Keeping Ewe costings

[sheepdogtrail]

There are ways too do it yes without actually sacrificing animal health/ losses ... not sure how cost effective it is though, I think a few Romney/ easy care breeders get quite close too that kind of flock... ie closed flock, cull out any bad feet ruthlessly, move sheep daily on paddock grazing 60 day rests, lambing outdoors with a rifle as there main lambing assistant ..

Destocking the herd of animals with bad feet alone will get you 3/4 of the way there. Without great feet you really have nothing that will make a grazing based operation any profit. Breaking even would even be a challenge with bad feet. Their feet control the pipeline of money going in and out of your own pockets.

 

[Mc115reed]

Destocking the herd of animals with bad feet alone will get you 3/4 of the way there. Without great feet you really have nothing that will make a grazing based operation any profit. Breaking even would even be a challenge with bad feet. Their feet control the pipeline of money going in and out of your own pockets.

Yes the cost of bad feet is I’m ridiculous going on a culling spree here at weaning if the cull price isn’t shocking.. not only is it a lot of time and money injecting sheep constantly but it’s bloody well depressing looking across a field and 1/4 of them are hobbling around! Even more frustrating when you turn em over and there’s nothing but a clump of mud between there toes

 

[Farmer_Joe]

Yes the cost of bad feet is I’m ridiculous going on a culling spree here at weaning if the cull price isn’t shocking.. not only is it a lot of time and money injecting sheep constantly but it’s bloody well depressing looking across a field and 1/4 of them are hobbling around! Even more frustrating when you turn em over and there’s nothing but a clump of mud between there toes

My late father and i had a megga cull around 5 years ago of all bad feet literally got every one we could find out injected and sold,

since then the problem of feet has been significantly improved around maybe 3/4 a year out of 275 that need injection. Its the same buggers that used to spread it around, owt i recognise as bad feet more than once goes, job done. weather does effect that a bit too though.

made job a hell of alot easier.

not used foot bath (untill once this summer one for just lambs) for 3 years.

 

[Mc115reed]

My late father and i had a megga cull around 5 years ago of all bad feet literally got every one we could find out injected and sold,

since then the problem of feet has been significantly improved around maybe 3/4 a year out of 275 that need injection. Its the same buggers that used to spread it around, owt i recognise as bad feet more than once goes, job done. weather does effect that a bit too though.

made job a hell of alot easier.

not used foot bath (untill once this summer one for just lambs) for 3 years.

I inject 3/4 a morning out of 300 [emoji24]

 

[Highland Mule]

Fair play on the paying too much for a tup, but I topped the sale with the lambs. I don't think I would have got as much if I had paid any less at the sale. The Local market can be a struggle for reasonable texel tups. I am learning allot from it.

Well done on topping the market - which part of Scotland are you in? It's important to have the correct genetics, but not worth over paying for a small number of ewes. I've found better lambs coming from first cross tups - texel x beltex and texel x charolais - than pure texels, which might make your purchases easy.

When you say you're "in profit after three years" what is that based on valuing the retained ewes at? They will have depreciated, but not to zero. Or do you mean that lamb sales have covered the cost of buying the ewes and tups plus feed etc.?

 

[neilo]

I inject 3/4 a morning out of 300 [emoji24]

Didn’t you post that you had recently had CODD arrive, meaning you were fighting a battle against it?

If you cull everything that gets hit by that in the year it arrives, will you have many left? Most people that go through it, and treat it well (expensively) seem to say it dies down to very low levels afterwards.

 

[Mc115reed]

Didn’t you post that you had recently had CODD arrive, meaning you were fighting a battle against it?

If you cull everything that gets hit by that in the year it arrives, will you have many left? Most people that go through it, and treat it well (expensively) seem to say it dies down to very low levels afterwards.

Had it last lambing time... had barely anything lame all summer/autumn... then it flared back up again about 2 weeks before I brought ewes inside for lambing... now going round in circles again probably 40% been injected at some point in last 3 months so no wouldn’t be much left if culled everything...

 

[Estate fencing.]

Didn’t you post that you had recently had CODD arrive, meaning you were fighting a battle against it?

If you cull everything that gets hit by that in the year it arrives, will you have many left? Most people that go through it, and treat it well (expensively) seem to say it dies down to very low levels afterwards.

