Lamb skinning success rate

[JD-Kid]

Does that really work as well? Week old lamb? Think my ewes are smarter than that

get out the old spice and have a good puff up the nose and get back to me once yer sence of smell comes back hahahaha
seemed to work ok this was on outdoor lambing ewes wild as all hell
guy I used to work for was hell bent on catching lambs and mothering on it was like some kinda madmans game he had chasing lambs and mother on he went away for 2 weeks me and his old man did the lambing lifted his lambing % up
only mothered on the odd lost lamb or from a dead ewe

 

[Nithsdale]

Does that really work as well? Week old lamb? Think my ewes are smarter than that

It works.
Had a ewe in the shed 10 days ago, her lambs were 2-3 days old and for whatever reason she decided she didn't like 1 of them.

Fetched her in, sprayed both lambs with deodorant and put a good spray on her muzzle/up her nose. She settled with them by that night.. kept her in, but in an open area of shed to make sure - the outfit went out the shed after 3 days. Still together now

 

[Mc115reed]

It works.
Had a ewe in the shed 10 days ago, her lambs were 2-3 days old and for whatever reason she decided she didn't like 1 of them.

Fetched her in, sprayed both lambs with deodorant and put a good spray on her muzzle/up her nose. She settled with them by that night.. kept her in, but in an open area of shed to make sure - the outfit went out the shed after 3 days. Still together now

I heard that from someone... but hasn’t worked for me this time had a ewe have 5 lambs... wet fostered 3 onto singles... perfect.... next day she doesn’t want the 2 lambs she’s f**king left with theyre nearly 4 weeks old now and she’s still in an adopter

 

[Al R]

I heard that from someone... but hasn’t worked for me this time had a ewe have 5 lambs... wet fostered 3 onto singles... perfect.... next day she doesn’t want the 2 lambs she’s fudgeing left with theyre nearly 4 weeks old now and she’s still in an adopter

I’ve got to laugh sorry. Bit of a if you didn’t laugh you’d cry with those types of situations!

Had a ewe with quads, really good set, adopted 2 off then turned her out with 2, 1 dead the next morning and 1 died the afternoon after at circa 4-5 days old She’s been in the guillotine a while with probably 10-15 lambs passed under her as saves feeding them as she has so much milk. She’s got a 3 week old welsh lamb on her now who’s been with her a while but she turned and hit him this morning so she’s got a few days again

 

[Moors Lad]

Don`t try with twins here - poor success rate! With singles I tie an old dog outside the pen a while and it usually helps, like to put lamb and dog in position at same time - don`t like the ewe getting too much time to get suspicious!!
Sometimes wash the lamb to be adopted first especially the tail end, trying to get rid of any caked on sh*t and possibly the smell of it`s former mother (triplets oft taken off here)
If the ewe gets a bit rough with the lamb we sometimes put it in a secure "triangle" in a corner of her pen (where she can still see/ sniff it) and leave the dog there for a while - anything worth a try to avoid a pet lamb!!!

 

[Nithsdale]

I heard that from someone... but hasn’t worked for me this time had a ewe have 5 lambs... wet fostered 3 onto singles... perfect.... next day she doesn’t want the 2 lambs she’s fudgeing left with theyre nearly 4 weeks old now and she’s still in an adopter

That's just typical

I was very sceptical the first time I tried. You've got to spray the whole body, make sure and cover the arse area well.

The problem in your situation is she's maybe gone through too much stress having 5, her body has rejected all lambs - so she would have done that with any of the lambs you'd left on her. It's a different scenario to a ewe which wants her lambs, but 1 has managed to get a different smell

 

[Optimus]

We'll put a halter on the ewe for a few days.seems to help especially on the twins.

