Lambing 2019

[Sheep92]

180 ewes and gimmers left and 130 hoggs and im done been mental this year teasers really done there job 1856 sheep lambed in 12 days. Keeping up with marking and recording has been the biggest job. Glad im outside tho imaging carting all them.

Holy f**k do you set stock lamb or drift the unlambed ewes off as they're lambing?!

 

[Grem]

I've begun vaccinating the April born lambs with with Ovipast P+ at 6 weeks - one dose - because of more pneumonia about as much as anything. Ewe lambs as definite replacements from the earlier flock are vaccinated with Heptavac P+ on shearing in September, with their booster/pre-lambing jab later which works here.
Think there are different ways of going about it, tbh.

With the poorly lamb, if he's dehydrated the antibiotic can't work effectively. Glad he's on metacam. It feels harsh, but some can only be given into the lap of the gods. If he's paddling, then it isn't a sign that he'll turn the corner.

I think that @RushesToo 's advice is sound. Tactful nudging by helping could be the way.

All the very best in what must be a most frustrating situation.

In the lap of God it is now. Poor little beggar lasted until 11 O'clock this morning. He hadn't received any rehydration fluids at all. When he first came in and was standing I gave him some milk, more as a comforter than anything, but also in case he hadn't seen his mum for a few hours - strangely none of the ewes were returning his calls. Did they know something we didn't at that point?
Thank you for your input, though.

 

[JoeFo]

Hi, Thank you for replying. Its poop is brown with a touch of mid green and very liquidy. Boss gave no rehydration therapy at all but gave it another dose of the same LA Alamycin as yesterday. It was still alive at lunch time but had been paddling its legs. It also lies with its head right over its back - not sure if this is a pain reflex as last weeks did the same. I haven't been at work this evening. I'm not sure I want anything to do with it really (apart from finding out a possible cause) because we have no biosecurity in place - just the lamb separated from the flock. Personally, I think it should have seen a vet - but that costs money.
I'm pretty sure there is nothing it could have eaten to cause the blindness although it had frequented an area under blackthorn scrub.

Meningitis?

 

[scottish-lleyn]

Holy fudge do you set stock lamb or drift the unlambed ewes off as they're lambing?!

i move the lambed ones. Well this year i move the lambed ones usually move the lambers but had to move the ewes onto barer ground this year as the lambs were too big at the start of lambing. We had 320 ewes lamb in 24 hours between mon and tues this week.

 

[pine_guy]

i move the lambed ones. Well this year i move the lambed ones usually move the lambers but had to move the ewes onto barer ground this year as the lambs were too big at the start of lambing. We had 320 ewes lamb in 24 hours between mon and tues this week.

Very impressive, how many of you are there? And if you don’t mind me asking what has you intervention and mortality rates been like. Are they all lleyns?

 

[scottish-lleyn]

Very impressive, how many of you are there? And if you don’t mind me asking what has you intervention and mortality rates been like. Are they all lleyns?

Me and 2 others. Myself and another are out in the fields most of the time and my wife does the shed/hospital area. All the sheep are lleyn or lleynxtex first cross ewes and gimmers tupped with a lleyn or tex and hoggs tupped with a southdown or charx. At the start of lambing was lambing one in five due to big lambs now prob down to one in 60 and those are mostly trips or quads but those are mostly in the shed. Mortality has been slighty higher than usual i havnt worked out exactly yet( dont count your chickens and all that) but again most of the deaths would have been in the first few day or from big litters.

 

[yellowbelly]

Me and 2 others. Myself and another are out in the fields most of the time and my wife does the shed/hospital area.

Phew!
I'm knackered with just our few - you guys will definitely be ready for a 'sit down' after that lot

 

[Sheep92]

i move the lambed ones. Well this year i move the lambed ones usually move the lambers but had to move the ewes onto barer ground this year as the lambs were too big at the start of lambing. We had 320 ewes lamb in 24 hours between mon and tues this week.

