Mad or what ?!!?

[An ancient git]

Thinking of pushing lambing back to about 20th April . Current system from 23/3 works well though . Ewes would have to go back out from mid(ish) March and then come back inside briefly for lambing here . Advantages would be to lower costs overall , but 'cuckoo' lambs would not be hitting best grazing when they start to eat . Guess lambs would be slower growing overall , and may need to target store market instead of finishers ? PP lowland @ 250' asl .... Trying to break my current plateauing £s margins ! Any comments are of interest ....

 

[Woolless]

Surely if you're lambing as late as that, it needs to be done outside? Ewes at risk of TLD coming inside off decent spring grass and on to different diet?

 

[An ancient git]

Practical reality is that at 67 , going on 68 (!) , no dog , no quad , I ain't chasing ewes around field , thanks !! Never worry here about changing diet to super haylage , from grass , for a few days ......
That being said , I take your point . Only 5% had minor assistance in '19 , as have culled hard for any lambing issues and def a plus point . Haven't quite yet got to total NZ concept and stroll around and pick up dead bodies occasionally ! Too many footpaths !! However be interested this year (the ewes are from CharXLleyn >pure bred Lleyn) , as increasingly easy- care concept , BUT def NOT no care . Also 94% in lamb to a SuffTexT of Robyn's , so I'm eagerly awaiting outcome ... My pure Lleyns are decent , but those with various %ages of Charlie and few with Blue Tex are better overall . Best bit is the guy who buys my surplus decent 'Lleyn' ewe lambs has already booked offspring of the EasyRam !! It's 2021 that I'm thinking of , and I'll be going on 69 !! Retire ????!!!!! Don't all shout YES !!

 

[Woolless]

I would stay as you are TBH. You're not going to enjoy the benefits of lambing that late and I would imagine you get most of your lambs finished now. If it ain't broke, don't fix it!

 

[unlacedgecko]

Practical reality is that at 67 , going on 68 (!) , no dog , no quad , I ain't chasing ewes around field , thanks !! Never worry here about changing diet to super haylage , from grass , for a few days ......
That being said , I take your point . Only 5% had minor assistance in '19 , as have culled hard for any lambing issues and def a plus point . Haven't quite yet got to total NZ concept and stroll around and pick up dead bodies occasionally ! Too many footpaths !! However be interested this year (the ewes are from CharXLleyn >pure bred Lleyn) , as increasingly easy- care concept , BUT def NOT no care . Also 94% in lamb to a SuffTexT of Robyn's , so I'm eagerly awaiting outcome ... My pure Lleyns are decent , but those with various %ages of Charlie and few with Blue Tex are better overall . Best bit is the guy who buys my surplus decent 'Lleyn' ewe lambs has already booked offspring of the EasyRam !! It's 2021 that I'm thinking of , and I'll be going on 69 !! Retire ????!!!!! Don't all shout YES !!

How many sheep you running?

 

[JSmith]

Agree with woolless stay as you are, if your bringing them in a few weeks before they lamb fields will freshen up a bit hopefully an you’ll turn out to a bit of bite, presume that’s what you do any way!? We lamb about 200 or so from first of April, after the main bunch, lleyn ewes an they’re realy good, where they lamb is where they stand for two days, great mothers! Agree with not wanting to run ewes around outside with problems at your stage in years/wisdom?

 

[S J H]

I don't think they'd be much worse than lambing in a shed in May, when it's a beautiful day outside, it's bad enough in March.

 

[Muddyroads]

Your layout might not allow it, but I let mine out in the day and bring them in at night. If the forecast is rubbish they stay in. I think the ewes are fitter and present their lambs better, very few interventions and no predation overnight. Ewes that lamb out during the day will usually lead back easily once they find themselves in an empty field.

 

[Estate fencing.]

I lambed 400 mule theaves (that where worthless in 2018) last year starting on 20th April. Went really well, the only problem I had was keeping the singles tight enough that time of year. This was all outside to NZ Suffolk’s. Managed to finish all but 100 lambs off grass by October. Only concentrates where to pet lambs and nothing at all to the ewes. I Was proper scint with no shed and lumbered with 400 ewes that where worth much less than I payed for them so I had no real option. But I am doing the same this year.

 

[An ancient git]

Keep running the £s nos. ! And it certainly ain't broken ..... Currently turn out onto decent fresh grass at end March , and it works well . Numbers now are shameful ! Cut down and down , incl ALL ewe lambs gone recently at a good price . I'm Brexit proofed !! Only got 50 ewes left plus my cattle ...... Way below what I used to run , even 2-3 years ago ..... But bizarre thing is that the Accountant still kicks me for making yet another taxable profit ! Now there's a thought .... and not many cows left either !! Massive shed space here , but layout not field ideal for in/out job , in answer to Muddyroads . But I'll admit that I'm NOT dependent on stock to pull in a £pound . I do it 'cos it's only thing that ever motivated me ...... But it still has to wipe its face .......

 

[Aspiring Peasants]

"I'm NOT dependent on stock to pull in a £pound . I do it 'cos it's only thing that ever motivated me ...... But it still has to wipe its face ......."

