Outwintering

[beardface]

How are people getting on outwintering sheep and cattle this year I'm just about scraping through but given the weather we've just had sheep would look happier in a shed.

 

[Tim W]

Sheep on high well draining ground are doing well
Those on the bottom land went through grazing very fast as it just puddled up early in the season ----so i adjusted stocking levels (=sold stock) mid winter and they are now doing much better , lambs fattening well & ewes looking good.
Pays to adjust stock to available forage

 

[tinsheet]

Cattle on kale, and bale grazing, certainly a challenge! Not ideal but their looking well and growing.
Sheep fine, just keep moving them.

 

[neilo]

Everything looks pretty miserable this week tbh, but 10 days ago, with a bit of sun on their backs (briefly), they looked ok.
Stock doing ok considering, but I’m in the position of having plenty of beet to graze so I’m allowing them more each time and accepting more waste.
March lambing Charollais ewes would certainly be better in the shed now, as this last week on beet is really sapping them, just as they need lifting. I had them through the race a fortnight ago and was pleased enough with their condition (most of the triplets included), but hard on them now. Just weaned December lambs, those ewes going out today to empty the shed for scanning April lambers, then shed can be mucked out for those March lambers, if I can get the muck trailers to anywhere!

Whilst it would be nice to have a big sheep shed to house 1000 sheep this week, it wouldn’t be as good for general health & disease levels, and the costs would be crippling if you accurately accounted for them against the sheep flock. No plans to stop outwintering on roots here anyway, just hope next year is drier (as last year was) and investigating ways to get more energy into them.

 

[devonbrion1998]

Our sheep weren't doing any good at all by Xmas, got the Hoggs in and they dried out and started growing again, had them finished in 5 weeks and made very good money!
of them, the amount of rain we have had this winter is unbelievable, I don't think they ever dried out, fields getting a rest this year worked out well for me even with the extra input of straw/cake, don't always work out like that I know.

 

[egbert]

Everything looks pretty miserable this week tbh, but 10 days ago, with a bit of sun on their backs (briefly), they looked ok.
Stock doing ok considering, but I’m in the position of having plenty of beet to graze so I’m allowing them more each time and accepting more waste.
March lambing Charollais ewes would certainly be better in the shed now, as this last week on beet is really sapping them, just as they need lifting. I had them through the race a fortnight ago and was pleased enough with their condition (most of the triplets included), but hard on them now. Just weaned December lambs, those ewes going out today to empty the shed for scanning April lambers, then shed can be mucked out for those March lambers, if I can get the muck trailers to anywhere!

Whilst it would be nice to have a big sheep shed to house 1000 sheep this week, it wouldn’t be as good for general health & disease levels, and the costs would be crippling if you accurately accounted for them against the sheep flock. No plans to stop outwintering on roots here anyway, just hope next year is drier (as last year was) and investigating ways to get more energy into them.

^^^^^ this

I only house vulnerable cattle (weaned calves, autumn calving cows etc.) - and a blue face ram in a half hearted attempt to make him do more than one season.
The value of the sold stock doesn't justify the outlay any more i'm afraid.

The stock are mostly looking pretty well on it though.
One group of sheep are tight, and I'm having to feed them to maintain condition.....thats not very pretty.
but where they've space they're fine.
It has at least remained greening on the inbye all the time.

cows? They're resigned to it, and stand cudding at the feed sites- happy enough.

 

[andybk]

ewes and fat lambs on grass keep have done really well this winter , most lambs so far have gone yellow grade , BUT have had to keep them moving ,we have grazed some pieces 3 or 4 times due to it getting paddled , so have had to leave electric in place . The ones already lambed (early dec) are doing the same lambs are really forward have some at killing weight already ewes are still in very good condition , though creep moves have to be daily due to mud , I have a bunch of march lambers to come in soon but think i will move them onto some destined for after lambing for another fortnight , as i think it will damp and muggy in sheds if we get them all in to soon which might cause other issues with health and feet .

 

[Six Dogs]

Not proud of sheep on roots at the minute,however they are in good condition and we have had a very wet week!
DLWG of lambs on roots follows the trend of dry weather ie when wet they don’t do!
No real change imminently just hope these winters don’t become the norm!

 

[Devil's advocate]

Its the soil. that takes such a beating with all those little feet.

 

[som farmer]

the big problem with out wintering cattle is, how they look to the public, we outwinter dairy dry cows, as a lot do around here, with all the wet weather this winter, one has to admit, it doesn't look nice, although cattle condition is really good. Any one had hassle yet? RSPCA, will be on the look out, no doubt.

