Sheep wintering options

[will6910]

By grazing what grass you have in December/Jan, you are hugely reducing the amount of growth you will get in the Spring by delaying the growth from removing leaf. Renovate your sheds/slats (it's a system that you know works and you already have the sheds), and house as soon as you fetch them back from tack. If you change to more maternal breeds you could turn out to lamb in March/April, or keep your own (terminal crosses iirc?) and lamb inside in late Feb as you do now. Lambing early to hit higher prices is only worthwhile if it doesn't incur more costs than the extra you make.

I really can't think that a system feeding straw and high levels of concentrates is going to pay where straw and conc prices are now, whatever the articles in the paper might say. It will be interesting to see if Crilly's have changed system by 5 years time.

Whatever you do though, you're not going to earn a full time income just from keeping sheep on 38ac.

My aim in past was lamb slightly earlier than most round here and hit earlier trade to help cover cost off housing so long. Had more winter grazing but lost it when sold most off sheep. Now regret it big time. The system worked well in past but it’s just the lack of winter grazing is concerning me more than anything

 

[will6910]

What about lambing later when grass is growing, that way the ground might stand a bit more tramping over winter, sell store

Wpuod he middle April or May before there would be any growth to match what’s beinf grazed in most years and wouldnt suit with other jobs

 

[will6910]

Have done that in past to about 10 years ago. Worked well when had only handful of animals myself. Took out all the old cattle housing for sheep mesh and lambinf pens so stopped the contract rearing. A lot round here prob would be more than happy to rent the whole farm for summer and cut silage on it. But after getting fields destroyed when sold second cut silage a few years back at a very wet stage I don’t fancy letting someone take whole farm

 

[neilo]

Wpuod he middle April or May before there would be any growth to match what’s beinf grazed in most years and wouldnt suit with other jobs

That's because you've grazed the grass bare before housing to try to shorten the housing period. If you graze the leaves off, the grass will have to put up a leaf again before it can start photosynthesising (& growing) in the Spring. Grass grows grass. Leave longer covers in the Autumn and it will get away earlier in the Spring.

You have a housing system in place where you don't need to buy bedding, just silage. Make use of it.

 

[will6910]

That's because you've grazed the grass bare before housing to try to shorten the housing period. If you graze the leaves off, the grass will have to put up a leaf again before it can start photosynthesising (& growing) in the Spring. Grass grows grass. Leave longer covers in the Autumn and it will get away earlier in the Spring.

You have a housing system in place where you don't need to buy bedding' just silage. Make use of it.

Ah sorry think I worded wrong before. I didn’t like to graze at home after winter because didn’t want to graze fields after the rest. In a good year fields at home Would start to be closed off middle October and wouldn’t get touched again until ewes and lambs go out near end off feb. Last two years have had less sheep and kept one field for ewe lambs to stay at home. They stayed on it to first week of January then come inside to. Wasn’t able to graze that field until near end off April

 

[Guiggs]

Wpuod he middle April or May before there would be any growth to match what’s beinf grazed in most years and wouldnt suit with other jobs

So like @neilo says, you need to get your ewes off your grass earlier, send them too winter grazing and then into your sheds while you still have some bite on your land, that way you will have more grass cover earlier in spring, by lambing later you won't need so much time supplementing the ewes with expensive concentrates etc before turning out to lamb on your grass.
You can sell lambs store in the autumn but will be able to run more ewes as less competition for grass thus sell more lambs.

 

[will6910]

So like @neilo says, you need to get your ewes off your grass earlier, send them too winter grazing and then into your sheds while you still have some bite on your land, that way you will have more grass cover earlier in spring, by lambing later you won't need so much time supplementing the ewes with expensive concentrates etc before turning out to lamb on your grass.
You can sell lambs store in the autumn but will be able to run more ewes as less competition for grass thus sell more lambs.

Think I worded it wrong earlier. Ewes usually off fields mid to late October and not grazed until ewes and lambs get turned out onto them mid late feb

 

[Sheep]

Often with the price of winter grazing here, we can feed indoors just as cheaply as renting winter grazing elsewhere, especially when dealing with haulage, breakouts and time lost driving and checking.

Here are rough daily costings for housing sheep based on 160 ewes in four plastic slatted pens. 80kg ewes, 1.6% of bodyweight dry matter intake, based on a 20 week winter (mid Oct to end of Feb)

Feed: 0.15
Housing (incl bedding): 0.06
Machinery: 0.05

Daily cost per sheep - 27p
Weekly cost - £1.80

Labour, water and vet & med costs have always been roughly the same for both indoor and outdoor.

In my opinion, if you are lambing early then it often pays labour and hassle saving to have plenty of grass ahead of you, so its well worth it to have the ewes in early indoors.

 

[will6910]

Often with the price of winter grazing here, we can feed indoors just as cheaply as renting winter grazing elsewhere, especially when dealing with haulage, breakouts and time lost driving and checking.

Here are rough daily costings for housing sheep based on 160 ewes in four plastic slatted pens. 80kg ewes, 1.6% of bodyweight dry matter intake, based on a 20 week winter (mid Oct to end of Feb)

Feed: 0.15
Housing (incl bedding): 0.06
Machinery: 0.05

Daily cost per sheep - 27p
Weekly cost - £1.80

Labour, water and vet & med costs have always been roughly the same for both indoor and outdoor.

In my opinion, if you are lambing early then it often pays labour and hassle saving to have plenty of grass ahead of you, so its well worth it to have the ewes
in early indoors.

In this area if you manage to find winter grazing it’s about £1 a head a week. My grazing for winter thst I have always had is extremely handy as part of the grazing used to belong to us so the gates going directly from my land to his

 

[Hooby Farmer]

I'm trying 14 acres of a mixed cover crop type thing this year over the winter months. In the summer excess grass goes to local dairy farmer as I could graze triple the animals. 80 acres of grass in the winter and It wouldn't graze a mouse, mostly because its low lying wet ground and gets tramped very easily. After doing a bit of reading on here I bit the bullet and didnt use any silage. I went with wheat straw as feed and could not get over how much the sheep like it, I did have to up the meal slightly but not much. 3-1 ration of wheat and ewe nuts. Winter grazing is near impossible to get, most winter grazing guys have been taking the same ground for years so I have to try something new.

 

[will6910]

I'm trying 14 acres of a mixed cover crop type thing this year over the winter months. In the summer excess grass goes to local dairy farmer as I could graze triple the animals. 80 acres of grass in the winter and It wouldn't graze a mouse, mostly because its low lying wet ground and gets tramped very easily. After doing a bit of reading on here I bit the bullet and didnt use any silage. I went with wheat straw as feed and could not get over how much the sheep like it, I did have to up the meal slightly but not much. 3-1 ration of wheat and ewe nuts. Winter grazing is near impossible to get, most winter grazing guys have been taking the same ground for years so I have to try something new.

Very hard to get grazing here in summer to never mind for winter. And if you are lucky enough to find some it stops come start off January usually. Iv only small acres so try to make the most out off it all and keep farm self contained and self sufficient in a away and make use off all the grass for my own animals to graze or with making bales silage