leggy suffolks that never finished to 38kg Shapley but unfinished beltex X's, plus 4-5 wronguns that might never do.

I could put them on some beet tops somewhere I guess, but it is a faff looking at a group of 50, somewhere else. At least if they were in the shed I can feed/check them in the dark, run them through the race to grade and get rid off ASAP as opposed to dragging the mobile race down to some far flung field in the pitch dark to get loaded for market.

Selling as stores might be an option.....

The hay is for nothing miss shaped horse bales they can't sell, the barley is also for nothing (samples out the lab). The oats or pellets would have to be bought in and the straw has a value.

C B

Sounds like you can't go wrong!
As long as a couple of them don't die and they all go lame then putting them in a shed and feeding them for nearly free looks a good option!

 

[Old Tip]

Get them started on feed before you bring them in and they will finish in no time, I assume they’ve been dosed recently

 

[beltextexel]

Forgetting about whether or not it's financially viable, but is there any reason lambs can't be finished inside in July/August?

 

[Northeastfarmer]

Forgetting about whether or not it's financially viable, but is there any reason lambs can't be finished inside in July/August?

Why would you want to?

 

[GTB]

Most important thing is to make sure the lambs have had their clostridial vaccine. Well worth giving them an extra booster at housing IME. I know one dealer who houses lambs also does vaccinate monthly whilst they're in. The do get pulpy kidney etc bevause they put weight on relatively quickly. Also important IMO to sell the lambs as soon as they're fit rather than hang on for more weight. These days they will eat more than they gain. In the old days when the trade would rise a few pence a week it could pay to keep them longer but the longer you keep them the more likely they are to drop dead.

PS not tryimg to put you off housing (we housed over a thousand last month) just trying to point out the pitfalls. Good luck.

 

[Gator]

Fed some inside for freezer customers, just fed lamb finisher and clean straw ad-lib. Would of been OK if some customers hadn't changed the mind at the last minute

 

[GTB]

Forgetting about whether or not it's financially viable, but is there any reason lambs can't be finished inside in July/August?

No reason you couldn't do it but to end up being a millionaire you'd need to start off with two million in the bank!

 

[Green farmer]

Finishing the tail end of my lambs here. Feeding them as lib outside. They'd be better in, but more work and I have a bit of spare paddock. Anyway reckon I'd be better off selling as store, but won't because I'd just too damn stubborn and don't want to admit defeat on them. Reckon I'm not the only one who thinks this way.

 

[GTB]

Finishing the tail end of my lambs here. Feeding them as lib outside. They'd be better in, but more work and I have a bit of spare paddock. Anyway reckon I'd be better off selling as store, but won't because I'd just too damn stubborn and don't want to admit defeat on them. Reckon I'm not the only one who thinks this way.

Me too but in my case, Easycare lambs aren't the best to sell as stores but I know I can make more from them finished on pellets and sent deadweight. They always kill out better than they look both in terms of weight and grade.

 

[Green farmer]

Me too but in my case, Easycare lambs aren't the best to sell as stores but I know I can make more from them finished on pellets and sent deadweight. They always kill out better than they look both in terms of weight and grade.

I hear you, my lleyns are probably similar, but also you know whatever's to be make out of them, your the one making it.

 

[farmerm]

Finishing the tail end of my lambs here. Feeding them as lib outside. They'd be better in, but more work and I have a bit of spare paddock. Anyway reckon I'd be better off selling as store, but won't because I'd just too damn stubborn and don't want to admit defeat on them. Reckon I'm not the only one who thinks this way.

. As long as I ignore the reality that the barley and hay has a value, I can be happy make more money selling my tail enders finished than as stores...

 

[beltextexel]

Why would you want to?

Just a thought really, obviously they'd be better off outside even if on feed.

 

[farmerm]

Just a thought really, obviously they'd be better off outside even if on feed.

Op has css options preventing supplementary feeding in field...