Sheep Scanning

[lincolnred]

Having mine scanned in a couple of weeks- just wondering how it’s going for people so far this year.

 

[An ancient git]

No idea ..... Never scanned a ewe in my life ! System works fine without the bother here .

 

[Nithsdale]

No idea ..... Never scanned a ewe in my life ! System works fine without the bother here .

This has always been my philosophy, too.

First time scan here, though... see if I can use it to any advantage. 176% over 600 upland/hill ewes. I'd reckon that will be about average for me

 

[twizzel]

My (very small) flock 243% 10 twins 5 trips 1 quad and I’m glad I don’t have several hundred lambing at that percentage

 

[valtraman]

Scotch mules 200%

 

[neilo]

This has always been my philosophy, too.

First time scan here, though... see if I can use it to any advantage. 176% over 600 upland/hill ewes. I'd reckon that will be about average for me

You'll save the feed that you would have been poking into those empty ewes you've identified for a start, as well as saving feed on the singles (that you would have been feeding as twins iirc) if you are willing to pull them out separately. Then of course, there's the benefit of knowing that a ewe's finished when she has had her single or twin, without having to have a rummage around looking for another.

Scanning's not a job I'd ever want to cut out, it's 50p well spent and easily saved.

 

[DanM]

This has always been my philosophy, too.

First time scan here, though... see if I can use it to any advantage. 176% over 600 upland/hill ewes. I'd reckon that will be about average for me

we’ve been the same in an outdoor system, always felt splitting ewes to condition score delivered. What advantages are you hoping to gain? Earlier identification of empty ewes to sell is one for me.

 

[James169]

Can’t understand why people don’t. It costs next to nothing and a twin carrying ewe will still eat £10+ worth of cake she won’t be worth £10 pounds more when you come to sell if anything £10 pound less. So there’s a £20 margin straight away. People won’t scan and then still sell 1.8 lambs per ewe? And still be the ones complaining one week because the jobs no good. I know people slate AHDB. But I go to a lot of meetings. Usually take some useful information away. It’s the know it alls that don’t need to learn that give farmers a bad name. Bit of a rant I know but I feel not enough of us want to improve.

 

[DanM]

Can’t understand why people don’t. It costs next to nothing and a twin carrying ewe will still eat £10+ worth of cake she won’t be worth £10 pounds more when you come to sell if anything £10 pound less. So there’s a £20 margin straight away. People won’t scan and then still sell 1.8 lambs per ewe? And still be the ones complaining one week because the jobs no good. I know people slate AHDB. But I go to a lot of meetings. Usually take some useful information away. It’s the know it alls that don’t need to learn that give farmers a bad name. Bit of a rant I know but I feel not enough of us want to improve.

biggest improvement you’ll make to your bottom line is to stop feeding cake!

 

[neilo]

we’ve been the same in an outdoor system, always felt splitting ewes to condition score delivered. What advantages are you hoping to gain? Earlier identification of empty ewes to sell is one for me.

I don't feed my outdoor ewes, other than grazed forage. I pull my empties out at scanning, either to sell, or to chuck out with the stores to fatten and sell later. I pull the singles out to a very hard grazing paddock (a field where the turnips have already been grazed, to live on scraps) at 3 weeks pre-lambing, avoiding fat ewes with big lambs. The trips get split out just before lambing to go in a nicer grass field, if there's enough of them to be worth bothering with.
As the twins & singles are lambing in different paddocks, I can run the singles (& hoggs) on nearly bare earth, then keep them separate & on tighter grazing right through to weaning. If I think the twin ewes are lean, or it's a desperately late Spring, I could target any feeding to just those ewes.

A no-brainer imo, but each to their own.

 

[Nithsdale]

You'll save the feed that you would have been poking into those empty ewes you've identified for a start, as well as saving feed on the singles (that you would have been feeding as twins iirc) if you are willing to pull them out separately. Then of course, there's the benefit of knowing that a ewe's finished when she has had her single or twin, without having to have a rummage around looking for another.

Scanning's not a job I'd ever want to cut out, it's 50p well spent and easily saved.

When you only feed 1-1.25lb a day to 600 ewes, drawing out 12 empties will hardly save feed... but every little helps. They will pay for the scanning (and a bit more) though.
I agree on the singles will save a bit of feed, but they will still get something on the hill.

