Lamb killing weather

[mark perego]

Where r u in the UK?

Jersey or Guernsey

 

[Only]

You must live in a different climate to the rest of us

 

[Grassman]

It's not been easy by any means but I have nothing to moan about after reading this thread. Lambed about 520 ewes with only 3 left to lamb. Lost my 1st ewe today (rotten lambs inside) total lamb losses will be under 5% and we put lambs out every day since 25th march

Heck it's time I gave up after reading that!
5% takes some doing on that amount of lambing. And one ewe dead!

 

[Grassman]

I remember a good lifer who bought about 10 ewes to start his flock. First year every sheep had twins or triplets. No deaths of lambs or ewes. Got about 25 lambs!
I did warn him it would never be that good again!

 

[Only]

Sometimes it' best to keep your head down

 

[muleman]

Heck it's time I gave up after reading that!
5% takes some doing on that amount of lambing. And one ewe dead!

at one point i thought we`d only have one alive!

 

[sodbuster]

Jedburgh Scottish borders. It's normally much worse than this in a good year. We been very lucky this time. 2 or 3 little changes made a big difference!

 

[neilo]

Just ran my singles into a field which was destined for silage. Grass growth slowed down drastically and not much sign of it racing away next week either.
I’m sure it’ll catch up in time, but don’t want ewes with lambs to stall just now as they have fewer reserves to draw on this year.

Just off to the vets to get a prolapse stitched. Been stitched and harnessed for a week and still pushing it out.

Remind me why we keep sheep again?

 

[Northeastfarmer]

Jedburgh Scottish borders. It's normally much worse than this in a good year. We been very lucky this time. 2 or 3 little changes made a big difference!

To farm in the borders where most farmers have to defrost their testicles before starting work and to of only lost 1 ewe out of 520 must be some sort of record

 

[Green farmer]

Jedburgh Scottish borders. It's normally much worse than this in a good year. We been very lucky this time. 2 or 3 little changes made a big difference!

What type of scanning percentages do you have ?

 

[GrannyAching]

at one point i thought we`d only have one alive!View attachment 664742

That's what you call perspective.

 

[sodbuster]

Only 1 ewe. Lost a good few tips in the snow in April. Everything else seems to want to live for some reason. I'm not boasting or exaggerating figures. Just telling it as it is. And as said before it's been a lot worse in far kinder years

 

[Boydvalley]

Most people same round here I think. When the weather is bad you think more carefully about what fields you turn out to. I put crystalix buckets out to ewes and lambs for 1st time ever in the sheltered parts of fields to encourage them to stay. It seems to have worked. Also fed Davidson's super ewe rolls for 1st time instead of the normal classic. Ewes are loaded with quality milk and not had any watery mouth, never used warm box and only had to colostrum a handful.

Where are you on the 16% or 18% classic rolls. I've always fed 18% but changed compounders this year and found a big difference but the vet wants me to include some crushed beans as well which would be a similar ration to the super ewe. He's coming from a prevention of prolapse point of view but the wet mouth angle is interesting. Still hit a wall of wet mouth but a few days later than normal. Did you have any joint ill. Had a bad spike coinciding with the wet mouth and at the moment can't see what else to do to prevent it other than antibiotics which I'm not happy about.

 

[sodbuster]

Classic 18. Was no joint ill for a good while but got about a handful getting jagged at the moment

 

[Bob the beef]

Jedburgh Scottish borders. It's normally much worse than this in a good year. We been very lucky this time. 2 or 3 little changes made a big difference!

Bloody hell. You can't be more than 30 miles from west Peebleshire. Yet sounds like a different world.
There a fella not far from here in the high country loaded over 400 ewes onto the grayshill knackery wagon last week, and that was just to lift the ones they have managed to get down from the hill

 

[Poorbuthappy]

Bloody hell. You can't be more than 30 miles from west Peebleshire. Yet sounds like a different world.
There a fella not far from here in the high country loaded over 400 ewes onto the grayshill knackery wagon last week, and that was just to lift the ones they have managed to get down from the hill

 

[Nithsdale]

Bloody hell. You can't be more than 30 miles from west Peebleshire. Yet sounds like a different world.
There a fella not far from here in the high country loaded over 400 ewes onto the grayshill knackery wagon last week, and that was just to lift the ones they have managed to get down from the hill

Know a farm not 15miles from me has lost an entire heft off 1 of their hills (300ewes). NFSco are hauling serious numbers off every farm up in that area

 

[Northeastfarmer]

Know a farm not 15miles from me has lost an entire heft off 1 of their hills (300ewes). NFSco are hauling serious numbers off every farm up in that area

Had the knackerman here the other day and he said one guy had 500 Cheviot ewes and lost 420 of them in that bad snow

 

[Nithsdale]

Had the knackerman here the other day and he said one guy had 500 Cheviot ewes and lost 420 of them in that bad snow

Sickening.

Atleast, on this side of the border, government are making funds available to ease the pain.

 

[Old Tip]

Glad someone is having a good do as 99% of us are having a right mare of a lambing. Even the folk round here who usually brag about how good things are have been talking of dead and dying ewes. It’s been sh!t weather for the last ten months and that snow and the late spring is just finishing them off