Old wives tails etc.
Going to have a Swale of a time! (I hope)
- Thread starter AftonShepherd
- Start date
- Location
- East Ayrshire
Not really had much chance to do much but here's a couple of photos from this morning.
Will be in for a fluke dose next week weather permitting and a few lame and cloudy eyes to deal with but otherwise looking well I think.
Greythundercloudys
Member
Big area there in the back ground. Plenty roughness.
- Location
- East Ayrshire
They don't have all that area but they've got a fair skelp and it's plenty rough this year. Dry summer suits that ground!
Greythundercloudys
Member
Those type of ewes love a big area to go on threw the winter, are they lmbing in April.
- Location
- East Ayrshire
Should start around the 15th
- Location
- Scottish Borders
What do you do for cloudy ewe?
Blue spray straight on the eye?
Blue spray straight on the eye?
- Location
- Scot Borders
I, ve had a hell of a time with cloudy eyes since November. Tried just blue spray, but had to resort to jagging with Alamycin to get it cleared up
- Location
- West Wales
I’ve always found orbenin cream works very well! Expensive yes but it works
- Location
- Scottish Borders
Into the eyelid ?
I had a herdwick get it just before tupping, and 2 goes with blue spray , 2 days apart, sorted it out .
Any ideas on what caused yours?
- Location
- N.Lincs
Never had any luck with Orbenin here
Alamycin (or whatever is the cheapest generic oxytet) is the only thing that seems to work on ours.
- Location
- Scot Borders
Tried into the eyelids but was struggling to hold them. Had give them a full jag in the muscle (££££)
No idea where it came from . My vet said they see 2/3 flocks get it apparently from nowhere every year. Only sheep I buy in are tups and they haven’t been affected
- Location
- North Antrim
They could be carrying it though. I had a closed flock for years and decided to buy in some mules with lambs at foot as was down on numbers that year, mistake. A six month pinkeye nightmare ensued, it went through my entire flock repeatedly. Oxytet under the eyelid was the eventual answer to controlling it until it ran its course.Tried into the eyelids but was struggling to hold them. Had give them a full jag in the muscle (££££)
No idea where it came from . My vet said they see 2/3 flocks get it apparently from nowhere every year. Only sheep I buy in are tups and they haven’t been affected
I meant to add the mules never suffered from it the entire time.
- Location
- East Ayrshire
Again it wasn't really weather for photography but we scanned 750(ish) hill ewes today including the 195 Swales.
Swales have definitely achieved the first of my aims in buying them. They scanned at 158%, 4 triplets, 112 twins, 73 singles and 6 empty which is a lot better than our Cheviots have ever done.
This is compared to 116% for my Cheviot ewes and an even more disappointing 107% for my Cheviot gimmers. By necessity we kept smaller ewe lambs than we'd have liked that year and then they had a bad go with CODD at their wintering and didn't grow as well as hoped. They were summered away from home and looked reasonably well, but have maybe taken a hit being brought home on September rather than having the summer to acclimatize.
1-crop ewes also look poor although until I read the tags of all the singles I can't get exact figures. (this is my first time reading all tags at this time and I've set up a spreadsheet to analyze by age) Always struggle to pick them up after weaning here so will need to try and find a way to be kinder to them in future.
The Swales on the whole are in nice condition, was worried by how narrow some of the barer ones looked but they're not lacking flesh. Still don't know where some of the twin bearing ewes are keeping them hidden as they've hardly any belly!
Swales have definitely achieved the first of my aims in buying them. They scanned at 158%, 4 triplets, 112 twins, 73 singles and 6 empty which is a lot better than our Cheviots have ever done.
This is compared to 116% for my Cheviot ewes and an even more disappointing 107% for my Cheviot gimmers. By necessity we kept smaller ewe lambs than we'd have liked that year and then they had a bad go with CODD at their wintering and didn't grow as well as hoped. They were summered away from home and looked reasonably well, but have maybe taken a hit being brought home on September rather than having the summer to acclimatize.
1-crop ewes also look poor although until I read the tags of all the singles I can't get exact figures. (this is my first time reading all tags at this time and I've set up a spreadsheet to analyze by age) Always struggle to pick them up after weaning here so will need to try and find a way to be kinder to them in future.
The Swales on the whole are in nice condition, was worried by how narrow some of the barer ones looked but they're not lacking flesh. Still don't know where some of the twin bearing ewes are keeping them hidden as they've hardly any belly!
- Location
- East Ayrshire
For completeness, I'd better add that apart from a score or so, the Cheviots are also in reasonable nick although maybe not just as good as the Swales.
- Location
- east Ayrshire
That's a good scan for your swales esp with only 4 triplets. See I have told you swales are the answer to everything even the ones that look lean have condition on them (also known as low maintenance sheep don't need as much grass to survive) the sooner these blackie men realise that swales are the way forward the better for everyone.
But seriously that is a good start for them hopefully they lamb out as well as they have scanned and it's the start to of a good swale/ Cheviot mule flock.
Last edited:
Woolless
Member
- Location
- Berwickshire, Scottish Borders
Were your ewe hoggs wintered on a dairy farm? I've heard of other hill sheep picking up CODD that way, presumably due to digital dermatitis in the cows.
- Location
- East Ayrshire
Yes. Although 10th year on the same farm and never had a problem before. Stopped going anyway as they started wanting hoggs away in January.
Now go to my bosses home farm from September to September.
- Location
- East Ayrshire
Happy enough. Lambing will be the next test. Only one jumper out of 195 which is better than I was told to expect too.That's a good scan for your swales esp with only 4 triplets. See I have told you swales are the answer to everything even the ones that look lean have condition on them (also known as low maintenance sheep don't need as much grass to survive) the sooner these blackie men realise that swales are the way forward the better for everyone.
But seriously that is a good start for them hopefully they lamb out as well as they have scanned and it's the start to of a good swale/ Cheviot mule flock.