Lambing outdoors- catching ewe and lambs

[garfield89]

Just wanted to ask while this years lambing is still fresh in the mind.

My flock lambs outdoors in May, this year, despite giving them several hours to bond first. I found it hard catching the ewes once they had lambed,

I would either catch lambs, have her follow me into a pen, or failing that put lambs into the pen and chase the ewe with quad into the pen.

First technique didn't always work, ewe sometimes gave up despite seeing, smelling and hearing lambs in hand, returning to the last spot she'd seen them.

Second technique of chasing, tired out the ewe, adding unnecessary stress, burning up fuel for fun.

Would be great to have a better way of doing things for next year.

Thanks

 

[Norfolk Hill Farmer]

Why do you want to get them into pens ?

 

[Woolless]

Firstly, what are you doing that you need to catch them? Tagging, rubber rings etc can all be applied on the spot where the lambs are caught without catching up the ewe as well.

 

[Plopper]

why are you catching them?

 

[Plopper]

too slow lol

 

[Highland Mule]

I catch all mine at some point on day of birth as the next stage field is across a major road that I’m not happy to walk though. The ewes get Crovect at that point, with the lambs getting tagged and rings applied, plus Spot on for ticks and Stockholm tar for foxes.

Build a couple of pens with funnel entrances around the lambing field - maybe one on each side and another at the far corner, plus one at the entry gate. Walk the ewe and lambs to the pen and shut the gate behind them. If you don’t have time to do this by hand, and they need moved, it’s a great job for a junior member of staff/family, after a short bit of teaching.

 

[hill shepherd]

You need a good dog and stick, wouldn't go shepherding without either

 

[Highland Mule]

You need a good dog and stick, wouldn't go shepherding without either

Depends on the land and the sheep. I keep a few hundred and wouldn’t have a dog on the place. Would rather spend the time and money on getting the fence lines right and a few treats for the sheep to keep them tame around me. I can have a week away in summer with minimal neighbour looking in and no need to get a dog sitter too.

 

[Woolless]

Depends on the land and the sheep. I keep a few hundred and wouldn’t have a dog on the place. Would rather spend the time and money on getting the fence lines right and a few treats for the sheep to keep them tame around me. I can have a week away in summer with minimal neighbour looking in and no need to get a dog sitter too.

My two dogs go to local kennels when I'm on holiday and they're quite happy. The kennel block sits in a four acre paddock which they can run around in.

 

[Highland Mule]

My two dogs go to local kennels when I'm on holiday and they're quite happy. The kennel block sits in a four acre paddock which they can run around in.

If that works for you then grand. I manage fine without dogs, and am happy to forego the benefits of it means I’m also without the additional hassles they bring.

 

[hill shepherd]

Depends on the land and the sheep. I keep a few hundred and wouldn’t have a dog on the place. Would rather spend the time and money on getting the fence lines right and a few treats for the sheep to keep them tame around me. I can have a week away in summer with minimal neighbour looking in and no need to get a dog sitter too.

Our sheep would soon get wise to a few treats if it meant penning up, they respect the dog and know he/she is going to boss them.

 

[Highland Mule]

Our sheep would soon get wise to a few treats if it meant penning up, they respect the dog and know he/she is going to boss them.

I think you’d be surprised what can be achieved with a bit of design work on fence lines, flight routes etc.

 

[hill shepherd]

I think you’d be surprised what can be achieved with a bit of design work on fence lines, flight routes etc.

I'll stick with my dogs thanks

 

[Spartacus]

Wouldn't even dream of lambing anything without a dog.

 

[Woolless]

Wouldn't even dream of lambing anything without a dog.

Each to their own but you can shout at the dogs if things go wrong and they'll still be delighted to be in your company. Wife, not so much..

 

[CopperBeech]

Not read it all but why wouldn’t you just walk the ewe and her lambs into the pen? Separating the lamb from the ewes is just going to make the ewe panic ....... lambs are easy to direct and ewes stick with lambs.

 

[CopperBeech]

Depends on the land and the sheep. I keep a few hundred and wouldn’t have a dog on the place. Would rather spend the time and money on getting the fence lines right and a few treats for the sheep to keep them tame around me. I can have a week away in summer with minimal neighbour looking in and no need to get a dog sitter too.

Up until now I thought you seemed quite sensible

“I keep a few hundred sheep and wouldn’t have a dog on the place”

That’s got to be one of the strangest things I’ve heard from a sheep farmer.

Bad experience ?

 

[hill shepherd]

Up until now I thought you seemed quite sensible

“I keep a few hundred sheep and wouldn’t have a dog on the place”

That’s got to be one of the strangest things I’ve heard from a sheep farmer.

Bad experience ?

I can't get my head round shepherds/sheep farmers without sheep dogs, it just seems wrong, there's no way I could run my business without a decent dog or two and I don't just mean shepherding out on the hill

 

[Highland Mule]

Up until now I thought you seemed quite sensible

“I keep a few hundred sheep and wouldn’t have a dog on the place”

That’s got to be one of the strangest things I’ve heard from a sheep farmer.

Bad experience ?

In the past, I’ve travelled extensively for business and relied on others to do regular checks. That made me manage without a dog and as a result we reconfigured field lines etc to not need them. Now, I just find there’s no need. I can get any sheep caught within a couple of minutes without any hassle (maybe 15 minutes if they’re on the outlying land).

As for bad experiences, I’d rather not go there.

 

[primmiemoo]

Patience, patience, more patience, ... [cont. P94]