^^^ exactly as above here. Can't quite see how a farmer is expected to muck out after every ewe in the middle of lambing season, other work on farm can't stop for 2-3 months of year, just have to juggle things around and do the best of your ability without half killing yourself! Fair enough if there's plenty of hands available such as students or some afterschool pocket money for your kids, but not always the scenario on many farms. Lime does help without a doubt
Lime in lambing pens
- Thread starter Stewartry hill
- Start date
RushesToo
Member
- Location
- Fingringhoe
I will make the case for good enough.
Whatever you do, if it is getting worse you need to change something. Better is against the average - your average and more importantly against a wider average [published not bar talk].
Too dirty is clearly bad and more so in a year when the weather is against you.
To clean [very unlikely] and the stock won't be challenged enough to have resistance.
Routine antibiotics is somewhere between suicide for you, your children and your business and not recommended.
Whatever you do, if it is getting worse you need to change something. Better is against the average - your average and more importantly against a wider average [published not bar talk].
Too dirty is clearly bad and more so in a year when the weather is against you.
To clean [very unlikely] and the stock won't be challenged enough to have resistance.
Routine antibiotics is somewhere between suicide for you, your children and your business and not recommended.
My rule is if I wouldn't be happy lying in the pen, then nor should my sheep. I muck out, let the pen air-dry, then lime and re-litter between each ewe. Last year I had only 1 case of joint-I'll and this year I'm braving cutting out the Spectum, except for triplets or weak lambs. I'd rather spend 5 minutes on each pen than be chasing sick lambs round the fields later on.
you must have lots of pens or not many sheep to be able to do all that between sheep!
I used to just lime and straw but now I get my night lamber to do most of my mucking out. I do all the marking up, recording and turning out in the day, and muck out as many pens as I need. I empty as many as possible and leave the rest for him. I have never had a huge issue with watery mouth and use about 20 doses of metacam a year, but I'd never go back to not mucking out. If I did I'd use pine shavings.
TALDLONKTUP2
Member
Mucking pens out between sheep is a waste of time and does more harm than good, better to have a good thick layer of bedding muck to soak up the pee, remove cleanings then a handful of builder's lime and fresh straw down job done. I find the lime very effective at stopping rattle belly in 2nd and 3rd weeks without the need for spectum or whatever.
Farmboy1611
Member
- Location
- Shropshire
This might seem a very stupid question......
Is the hydrated lime the same as what builders use in cements and renders?
My local merchant only has this in stock.
Is the hydrated lime the same as what builders use in cements and renders?
My local merchant only has this in stock.
- Location
- Perthshire, Scotland
My brother reckons that it's not the same. He is a tiler and plasterer and had 4 bags in his van the other day when I asked the same question
TALDLONKTUP2
Member
@shearerlad 's bother probably had bags of tiling cement or plaster in his van
.......Or he probably didn't want you nicking it! There's no reason why he should have hydrated lime for tiling or plastering anyway (rendering maybe, for the misguided fools who like that hideous stuff). Hydrated lime is hydrated lime where every you buy it from and yes it is builder's lime. ie. slacked calcium oxide, otherwise known as slacked lime or calcium hydroxide. There are also Hydraulic limes but these contain clays and are similar to Portland cement. They'd probably do the same job in a lambing pen anyway, which is to be caustic.
- Location
- Ceredigion
Northeastfarmer
Member
- Location
- Cleveland
Fairly confident he was joking
polk_farmer
Member
- Location
- South West (Gods Country)
It would be a fair sight seeing the contours of a lamb full of 300mls worth of meds in its neck