Keeping ewe lambs indoor during Winter?

[Texel2704]

Well folks,
Thinking of bringing this years crop of ewe lambs into the sheds due to the torrential weather recently. Spacious pens, good ventilation and a good supply of hay and meal. Would this be better than keeping them outdoors?

 

[Moors Lad]

Feet need keeping an eye on inside. I like the idea of a formalin foot bath every few days to stop them going "soft" . Otherwise I don`t see a problem. Good ventilation is essential and dry bedding.

 

[M-J-G]

Are they going to be bedded or are they on slats/mesh?

 

[Al R]

Price of straw as it is I’d put them on stubble or ask someone nearby with stubble or drier ground to tack them on

 

[Skintagain]

Well folks,
Thinking of bringing this years crop of ewe lambs into the sheds due to the torrential weather recently. Spacious pens, good ventilation and a good supply of hay and meal. Would this be better than keeping them outdoors?

Tbh I think it’s the way forward. The wet weather, prevalence of scab out on tack, running around them outside to feed them etc is no good in my eyes.

Roots if you can grow them on reasonable wintering land are the best Option but not everyone can

 

[Woolless]

I've done this the last three years. When we moved here a couple of years previously they had been roughed along outside and it just didn't work. Even a couple of months inside out of the worst of the weather will help. They've had hay/haylage plus about 300g hard feed. Bought some clover silage this time, so we'll see how they do on that. Didn't tup any, so they should be alright.

 

[M-J-G]

I've done this the last three years. When we moved here a couple of years previously they had been roughed along outside and it just didn't work. Even a couple of months inside out of the worst of the weather will help. They've had hay/haylage plus about 300g hard feed. Bought some clover silage this time, so we'll see how they do on that. Didn't tup any, so they should be alright.

I take it they were in lamb?

 

[z.man]

Would you shear them if bringing them in soon? Have wondered about doing this after scanning with ewe lambs never have though

 

[Woolless]

I take it they were in lamb?

Some were, some not and the haylage was nothing to write home about.

 

[hally]

Get them away from fluke aswell which may be a problem this year. Can see ours coming in early unless the weather changes.

 

[Hillfarmer18]

Feet need keeping an eye on inside. I like the idea of a formalin foot bath every few days to stop them going "soft" . Otherwise I don`t see a problem. Good ventilation is essential and dry bedding.

Do you think being inside on straw is worse for mishaping feet than being outside on wet ground tramping around feed boxes? Been having some issues with the tup lambs feet and considered bring them in, of course it could be down to genetics or other factors

 

[Heatgereater]

If they go in right on there feet they tend to stay good with clean bedding and once a week foot bathing just kill anything that goes lame, there is no better place to test how susceptible they are than in a shed

 

[hendrebc]

Mine will be coming in this winter but they have grass in front of them till about early January so won't be till then. They will hopefully be going out again in early march when the ground I have rested for them has grown enough.
I'm not thrilled about them coming in and the work and costs involved but it's the best option I have. I've left them outside every year till now and they always take forever to learn to eat silage or hay on sacrifice fields and lose a lot of condition in the meantime. 2/3s of them have been tupped too so need to keep them growing.
It will be an opportunity to teach them what silage and hay is without the weather on their backs but getting them off the grazing ground to let it grow for lambing is more important.
Tack still needs paying for. And finding... Shed has already been paid for and I already have it.
Don't know how it will go but it has to be better then watching ewe lambs lose condition because they won't eat the bloody silage they're being offered

 

[Moors Lad]

Do you think being inside on straw is worse for mishaping feet than being outside on wet ground tramping around feed boxes? Been having some issues with the tup lambs feet and considered bring them in, of course it could be down to genetics or other factors

At present we`re having a bit of bother with lambs getting sore feet from around troughs in muddy conditions so in answer to your question I think they are probably better off on good straw bedding!

If they go in right on there feet they tend to stay good with clean bedding and once a week foot bathing just kill anything that goes lame, there is no better place to test how susceptible they are than in a shed

We like to start lambs inside by offering them their new diet for a few hours a day indoors and turn them out to a bit of grass (overnight?) too for a few days before bringing them in all together. Less stress and time to let them adapt to the new regime/diet - we use this as a time to introduce concentrates.

 

[Dkb]

I always leave mine out on stubbles. Ad lib hay, and 0.5kg of meal.

If rape grows well which it didn’t his year I just leave them out on rape for the winter.

 

[Anymulewilldo]

Soaked beet pulp!! It’s a hard faced ignorant sheep who won’t be tempted by a bit of nice soaked beet pulp! Use it quite a bit for training sheep too eat.

 

[neilo]

I helped judge a big bale silage competition a few years ago, and one of the farms had put a shed up specifically to house his ewe lambs. He reckoned that it was cheaper to house them than to pay tack rates of up to £1/hd/wk, not to mention less running about and the nutrients stayed on the farm as muck. I would tend to agree, if you have a spare shed, or you own the farm.

If they’re empty then they won’t need much feed. Half decent silage/haylage should be plenty on it’s own. All but the very best hay is a lot poorer feed, and they will want a little bit of extra if you don’t want them to grow framey & pot bellied.

 

[tr250]

We lamb ewe lambs outside and they stay out and never get fed which is all very well but from theaves they get lambed indoors beginning of Feb we have to bring them in early to teach them to eat before older ewes. So bringing them in as ewe lambs for a bit could be a benefit for that

 

[neilo]

We lamb ewe lambs outside and they stay out and never get fed which is all very well but from theaves they get lambed indoors beginning of Feb we have to bring them in early to teach them to eat before older ewes. So bringing them in as ewe lambs for a bit could be a benefit for that

My sheep are all out on roots all winter, with no concentrates fed. The downside of that is that any that come into pens for any problems, they don’t eat nuts for a day or two.

When we used to feed concentrates pre-lambing, but ran ewe lambs dry, I used to feed the ewe lambs on the floor outside when we had a frosty week or two, just to teach them and they never forget. Don’t seem to get frosty weeks very often these days though.

 

[hendrebc]

My sheep are all out on roots all winter, with no concentrates fed. The downside of that is that any that come into pens for any problems, they don’t eat nuts for a day or two.

When we used to feed concentrates pre-lambing, but ran ewe lambs dry, I used to feed the ewe lambs on the floor outside when we had a frosty week or two, just to teach them and they never forget. Don’t seem to get frosty weeks very often these days though.

That's an idea. I don't feed cake at lambing time anymore but would have to if we had a shitty spring and no grass. Being inside would be a good chance to teach them as a bit of an insurance policy.