That's an impressive system, sorry for all yhevquethe qu but just wondering how many ewes per acre would you be stocked at over lambing? I'm going to have to move completly to outdoor lambing as we can't get any help with workload of lambing in the shed

 

[pine_guy]

Me and 2 others. Myself and another are out in the fields most of the time and my wife does the shed/hospital area. All the sheep are lleyn or lleynxtex first cross ewes and gimmers tupped with a lleyn or tex and hoggs tupped with a southdown or charx. At the start of lambing was lambing one in five due to big lambs now prob down to one in 60 and those are mostly trips or quads but those are mostly in the shed. Mortality has been slighty higher than usual i havnt worked out exactly yet( dont count your chickens and all that) but again most of the deaths would have been in the first few day or from big litters.

I had 17 on my busiest day. Ran out of pens, it was hard going. So I can sympathise with you on the busy days

Seriously though, good effort. I enjoy lambing but will stick with a fraction of yours.

 

[scottish-lleyn]

That's an impressive system, sorry for all yhevquethe qu but just wondering how many ewes per acre would you be stocked at over lambing? I'm going to have to move completly to outdoor lambing as we can't get any help with workload of lambing in the shed

8 or 9 ewes to the acre this year normally less than that once lambed they are stocked at about 4 and tightend up after a few weeks

 

[Grem]

Meningitis?

Yes, I had thought of that too, probably caused by E.coli.
Because my boss won't tag the lambs at, or soon after, birth we don't even really know who's lamb they were, only that they were twins - we spray letters (and numbers, for multiples) on both ewes and lambs, but they are pretty much indecipherable now.

 

[Gator]

I had 17 on my busiest day. Ran out of pens, it was hard going. So I can sympathise with you on the busy days

Seriously though, good effort. I enjoy lambing but will stick with a fraction of yours.

Had 3 or 4 days with 30+ same with 30+ and busiest day was 46, soon ran out of pens the stronger lambs wheretaggedringed and marked and shoved in the cresh to make room for the next. Gonna need more pens for next year.
Down to the last 54 and they've eased off now, only 3 today

 

[MDL POWERUP]

Hogg's are starting to lamb now, lleyn X texel with vendeen lamb. Put them in a sh!t field to keep lamb sizes down and it's worked. Live little en is better than a big dead in!

 

[yellowbelly]

Live little en is better than a big dead in!

Very true

 

[Norfolk Hill Farmer]

Very satisfying when an adoption works. No prizes for guessing which one is the single and which is the triplet.

 

[JoeFo]

I have an old Suffolk ewe who can’t gain condition with only a couple of teeth. She had twins. She’s been getting meal so plenty of milk. Any tips, can she rear 2 lambs? Will look to foster one of them if possible

 

[Steel]

I have an old Suffolk ewe who can’t gain condition with only a couple of teeth. She had twins. She’s been getting meal so plenty of milk. Any tips, can she rear 2 lambs? Will look to foster one of them if possible

She will probably do better if those last teeth fall out. When mouthing my sheep I often find a fat old ewe with no teeth at all.

 

[cheviot53]

I have an old Suffolk ewe who can’t gain condition with only a couple of teeth. She had twins. She’s been getting meal so plenty of milk. Any tips, can she rear 2 lambs? Will look to foster one of them if possible

She might rear 2 but better with 1 , she would do better on good grass plus feed . IF the two teeth are the very front ones and slack then she will do better with no teeth

 

[msheep66]

You could always supplement the two lambs with some bottle but be wise to get them sucking bottle as soon as possible.

 

[Grem]

I have an old Suffolk ewe who can’t gain condition with only a couple of teeth. She had twins. She’s been getting meal so plenty of milk. Any tips, can she rear 2 lambs? Will look to foster one of them if possible

Sugar beet shreds and molichop or chopped Alfalfa with her meal? The molichop is a good replacement for the grass she can't eat. A couple of good sized handfuls 2x daily would probably suffice and is more palatable than hay as it has the molasses on.
On the tooth front, are her back teeth all there? If not, as you probably know, the opposite upper or lower tooth will not be worn away and will soon start to dig into the gum when she closes her mouth - had my last ram put to sleep because of this.[/QUOTE]