It seem to provide some immunity to the ones that had it. I’m going through codd atm but it’s seem to manly in young ewes, I had a bad outbreak 4 years ago.

 

[JSmith]

We had it last year bad before lambing, bloôdy nightmare, ewes on three legs not wanting to get up much, jabbing spraying full time job, very depressing! Also had to jab sheep for scab twice in last six weeks before lambing, fecking nightmare!! I’d of give you the lot last year, gladly!! Feet a lot better this lambing after a summer of isolating and continual medication but it’s a full time job with over a 1000 to get round when there in smaller groups with lambs on!! Bought a gang of ewes this tupping time that were hopping lame within three days of being on the place with codd!! That pissèd me off!! The joys of sheep!!

 

[Mc115reed]

We had it last year bad before lambing, bloôdy nightmare, ewes on three legs not wanting to get up much, jabbing spraying full time job, very depressing! Also had to jab sheep for scab twice in last six weeks before lambing, fecking nightmare!! I’d of give you the lot last year, gladly!! Feet a lot better this lambing after a summer of isolating and continual medication but it’s a full time job with over a 1000 to get round when there in smaller groups with lambs on!! Bought a gang of ewes this tupping time that were hopping lame within three days of being on the place with codd!! That pissèd me off!! The joys of sheep!!

I think it’s one of those things that lays dormant and high stress flares it up... last time it came and went within 6 weeks but it’s a lot more stubborn this year

 

[Estate fencing.]

I think it’s one of those things that lays dormant and high stress flares it up... last time it came and went within 6 weeks but it’s a lot more stubborn this year

I buy mule ewe lambs out of the north, I take great care not to buy the lame ones (and plenty go through lame), but next day as they come off the lorry 10% are hopping lame. I wish the mule breeders would put as much effort into breeding sheep with better feet as they do into the colour of the head!

 

[hill shepherd]

I buy mule ewe lambs out of the north, I take great care not to buy the lame ones (and plenty go through lame), but next day as they come off the lorry 10% are hopping lame. I wish the mule breeders would put as much effort into breeding sheep with better feet as they do into the colour of the head!

We've started a lame culling policy, anything lame twice goes. Certainly wouldn't try to take out lame to a sale for the fear of it being seen and putting potential buyers off the whole consignment of lambs but it is amazing how many lame sheep you see in the auctions

 

[farmerm]

Biggest cost is definitely going to be your sanity..

 

[digger64]

You’re paying too much for your stock. 31 ewes don’t need a £500 tup when you’re selling the lambs store - especially not in 2019/20 when decent enough terminals could be had for £250-£300. And paying £800 for land rental to only support 31 ewes and progeny seems too much too.

£200/5 years =40 /31 ewes = £1.29 per ewe /1.5 lambs = 86p
even at store values growth rate or whatever etc would take much recoup that .
Strange attitude

 

[digger64]

Vaccines are like insurance. You can save a fair bit if you don’t do any, but boy does it cost if you then get hit by an abortion storm, or lamb dysentery hits, or a myriad of other things.

I’ve always been risk averse, having been through a few disheartening abortion storms, so my vet & med bill will be higher than some.

arent most sheep inputs like that or labour saving eg fly control before harvest etc .

 

[Highland Mule]

£200/5 years =40 /31 ewes = £1.29 per ewe /1.5 lambs = 86p
even at store values growth rate or whatever etc would take much recoup that .
Strange attitude

Perhaps, but I don't see there being that close a correlation at that end of the market. I'd rather spend the £200 on flushing the ewes to get an extra half dozen lambs a year, if the job is that tight. And besides, the tup didn't manage five years, sadly.

 

[Anymulewilldo]

Perhaps, but I don't see there being that close a correlation at that end of the market. I'd rather spend the £200 on flushing the ewes to get an extra half dozen lambs a year, if the job is that tight. And besides, the tup didn't manage five years, sadly.

Most tups don’t seem too manage the full 5 years here!!

 

[unlacedgecko]

I buy mule ewe lambs out of the north, I take great care not to buy the lame ones (and plenty go through lame), but next day as they come off the lorry 10% are hopping lame. I wish the mule breeders would put as much effort into breeding sheep with better feet as they do into the colour of the head!

Nice to see mules haven't changed in the 20 years since I had anything to do with them.