 

[Plopper]

Think a lot depends on why the lamb died,ie if it was hungry because the ewe was unsure then she not gonna like the skin anymore?
If it’s a born dead and she’s licked it I’ll try but not always a given,obviously if it’s an older lamb and she’s stood over it calling for it great success

 

[Old Tip]

explaine about the compresso, sounds like a good idea, I’m fairly quick at skinning lambs but any tips to speed up the process are welcome.
if your on Instagram the #thechiefshepherdess did a vid of skinning a lamb but had a totally diffrent technique to me, I split the skin at the chest then do the head

 

[Mc115reed]

I’ve got to laugh sorry. Bit of a if you didn’t laugh you’d cry with those types of situations!

Had a ewe with quads, really good set, adopted 2 off then turned her out with 2, 1 dead the next morning and 1 died the afternoon after at circa 4-5 days old She’s been in the guillotine a while with probably 10-15 lambs passed under her as saves feeding them as she has so much milk. She’s got a 3 week old welsh lamb on her now who’s been with her a while but she turned and hit him this morning so she’s got a few days again [emoji849]

I laugh every time I walk in the shed and see this massive lamb clambering underneath her for a drink she doesn’t bother about it at all but soon as she comes out the headlock she just walks round and round the pen so it can’t get a suck... it’s that big now though going too try letting her out again I reckon the lamb could have her in a right now [emoji23]

 

[Al R]

explaine about the compresso, sounds like a good idea, I’m fairly quick at skinning lambs but any tips to speed up the process are welcome.
if your on Instagram the #thechiefshepherdess did a vid of skinning a lamb but had a totally diffrent technique to me, I split the skin at the chest then do the head

I’ve never split the chest, knife round the neck and half way down the legs and pull!!! Uncle can do one in under a minute but he uses and axe to get rid of the neck and legs. I think he’s record was 7 minutes on a calf when he was younger

 

[Old Tip]

I’ve never split the chest, knife round the neck and half way down the legs and pull!!! Uncle can do one in under a minute but he uses and axe to get rid of the neck and legs. I think he’s record was 7 minutes on a calf when he was younger

Yep an axe definitely speeds the job up

 

[Al R]

Yep an axe definitely speeds the job up

Splinters from bones are an issue I’ve found then

 

[AftonShepherd]

Tried deodorant and also dunking in a pail of disinfectant having heard that both were as good and quicker than skinning. I definitely have a better success rate with skinning though. Not huge amounts of twins here so nearly all singles unless I've got pets left towards the end I might try a dead twin.

 

[Lili]

Splinters from bones are an issue I’ve found then

Try a large pair of garden loppers

 

[polk_farmer]

explaine about the compresso, sounds like a good idea, I’m fairly quick at skinning lambs but any tips to speed up the process are welcome.
if your on Instagram the #thechiefshepherdess did a vid of skinning a lamb but had a totally diffrent technique to me, I split the skin at the chest then do the head

Put a little shallow nick in the skin just big enough for an airline cab blower, and blow it up like a balloon. (You can see the skin coming away from it as your blowing). Makes cutting the legs and neck alot easier as it has separated from the body

 

[Agrivator]

I always rub as much blood from the dead lamb as possible on the recipient's head, and both front and back legs.

That increases the success rate from about 60% to almost 100%. Some of the older shepherds used to use the liver as well, but that really requires a licence and special training.

 

[sheepwise]

I’ve never split the chest, knife round the neck and half way down the legs and pull!!! Uncle can do one in under a minute but he uses and axe to get rid of the neck and legs. I think he’s record was 7 minutes on a calf when he was younger

I was taught to cut round legs and then across crutch. Pulls off like a jacket from tail to head. Have never timed it but reckon do a lamb in a minute quite easily.

 

[Nithsdale]

I was taught to cut round legs and then across crutch. Pulls off like a jacket from tail to head. Have never timed it but reckon do a lamb in a minute quite easily.

I do it the same way. A minute seems slow (unless it's a right slimy one and you can't get a good hold on the skin to pull... or one the skin has a good hold to the muscle) but like you I've not timed myself

 

[sticky]

Someone I know will tie a bucket on the ewes head if she won't take a lamb, after other techniques have failed, and then turns them out in a paddock near the buildings. It's short enough so she can graze and drink but when the lambs suck she can't turn and see or smell which one is and the ewe just stands and lets them feed.