But knowing a ewe is done without rummaging around for more?? They lamb themselves, lad. I don't go catching ewes and start looking for lambs

 

[Nithsdale]

we’ve been the same in an outdoor system, always felt splitting ewes to condition score delivered. What advantages are you hoping to gain? Earlier identification of empty ewes to sell is one for me.

All outdoor here.
Body scoring and condition management is much more critical, IMO. Handle your ewes regularly and feed accordingly.

Benefits... well, post lambing I split my hill ewes into singles and twins. The singles to go back to the hill, twins stay on parks. Scanning means I can now split singles off before lambing and itl save a day or 2 walking ewes with lambs out when I'm busy enough. That's the real asset to me I'm seeing.

Decided to do everything when he was here though - more out of my own curiosity than anything. I'll try and use the info this year but I amnt convinced it will be anything revolutionary here...

There's 89 early lambing TexX ewes were scanned aswell. They hit 177%. They aren't being split up - I started pre lambing rations yesterday on them.

 

[Nithsdale]

Scanning, or not, is not an automatic indication of wanting to improve/better yourself, or not.
There's plenty out there scan and still make a complete arse of the job - they moan there's no money in the job.

It is JUST another tool, like anything else. It will only help improvement IF you can utilize the information it gives forward. If you can't, then what's the point?

Too many listen at the feet of the 'experts' and take everything they say as holy and we MUST do it... and if we aren't listening like sheep (pardon the pun) then we aren't 'bettering' ourselves or trying to improve. It's bullsh*t. The push from these 'experts' currently, fashionably ramming Soya down our throats is a prime example...

Do what suits your own farm, your own system. Pick and choose the tools available which suit you and don't knock others without first understanding their system.

 

[Guiggs]

Scanned here today, 168% on the main flock which I'm happy enough with although a few more singles than I'd hoped for.
148% on the broken mouthed welsh I brought in September, very pleased with that as I've budgeted on 120%

 

[ford4000]

Never scanned here either. Just finished bcs the ewes, fats on silage, slimmer ones grouped together and moved to grass, 2% thin ones on grass and nuts. I don't care if they are carrying a single or quads, if they are thin they need more feed.
It would be handy to know if a ewe is carrying a single tofoster another lamb on though!!
Surprisng how many "empty" ewes give birth in June

 

[David.]

Scanned 265 before Christmas 196% will lamb in early Mar. On turnips for forseeable...
Texel Mules and Mules. 6 empty or late, 30 singles, 36 trips, rest pairs.
I'm as happy as a happy thing with that, after last years catastrophic 160%.

 

[neilo]

Scanned 265 before Christmas 196% will lamb in early Mar. On turnips for forseeable...
Texel Mules and Mules. 6 empty or late, 30 singles, 36 trips, rest pairs.
I'm as happy as a happy thing with that, after last years catastrophic 160%.

That’s just a tidy twinning rate too.

 

[David.]

Stopping tupping ewe lambs last year will help, and the Texel x had a shake of the bag to steam them up.

 

[Agrivator]

Too many listen at the feet of the 'experts' and take everything they say as holy and we MUST do it... and if we aren't listening like sheep (pardon the pun) then we aren't 'bettering' ourselves or trying to improve. It's bullsh*t. The push from these 'experts' currently, fashionably ramming Soya down our throats is a prime example...

Do what suits your own farm, your own system. Pick and choose the tools available which suit you and don't knock others without first understanding their system.

Just a few of the innovations introduced by so-called experts, and which have been to the immense benefit of sheep farmers


Feeding whole grain to sheep (Rowett Research Institute & SAC)

Scanning (Rowett Research Institute, Animal Breeding Res. Organisation & SAC)

Winter shearing of pregnant ewes (SAC)

Flat-rate feeding of concentrates (SAC)

Clean Grazing (SAC)

Discovery of bi-pass protein in late pregnancy (Rowett Research Institute)

Importation of Texels from France ( Animal Breeding Research Organisation)

Vaccination against Clostridial diseases and liver fluke control (Moredun Research Inst. & Hill Farming Res. Org.)

Administration of colostrum by stomach tube & treatment of hypothermia in lambs (Moredun Research Inst)

Correction of Copper and Cobalt deficiency in ewes and lambs ( Moredun, HFRO & SAC)

 

[Nithsdale]

Tools.

Which you pick and choose which to utilise within your system...