Managing a flock with a high lambing percentage.

[Sir loin]

This year my 120 ewe flock (lleyns) have scanned 218 % (last year 186% year before 165%) , we have never had a percentage like this 20 singles, 64 sets of twins, 30 sets of triplets and 6 sets of quads. I usually house ewes the day the first one lambs(due to start April 1st) but with a lot more multiples than I have ever had, when would you house the 36 ewes carrying triplets and quads? Would you separate and feed and still keep them outside as long as possible. The ewes are in good condition CS score 4 + with the exception of two which I have housed with the fattening hogs.

 

[Devil's advocate]

I'd house early, partly to avoid weather stress on ewes carrying a heavy load. To allow them access to food,water & mierals 24 hours a day without too much effort.

Also for the Shepherd you may have some prolapses to deal with.

Don't over feed, 3 little lambs better than dealing with prolapses.

You have a very maternal, hardy breed. So should be fine.

I once lambed almost pure Charollais at 250%. In frosty weather in a open shed. I was giving them cows colustrum mixed with ewe's colustrum within two minutes of birth it made a huge difference.

What will you do with all those cades.

 

[Sir loin]

The cades I have a daughter that will get that job !!!
I am the shepherd and its the prolapses that frighten me, how soon do you call early a month?

 

[Devil's advocate]

The cades I have a daughter that will get that job !!!
I am the shepherd and its the prolapses that frighten me, how soon do you call early a month?

3 weeks is safe, 2 weeks would do at a push.

Don't over feed. In my experience prolapses is a bigger problem than twin lamb disese. Also if you are removing the 3rd lamb, two little lambs won't need as much milk as two large ones, only for a week or two of course. So feed well after lambing, because they may well have lost some condition.

 

[neilo]

The cades I have a daughter that will get that job !!!
I am the shepherd and its the prolapses that frighten me, how soon do you call early a month?

We used to scan at 225% or so every year when we had the Cambridge crosses. I pulled the triplets & quads out into a separate mob about a month out, and gave them 2lb of good ewe rolls a day (once a day), but outside on stubble turnips still until a few days off lambing. If you don’t have a separate field to put them on, and have room in a shed, then it would be easier on the shepherd to house them as soon as you separate them, but they will stay fitter through exercise outside.
We never used to have many prolapses, but ewes were exercised by grazing and never allowed to get very lean.

If yours are really CS4+ at this stage, I wouldn’t be in a hurry to start feeding any of them. They are way too fat, so leaving them to utilise some of that fat before supplementing with anything. Slimming them down a bit now will be doing the sheep, and the shepherd, a favour come lambing time.

 

[Sir loin]

Thanks for that, they are too fit, about cleaned up the grass now so on good quality hay outside.

 

[landslave the 2nd]

CS of 4 ...
Trip & quads.... give some life line buckets when a month off.
But as neilo says try to use there reserve score down to 3.
Plenty of exercise to reduce chances of prolapse.

 

[Six Dogs]

Out of interest how do people fare with triplets mortality?
We have just lambed our early ewes really good lambing 6% loss from scanning,however broken down the triplets mortality was 11% so is this the norm??

 

[Devil's advocate]

Out of interest how do people fare with triplets mortality?
We have just lambed our early ewes really good lambing 6% loss from scanning,however broken down the triplets mortality was 11% so is this the norm??

Thats good. Also some drop out much later on, even though they look well. I presume colustrum problems.

In my case they will have had a cow/sheep colustrum mix within an hour of birth. May be a dose of heptavac into the lamb at 14 days (onwards) would have helped.

 

[Six Dogs]

Thats good. Also some drop out much later on, even though they look well. I presume colustrum problems.

In my case they will have had a cow/sheep colustrum mix within an hour of birth. May be a dose of heptavac into the lamb at 14 days (onwards) would have helped.

Sorry I should have explained more,these are pretty much all still born,found dead at birth,we routinely tube feed all triplets 2x with cow colostrum so I think it’s perhaps “tangling”at birth

 

[Devil's advocate]

Sorry I should have explained more,these are pretty much all still born,found dead at birth,we routinely tube feed all triplets 2x with cow colostrum so I think it’s perhaps “tangling”at birth

Oh yes I get you, still good not too many losses. Also do you think sometimes if they are born easily & quickly, too many for the ewe to clean? I just happened to see a ewe have 4 lambs virtually straight up. I think she would have struggled to mother all 4 without my help.

As for the heptavac, I was talking about myself, I just doubt there is enought passing on of antibodies with cows colustrum & a small amount of ewes colustrum

 

[Six Dogs]

Oh yes I get you, still good not too many losses. Also do you think sometimes if they are born easily & quickly, too many for the ewe to clean? I just happened to see a ewe have 4 lambs virtually straight up. I think she would have struggled to mother all 4 without my help.

As for the heptavac, I was talking about myself, I just doubt there is enought passing on of antibodies with cows colustrum & a small amount of ewes colustrum

Absolutely had the same thing with a quad ewe,our main flock lamb outside in mid April debating whether to Lamb the triplets indoors,need to hunt out our diary of last April to compare outdoor triplet losses