Lambing 2017

neilo

Member
Mixed Farmer
Location
Montgomeryshire
How do you peoples numbering system work? I can't work out the best way, I now mark the lambs on there back, it's easier to see

I number all pedigree lambs with their ID (last 3 digits), just so I can watch what's what & identify the better ones.

In the commercials I stopped numbering when we started lambing outside, I just tag, record, ring and release. I mark anything that has to come into a pen, just so that I can keep an eye on them and make sure everything's OK for the next few days, using letters A-Z. We used to that when we marked everything, changing colours every 26.

I was asked to provide some ewes with lambs at foot for the Sheep Event last year, so I marked a load so that I would be able to identify pairs to draw out later on. I marked any even pairs that went in the quad trailer for any reason (mostly triplets having one lifted and moving to the grazing paddocks) and marked about 50 I suppose. What a bloody faff, and cost of spray cans.....
 

neilo

Member
Mixed Farmer
Location
Montgomeryshire
To all the outside lambers, when tagging and tailing lambs, what do you carry your kit in? Just a rucksack?

I carry mine in a box mounted on the front of the quad. I usually carry the lambs back to the quad and do them there.

Also carry a loop of starter cord in my pocket at all times, which acts as a lambing aid or can loop round diagonal legs and restrain a ewe if I need to fetch the quad trailer.
 

jemski

Member
Location
Dorset
I carry mine in a box mounted on the front of the quad. I usually carry the lambs back to the quad and do them there.

Also carry a loop of starter cord in my pocket at all times, which acts as a lambing aid or can loop round diagonal legs and restrain a ewe if I need to fetch the quad trailer.

Do you record your lambs back to the ewes? Was hoping to do it with the chevs but think they are too wild to read their tags, so have decided to make my life a little easier in my first year with them! My husband thinks I have taken too much on by myself and they are going to be a nightmare so I need to make sure he's not proven right [emoji23] I keep telling him it's going to be easy [emoji33]
 

neilo

Member
Mixed Farmer
Location
Montgomeryshire
Do you record your lambs back to the ewes? Was hoping to do it with the chevs but think they are too wild to read their tags, so have decided to make my life a little easier in my first year with them! My husband thinks I have taken too much on by myself and they are going to be a nightmare so I need to make sure he's not proven right [emoji23] I keep telling him it's going to be easy [emoji33]

I double tag and record all my potential ewe lamb replacements. I set the sires up on Farmworks by recording the ewe tags as tupped by whichever sire, then I read the ewe's tag at lambing with the Psion (with the 'beep' sound off) and it automatically fills in the sire details. I don't know how attentive your Cheviots would be, or how far they might stand off, but I find the Highlanders stick to their lambs like glue and aren't particularly bothered by me.
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I might get the odd one that is a pillock, usually a maiden shearling and only 1 or 2 a year. I drop their lambs in the quad trailer and stand back so that she goes into them, then shut the tailgate and record them in there.

I find it all pretty stress free tbh, certainly less hassle than lambing indoors. I was actually considering recording all the lambs at birth, using slaughter tags for the killing lambs, so that I could start to pick out the high flying ewes better. I can certainly see a benefit from doing so, but not sure if I want to create the work....
 

Nithsdale

Member
Livestock Farmer
To all the outside lambers, when tagging and tailing lambs, what do you carry your kit in? Just a rucksack?


I don't tag/record anything, but I have a cut down Crystalix bucket fixed onto the bike (with drain holes drilled in the corners) which carries spray cans, gambriel, rubber bands/pliers, string etc...

Just drive upto the ewe and lambs and everything is at hand (y)
 

AftonShepherd

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
East Ayrshire
Do you record your lambs back to the ewes? Was hoping to do it with the chevs but think they are too wild to read their tags, so have decided to make my life a little easier in my first year with them! My husband thinks I have taken too much on by myself and they are going to be a nightmare so I need to make sure he's not proven right [emoji23] I keep telling him it's going to be easy [emoji33]
The only way you'll be able to record a cheviots number in the field is if you paint it across her backside as big as you can manage. Good luck
 

MJT

Member
Do you record your lambs back to the ewes? Was hoping to do it with the chevs but think they are too wild to read their tags, so have decided to make my life a little easier in my first year with them! My husband thinks I have taken too much on by myself and they are going to be a nightmare so I need to make sure he's not proven right [emoji23] I keep telling him it's going to be easy [emoji33]

I'd have thought that your cheviots as they're older will be pretty sensible. If you were feeling really keen you could run them through shed and spray numbers on them all pre lambing and tally it up with the ear tags when they lamb. When Worked on farm as student in college I had to prelambing number 600 twin carrying ewes for the exact same reason.
 

Man_in_black

Member
Livestock Farmer
Do you record your lambs back to the ewes? Was hoping to do it with the chevs but think they are too wild to read their tags, so have decided to make my life a little easier in my first year with them! My husband thinks I have taken too much on by myself and they are going to be a nightmare so I need to make sure he's not proven right [emoji23] I keep telling him it's going to be easy [emoji33]

99% of lleyn here follow lamb regardless of me so easy to read tags (shearwell) from arms length. Some of the Welsh drafts last year were bit flighty, but I just put mark on lamb & made note in my book to get mums details as and when. Of course it'll be easy Jem..... :whistle:
 

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Red Tractor drops launch of green farming scheme amid anger from farmers

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As reported in Independent


quote: “Red Tractor has confirmed it is dropping plans to launch its green farming assurance standard in April“

read the TFF thread here: https://thefarmingforum.co.uk/index.php?threads/gfc-was-to-go-ahead-now-not-going-ahead.405234/
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