Supplement feeding of ewes and lambs?

[steveR]

The anticipated aftermath has failed to arrive as a result of the dry weather* and as a result the easycare flock is getting grumpy and unhappy.

I am feeding a bit of hay on the field which is going... I hope to be able to get a pull in about 2 weeks time then wean in 4 weeks onto a nice herbal ley to finish the tup lambs. Ewe lams will mostly go for breeding and go on another aftermath.

Never had to find grub for sheep like this time... Is it worth giving them (all) some herbal ley silage now to keep growth going. or keep em on nice hay with min buckets? No creep being fed.



* And jeez, are they drinking some water this week, averaging across the lot @ 2l/hd/day.

 

[neilo]

Can you not wean them now, and target the inputs to those that need it most?
Dry ewes won’t need much to keep ticking over, whereas the growing lambs will require more, and won’t be getting more than comfort from the ewes now anyway.

 

[steveR]

Can you not wean them now, and target the inputs to those that need it most?
Dry ewes won’t need much to keep ticking over, whereas the growing lambs will require more, and won’t be getting more than comfort from the ewes now anyway.

Thinking this through today...

I suspect that you are right Neil.... Felt the ewes were still feeding some of the lambs at only 8-9 weeks old on the later lambed animals, but with quality forage disappearing rapidly, this will change!

 

[BAF]

The anticipated aftermath has failed to arrive as a result of the dry weather* and as a result the easycare flock is getting grumpy and unhappy.

I am feeding a bit of hay on the field which is going... I hope to be able to get a pull in about 2 weeks time then wean in 4 weeks onto a nice herbal ley to finish the tup lambs. Ewe lams will mostly go for breeding and go on an aftermath

Never had to find grub for sheep like this time... Is it worth giving them (all) some herbal ley silage now to keep growth going. or keep em on nice hay with min buckets? No creep being fed.



* And jeez, are they drinking some water this week, averaging across the lot @ 2l/hd/day.

Never been so glad to have mains in the fields as I am at the minute! The 7 I've got to take to the pedigree sales at home are on buckets and it's a never ending cycle!
We're quite near each other I think. I'm lucky in that I lamb earlyish and weaned early ish and I've taken 2 drafts of lambs into the market. The ewes are fat as buggery. But I've got 40 ish lambs left. I drew off 10 yesterday to bring back to weigh as they looked about right and they were 5kg wrong. The others got access to another acre of jungle that father in law has fenced off but it did involve getting stung to death by nettles and chewed to pieces by horseflies whilst I fenced out the Brook that he'd let the neighbour pull the fence out of because it blocked up with crap 1 year and made a bit of a wet patch in the neighbours garden said neighbour came and gave me the inquisition about what I was doing and it was only the fact I wasn't on home turf that he didn't feel the full force of my wrath. Anyway the ones I've brought back will probably stand still now and the ones I've left will catch them up and cash flow will be no better off!
If the top ground doesn't get cut this week for hay I'll have to graze some of it regardless of who it'll upset! FIL has a very "interesting" deal with a local farmer regarding cutting the hay and needless to say it doesn't benefit us and will be coming to an end this year!
No help to your dilemma but makes me feel better getting that off my chest

 

[M-J-G]

Can you not wean them now, and target the inputs to those that need it most?
Dry ewes won’t need much to keep ticking over, whereas the growing lambs will require more, and won’t be getting more than comfort from the ewes now anyway.

That's what I've done, about 25% of lambs destined for fat are away so I just weaned the rest and they are quite happy now they finally have a tiny bit of green beneath their feet.

Ewes are on some rough grass with some barley straw in a feeder, once they've eaten the straw I might move them.
Although I'll need to shed out hoggs that reared twins and some poorer ewes once they've dried off a bit.

 

[Estate fencing.]

The 7 I've got to take to the pedigree sales at home are on buckets and it's a never ending cycle!

7! Iv got 900 store lambs on ibc's, have to fill them twice a day.

 

[Estate fencing.]

That's what I've done, about 25% of lambs destined for fat are away so I just weaned the rest and they are quite happy now they finally have a tiny bit of green beneath their feet.

Ewes are on some rough grass with some barley straw in a feeder, once they've eaten the straw I might move them.
Although I'll need to shed out hoggs that reared twins and some poorer ewes once they've dried off a bit.

