Lambing from hell

firther

Member
Location
holmfirth
Seeing my hoggs with lambs is the most enjoyable part of the job for me (y)

Last year I did question it when I was having far too many hung lambs, but since keeping them on mud this year they seem to be a lot better.

only just started tupping me bigger hoggs this season, been easy lambing and good mothers and thrown some good lambs, in a tough year they've been a joy and I must be starting to get me breeding lines right.
Most of its through advice on this forum and pestering local farmers.
 

Yale

Member
Livestock Farmer
only just started tupping me bigger hoggs this season, been easy lambing and good mothers and thrown some good lambs, in a tough year they've been a joy and I must be starting to get me breeding lines right.
Most of its through advice on this forum and pestering local farmers.
Just make sure you do them well or they won’t perform in their second year.
 

Boydvalley

Member
Location
Bath
So tin hat on time. I think we all need to be a bit more prepared for late springs. I am a believer in sun spot activity affecting the weather pattern. Last time we had to properly dig ourselves out was 1982 corresponding to a low in activity and we are now in another period of low activity. The early 2000 were high activity and we all got used to mild winters. My kids really hardly saw any snow. So another 5 or 6 years of this at least. I know practices have changed but cattle turn out was always 10/12 April when I was growing up which is where we are now. This is still exceptional which always happens occasionally but we haven't had a good spring for few years.
I know this doesn't help everyone struggling ( I had 2 grass staggers despite bolusing and 3 mastitis yesterday) but for those staying in I think we are in for a period of higher prices if you can stand the grief.
 

Whitepeak

Member
Livestock Farmer
Was talking to a chap yesterday, he's lambed 60 Lleyns and through a combination of the sh*t weather and foxes he has a grand total of 17 lambs!! Needless to say it sounds like the lot will be going through Skipton this time!
 

Nithsdale

Member
Livestock Farmer
I think there could be quite a lot of people going out of sheep this year.

Hopefully a slightly better price will help recover our losses.

I hate to benefit from others misfortune, but I welcome it.

Going into the last autumn/to the ram, the UK breeding flock was the largest it had been since F&M2001.

If prices can hold up to reasonable levels, and plenty folks cut back or get rid of their ewes - the rest of us might have a decent chance through the tough political years ahead...
 

jendan

Member
Mixed Farmer
Location
Northumberland
I hate to benefit from others misfortune, but I welcome it.

Going into the last autumn/to the ram, the UK breeding flock was the largest it had been since F&M2001.

If prices can hold up to reasonable levels, and plenty folks cut back or get rid of their ewes - the rest of us might have a decent chance through the tough political years ahead...
It wont happen.We will find there are just as many ewes and lambs about this year as all the others,inspite of all the horror stories going around.For every person that has had a bad lambing,there will be others that have had an exceptional good one.The hill lambers are just starting now,hopefully into warm temps and good conditions.I bet Neilo and TimW will be having good lambings near 200%,there will be plenty others the same.Even up here,LFA Northumberland,most fields still full of ewes and twins looking good.Nearly everyone lambs inside,even some hill people,they have the sheds to cope,and hold them inside when the weather is bad.This is my last year lambing outside,the weather patterns seem to be changing with too many extremes.
 

Nithsdale

Member
Livestock Farmer
It wont happen.We will find there are just as many ewes and lambs about this year as all the others,inspite of all the horror stories going around.For every person that has had a bad lambing,there will be others that have had an exceptional good one.The hill lambers are just starting now,hopefully into warm temps and good conditions.I bet Neilo and TimW will be having good lambings near 200%,there will be plenty others the same.Even up here,LFA Northumberland,most fields still full of ewes and twins looking good.Nearly everyone lambs inside,even some hill people,they have the sheds to cope,and hold them inside when the weather is bad.This is my last year lambing outside,the weather patterns seem to be changing with too many extremes.

We shall wait and see.

I'm farther North as you, I've finished lambing and yes, there's been losses - but on the whole it's been very good.
Theres far more on here talking lesser ewes next year though
 

hally

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
cumbria
We shall wait and see.

I'm farther North as you, I've finished lambing and yes, there's been losses - but on the whole it's been very good.
Theres far more on here talking lesser ewes next year though
Farmers always say that at the end of a tough lambing but memories fade and if lambs are a decent trade it will all be forgotten and just as many ewes will be tupped
 

neilo

Member
Mixed Farmer
Location
Montgomeryshire
It wont happen.We will find there are just as many ewes and lambs about this year as all the others,inspite of all the horror stories going around.For every person that has had a bad lambing,there will be others that have had an exceptional good one.The hill lambers are just starting now,hopefully into warm temps and good conditions.I bet Neilo and TimW will be having good lambings near 200%,there will be plenty others the same.Even up here,LFA Northumberland,most fields still full of ewes and twins looking good.Nearly everyone lambs inside,even some hill people,they have the sheds to cope,and hold them inside when the weather is bad.This is my last year lambing outside,the weather patterns seem to be changing with too many extremes.

Don't look at me. My days of 200% lambing are long gone, much happier lambing outside and trying to sell 160-170% with minimal costs these days. I somehow doubt @Tim W will be near 200% either.

Plenty of flocks locally have been reducing numbers themselves in the last month, with huge losses of ewes that just haven't had the reserves to cope with the recent bouts of shite, after a prolonged winter full of the same.

Here, I've lost a few more ewes than normal, had a few more problems generally, and probably skinned more lambs than I can ever remember doing, but I still won't be reducing numbers or heading back to lambing indoors. The only thing I'm doing differently this year, is not carrying any dry hoggs from the crossbred flock, given the recent trade.
 

neilo

Member
Mixed Farmer
Location
Montgomeryshire
Farmers always say that at the end of a tough lambing but memories fade and if lambs are a decent trade it will all be forgotten and just as many ewes will be tupped

I was explaining 'suicide fortnight' to a retired, non-farming neighbour a few weeks ago, which he thought quite amusing. Then he said that he had spoken to another neighbour the day before, who has sheep in the small paddocks beside their garden (and in it all too often:facepalm:), and was concerned that he sounded very depressed on the phone, ready to pack it all in, give the ground up, etc as it wasn't worth the bother. He thought that couldn't be explained by 'suicide fortnight'.

No I said, but he'd been lambing for a fortnight, so had had enough by then.:D

I dare say he'll still lamb as many next year, but he has given that ground up now, mostly because of that garden fence I think.:rolleyes:.
 

Tim W

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
Wiltshire
I think given high prices, the uncertainties of brexit and a very tough winter for most there will be a few older farmers or those with small flocks who could do something else that will cash out this year.

I know of some that have /are doing just this ---mostly because of the uncertainty in the market

The face of lamb production is going to change , less sheep in the hills/moors and more on better mixed farming systems
Rearing 160/170% on a low input system will be the way forward for these lowland guys ----scale & low inputs = less gamble and better profit
 

SFI - What % were you taking out of production?

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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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