That sums up my position as well. Although I haven't reached 68 my age does start with a 6. I was thinking about this while out having a day's shooting today. We have 250 ewes and 30 suckler cows and there is no way I would contemplate calving or lambing all at once. It would be to intense and I couldn't stand the sleep deprivation! In any case it has never made sense to me to put all that pressure on your system and have all your stock for sale at the same time in increasingly volatile markets. The cows are in 3 groups of 10 calving spring, summer and winter. That means I have calves to sell throughout the year, the bull is never overworked but is kept occupied so lasts longer, heifers are usually calved at 27 months which i think is ideal, there is no pressure on calving facilities, if we do have a scour outbreak it is confined to only 1/3 of the herd, I can graze cows that are bulled over the winter in fields where it is not suitable to graze the bull and calving is easy because you get a break (although most calve on their own anyway)

The sheep lamb Feb, March and April. Old ewes lambing in April are sold as culls by July, we have lambs to sell from July to April. There is again much less pressure on shed space, less disease and spreading of marketing risk.

If I were you I would consider splitting them although I now realize you have dropped numbers to 50 so it may not be practical.

 

[An ancient git]

When I had more ewes they were in 2 lots , plus ewe lambs in April . Too many weeks lambing for me . Policy decision was one session and stopped bothering to tup the lambs . Do prefer lambing 1st time at 13 months as reckon they get udder development and are way easier as yearlings ..... And the gimmer lambs were great mothers and no hassle .

 

[Woolless]

When I had more ewes they were in 2 lots , plus ewe lambs in April . Too many weeks lambing for me . Policy decision was one session and stopped bothering to tup the lambs . Do prefer lambing 1st time at 13 months as reckon they get udder development and are way easier as yearlings ..... And the gimmer lambs were great mothers and no hassle .

Just tip the biggest ewe lambs with your main flock then. That's what I do. As you say, they are generally a pleasure to lamb.

 

[Yale]

Neighbours lamb 0000’s of sheep from 20th April.

When I’m starting to shear,they’re just finishing lambing.

There’s a lot of timely jobs that time of year they don’t get around to doing.

 

[Ysgythan]

Thinking of pushing lambing back to about 20th April . Current system from 23/3 works well though . Ewes would have to go back out from mid(ish) March and then come back inside briefly for lambing here . Advantages would be to lower costs overall , but 'cuckoo' lambs would not be hitting best grazing when they start to eat . Guess lambs would be slower growing overall , and may need to target store market instead of finishers ? PP lowland @ 250' asl .... Trying to break my current plateauing £s margins ! Any comments are of interest ....

For me if you’re going to do that I’d get draft hill ewes and lamb them outside. Give them an armchair ride but cull hard and accept a high turnover. Don’t keep your own female replacements but run some ewe lambs around so you don’t need to lamb as many ewes. They can also fill your sheds if they’d be going spare otherwise. I’d suggest shear and run the multiple born ones as a selling point. Use an all rounder tup. Whatever x of females sell well as ewe lambs or shearlings in your area and that you can sell the wethers either as stores or finished so you can cash in whenever you need to.

 

[An ancient git]

I find the comments interesting and stimulating .... Having a totally 'closed' flock that has had foot/lambing issues etc etc sorted by 'hard' culling and now no vaxs bar the 'Multi' , I won't go down Ysgythan route now , but take his point as being practical for many . Likely to go back to lambing the (now) limited no, of ewe lambs , and maybe just hold back a few ewes to add to them , to make it worthwhile having a 2nd lambing session . I've got an easy lambing proven Blue Tex to sort job . Lambs fast on feet , but , in truth , they only make about 36-38kgs finished . It'll be interesting to check out the Woolless comment , and see if my NZx ewe lambs will hit tupping weights at same time as the main ewes for lambing @ 12 months old . If yes , that's the easiest way to go ... One bunch . end of ! HAVE decided to stick with the late March/early April lambing period , as it has worked well here over a number of years , both economically and practically .....

 

[rhuvid]

Personally, you need to get a working dog more than worry when you lamb.

 

[An ancient git]

NO WAY ! Sheep come to call/whistle (believe it or not , NO bucket etc ) , so why feed , vet bills a half useful dog for a few sheep . £s don't stack up mega fashion !!!! Done this , with bigger nos , for many years now , so ain't changing now !! It's called stockmanship ...... Maybe I'm half-sheep that it works ?......

 

[Ysgythan]

I find the comments interesting and stimulating .... Having a totally 'closed' flock that has had foot/lambing issues etc etc sorted by 'hard' culling and now no vaxs bar the 'Multi' , I won't go down Ysgythan route now , but take his point as being practical for many . Likely to go back to lambing the (now) limited no, of ewe lambs , and maybe just hold back a few ewes to add to them , to make it worthwhile having a 2nd lambing session . I've got an easy lambing proven Blue Tex to sort job . Lambs fast on feet , but , in truth , they only make about 36-38kgs finished . It'll be interesting to check out the Woolless comment , and see if my NZx ewe lambs will hit tupping weights at same time as the main ewes for lambing @ 12 months old . If yes , that's the easiest way to go ... One bunch . end of ! HAVE decided to stick with the late March/early April lambing period , as it has worked well here over a number of years , both economically and practically .....

get a BFL - out of the box thinking