Are they eating straw?

 

[M-J-G]

Are they eating straw?

No
It's there to let me know they are really needing shifted

 

[Estate fencing.]

No
It's there to let me know they are really needing shifted

In 2018 I tried to feed hay and the ewes just won’t bothered.

 

[M-J-G]

In 2018 I tried to feed hay and the ewes just won’t bothered.

Same with snow unless it's fairly extreme, I've put hay out to sheep and it's still there weeks after the snow has gone.

 

[steveR]

In 2018 I tried to feed hay and the ewes just won’t bothered.

I must have made better hay!!

 

[steveR]

Never been so glad to have mains in the fields as I am at the minute! The 7 I've got to take to the pedigree sales at home are on buckets and it's a never ending cycle!
We're quite near each other I think. I'm lucky in that I lamb earlyish and weaned early ish and I've taken 2 drafts of lambs into the market. The ewes are fat as buggery. But I've got 40 ish lambs left. I drew off 10 yesterday to bring back to weigh as they looked about right and they were 5kg wrong. ...

I am wondering if I need to run the mains lead out as the ground dries ever more by the day... I am watering the earth rod each time I water the sheep, and this helps a bit.

Had a conflab with Herself, and thinking now that we'll wean early next week. House the ewes in the cattle yard for a week, ewe lambs onto some thin grazing, tup lambs to herbal ley and finish.

....No help to your dilemma but makes me feel better getting that off my chest

And rightly so...

 

[neilo]

I'm wondering on weaning twins on Thursday (forecast 22 degrees here?), rather than leave them until the grass is all gone next week (mid 30's?). If I wean them, they will be going into a 12ac field of headed grass with plenty of green and clover in the bottom, but will they be stressed out and dehydrated on Sunday/Monday, when it's supposed to be hottest? Water on mains, not buckets or ibc's, thankfully!

 

[Jonp]

I weaned my march born lambs on the 2nd of June onto a field of grass that I'd put by for them. The ewes were kicking the lambs off by then and now are quite content laying around and grazing with the cows. The lambs went quiet after a couple of days and are settled now eating rather than hassling the ewes.
Edit....1st of July!

 

[steveR]

I'm wondering on weaning twins on Thursday (forecast 22 degrees here?), rather than leave them until the grass is all gone next week (mid 30's?). If I wean them, they will be going into a 12ac field of headed grass with plenty of green and clover in the bottom, but will they be stressed out and dehydrated on Sunday/Monday, when it's supposed to be hottest? Water on mains, not buckets or ibc's, thankfully!

Nice parkland around you though, so they can get shade?

I moved my ewes and lambs in the earlier hot spell, as they were totally miserable with next to no shade, as I had to lock them out of their day lying area as i needed to spray off a margin with some good trees in the hedge.

 

[steveR]

7! Iv got 900 store lambs on ibc's, have to fill them twice a day.

I dug out my STW supplied 1K litre bowser which makes life easier.

 

[twizzel]

I'm wondering on weaning twins on Thursday (forecast 22 degrees here?), rather than leave them until the grass is all gone next week (mid 30's?). If I wean them, they will be going into a 12ac field of headed grass with plenty of green and clover in the bottom, but will they be stressed out and dehydrated on Sunday/Monday, when it's supposed to be hottest? Water on mains, not buckets or ibc's, thankfully!

I am wondering this too. I have 1 field of marginally better grass left which is surrounded by trees, and the other is bare. So am I better weaning and putting the lambs on the sheltered grass field? The ewes can go back on the bare one for a week and then up the road to graze with the shearlings. I just need to dry them off beforehand. My thoughts were they’ve been on pretty bare ground for a week or 2 so the lambs can’t be getting much, if any, milk now?

 

[neilo]

Nice parkland around you though, so they can get shade?

I moved my ewes and lambs in the earlier hot spell, as they were totally miserable with next to no shade, as I had to lock them out of their day lying area as i needed to spray off a margin with some good trees in the hedge.

If I weaned lambs on to the shite that grows on that parkland they’d likely lose 5kg in a week! The planned ‘headed ryegrass’ even has better feed value than that rubbish, and a few trees to get under if they wish.