 

[ajcc]

Tough winter cosmetically but stock looking well fleshed despite. Strip grazing suckler cows on fodderbeet every day since mid October. Wrecked a few extra grass acres by adding different run backs but couple of months time and some extra reseeding it’ll come right. My cows start calving outside on beet within a fortnight, also have major permissive r.o.w. along beet field which tractor bellies along most days but too muddy for most folk so they have largely forsaken this route. Those that brave it are well sympathetic to wet winter and few buildings....but always on lookout for exceptions.

 

[ajcc]

said server error try again later?

 

[HarryB97]

I housed my last 30 lambs at the start of October as they were just going backwards and the ewes finished all their grass a month earlier than last year despite giving them a fresh block each week like normal. However as it was so wet last autumn and we didn't get any cereals in I fenced a load of stubble and are feeding them silage in ring feeders which is working very well so overall quite happy. Luckily all the cattle are indoors and generally doing well apart from the odd cough in the youngstock, they are getting through more straw than normal though, luckily we have plenty.

 

[TexelBen]

All our lambing ewes have been in since December 27th, never had to house before lambing, but this weather is ridiculous. We're on heavy clay land. Hoping to have a decent wedge of grass to turn them into after lambing

 

[som farmer]

been over a few fields this week, big dead patches, where water logged for months, definitely can not win, drought killed acres last summer, wet winter killed some more, Umbilicing slurry out soon, going to subsoil behind kale, to put it on, will be interesting to see how long it takes to 'dry' out.

 

[Nearly]

7 bluex heifers outside. Doing ok up to now. Adlib hay and a taste of rolled barley but trying to get them inside for the sake of the land, and they're on our driest sand fields.

 

[Giles1]

Time for a big rethink here, all fields totally saturated. Fields I've outwintered cows on for the last 30 years are shot this year,its a mess. The ewes are ok but have been caked and silage since December. Not sure how much more weather they can take. A nice big airy shed and tons of straw would be very nice for all the stock, and the idiot feeding them. However financially its a complete no no. Unless there are big changes on the price front, or some kind of housing subsidy,sadly our sucklers days are numbered.

 

[neilo]

I fetched my April lambers in overnight yesterday, to empty out ready for scanning today. When I looked in last night, all but about 6 were lieing down in silence. I could almost here the sighs of relief when I got them in, but they’ve got to back on the beet after. Even running over a few grass fields to get them in, they’ve churned it up.

 

[Nithsdale]

Ewes doing OK but looking fed up of rain... their fields are standing upto it in most places - except for gateways and lower parts which hold water...

Cattle are all in except for 8 with young calves. They are doing fine but they are on 37 acres of grass and have totally wrecked it all (we usually outwinter winter 15+ heifers on just 17 of the acres with no issues).

I'd love to see these cell grazers come up with an answer for this winter! (dairy farm near here does it - their neighbour took pity and let them use a shed he had empty)

 

[Two Tone]

I outwinter all our Deer herd. Generally, you can chuck any amount of rain and wind at them and they don't mind.
What they don't like is very cold weather, surprisingly!

But even they are pee'd off with the amount of wet we have had this winter. It's the ground conditions that are upsetting them.

I know that we are not the only Deer Farmers that have told APHA to shove it regarding their request for TB testing of Deer.
Firstly, they wanted it done during the Rut, which is highly dangerous, not only to us but the Deer themselves, especially the Stags. Our Vets have refused to do it.
Secondly, there is no power in the handling shed, so it could only be done when the clocks change to BST.
Thirdly, it is so wet, that the quad bikes struggle to move on the grass! Therefore we could not possibly get them all to the handling unit.

I've told them that the only time it could be done is the 1st 2 weeks in April. Any later than that is too close to calving.
Even this supposes that it dries out enough by then.

So far, APHA hasn't replied (even though I gave them 7 days to do so in December) and they probably won't. This being the case, they will have to wait another year!

When APHA originally requested the test, they sent it to a tenant of ours at this address. Having rung them and told them the correct name (me!) to send it to, they then sent it to me at the tenant's address!
So we phoned them yet again telling them to correct it and that what they were asking was impossible.
We then heard nothing until 2 months later they send a movement restriction notice because we had failed to test, together with a cop[y of the original request letter that they had fraudulently changed to the correct name and address!

Having pointed this out to them in no uncertain terms, both verbally by phone and by letter, they seem to have gone a bit quiet!