TexX ewes - which Tup to use?

[firther]

I was going to say today was quiet, spent the afternoon clearing out everything in the shed which was good to go... but as I tally up I realise it's been busier as it felt. There was 3 TexX ewes lambed first thing - 1 twin and 2 singles - and 2 in the commercials - 1 twin and 1 single. But by end of today there was 8 in the TexX ewes - 3 singles and 5 twins - and 3 in the commercials - 1 twin and 2 singles. Everything born alive, nothing lost. 1 ewe brought in - she got split up from one of her lambs, I think she's taking it but I'm not convinced it has sucked. I'll see what it's like before bed...

Weather has been nice here today, this morning was glorious
View attachment 643544 View attachment 643548 View attachment 643550

whys sky blue is that some sort of rare weather phenomenon
well done with lambing though

 

[Nithsdale]

Another glorious morning here. Everything had a good covering of ice at first light but it burned away quickly by 8am. I've ditched my zip up fleece top I wear under my smock through the winter because I was getting that warm!.. just need a month like this sadly rain is forecast for tomorrow

7 texX ewes lambed this morning, 1 triplet (1 dead), 5 twins - one I had to lamb, both lambs were coming together and stuck, sadly one of them was dead. And 1 single. I go to them 7ish for first rounds, then go back and feed them around 10-10:30 after all problems have been taken care of, lambs fed etc. and I've had a cuppa (or 2)...
I do this every day, that's my routine and the ewes know it. But this morning the TexX ewes followed me all round the field at first check - miss mothering everything and just causing chaos It was that bad I only stopped the bike if it looked like an emergency! I checked them again when I fed them, I'm hoping they settle down for when I go back and I can put things back together feck knows what took them but it was some carry on!!

There were 3 twins in the commercials, I had to lamb 2 of them. The first ewe, a gimmer, was a bit tight and the lambs leg was back. Little big if swelling to its head, but it's up and fine when I fed them... the other I lambed, I think probably would have lambed herself. Another young ewe, but I just didn't like the way she was laying and pressing so thought when I was there I'd best take a look.

The hill ewes are due to start over the weekend. Just in time my dyker has been and fixed a large section which the cows decided to flatten last autumn. I had been starting to panic he wasn't going to show - I phoned him the 1st week of January, he came and looked the jobs, said he would be in February (but the snow held him back), but he is here now. I fed the hill ewes down inbye so they can now kick on whenever they feel like it... although I did notice there's still a handful out on the hill

 

[irish dom]

Another glorious morning here. Everything had a good covering of ice at first light but it burned away quickly by 8am. I've ditched my zip up fleece top I wear under my smock through the winter because I was getting that warm!.. just need a month like this sadly rain is forecast for tomorrow

7 texX ewes lambed this morning, 1 triplet (1 dead), 5 twins - one I had to lamb, both lambs were coming together and stuck, sadly one of them was dead. And 1 single. I go to them 7ish for first rounds, then go back and feed them around 10-10:30 after all problems have been taken care of, lambs fed etc. and I've had a cuppa (or 2)...
I do this every day, that's my routine and the ewes know it. But this morning the TexX ewes followed me all round the field at first check - miss mothering everything and just causing chaos It was that bad I only stopped the bike if it looked like an emergency! I checked them again when I fed them, I'm hoping they settle down for when I go back and I can put things back together feck knows what took them but it was some carry on!!

There were 3 twins in the commercials, I had to lamb 2 of them. The first ewe, a gimmer, was a bit tight and the lambs leg was back. Little big if swelling to its head, but it's up and fine when I fed them... the other I lambed, I think probably would have lambed herself. Another young ewe, but I just didn't like the way she was laying and pressing so thought when I was there I'd best take a look.

The hill ewes are due to start over the weekend. Just in time my dyker has been and fixed a large section which the cows decided to flatten last autumn. I had been starting to panic he wasn't going to show - I phoned him the 1st week of January, he came and looked the jobs, said he would be in February (but the snow held him back), but he is here now. I fed the hill ewes down inbye so they can now kick on whenever they feel like it... although I did notice there's still a handful out on the hill

What's a dyker when he's at home?

 

[Nithsdale]

What's a dyker when he's at home?

Someone who builds dry stane dykes

 

[irish dom]

Oh well you learn something new everyday. We call them stone ditches over here. And a dyke is a drain so we are completely arse about face. We always repair our own ( and we don't have many thank god) but I can't imagine doing it for a living. Hateful job but then my handy work tends to leave alot to be desired. Can never find the right stanes!

 

[Nithsdale]

A dyke in England is an open drain/ditch too, I think...

I do a bit of our own, but big bits scunner me. Having someone who is, frankly, sh!t hot at it at the end of the phone is a great thing. Our entire farm is dykes, so there's bloody miles of them!! Dyker is tidying up a few bits that need done, but he has billed us for the big area already - 30 square meters ! Cows flattened it in one go, wasn't like we left it for them to make it worse.

 

[irish dom]

A dyke in England is an open drain/ditch too, I think...

I do a bit of our own, but big bits scunner me. Having someone who is, frankly, sh!t hot at it at the end of the phone is a great thing. Our entire farm is dykes, so there's bloody miles of them!! Dyker is tidying up a few bits that need done, but he has billed us for the big area already - 30 square meters ! Cows flattened it in one go, wasn't like we left it for them to make it worse.

Building stone walls is like a really sh!t game of Tetris. 5 minutes and I am scunnered. I thought that was just a north Antrim phrase. Must be scotch and we adopted it. Scunnered of these bare fields anyway. No bother pulling stones out of long grass!

 

[Nithsdale]

Glorious day, all day, here. But the thick clouds were rolling in over Dumfries as darkness fell tonight, the rain is on its way such a shame, the fields are dry and the ground is firm.

I got the TexX ewes settled down and sorted out after this morning, but ewes lambing has been relentless!! 11 or 12 twins in the TexX ewes and I think 5 singles! 6 pairs and 4 singles in the commercials!! 1 old girl (6yr old) was very thin and I couldn't pull any milk from her, so she is in the shed tonight but the lamb felt full at 5pm so there maybe is something there on her...

One of my pure Texels has lambed, too. She has been hanging about most of the day but no signs so I just kept an eye on her. Tonight she was wet, and pressing. Full breach lambing coming mid-back first the lamb was huge and a real struggle to straighten out and lamb. Big tup, dead the size of it, I expected her to be a single but no - there was a 2nd. Smaller and finer, another tup. This one is alive! She's in the shed tonight, hopefully it's on its feet and sucked later. This is the ewe which lambed naturally last year. The other girl, which had the section, should lamb in the next week.

 

[hendrebc]

But this morning the TexX ewes followed me all round the field at first check - miss mothering everything and just causing chaos It was that bad I only stopped the bike if it looked like an emergency! I checked them again when I fed them, I'm hoping they settle down for when I go back and I can put things back together feck knows what took them but it was some carry on!!

I walk around mine to stop that happening. Everyone thinks im mad walking past a quad to go and check ewes but it saves a LOT of hastle with mismothering. Theyre all in fields next to the house and yard though. The furthest i have to go is half a mile maybe and i walk through one lot to get to them so its not far. Then its a walk back through that lot to the yard. Much less hastle and can do it in less than an hour and gets even faster as i get fitter as lambing goes on
Still feed with the quad though but at least ive sorted any problems before i go and disturb them with it.

 

[Nithsdale]

I walk around mine to stop that happening. Everyone thinks im mad walking past a quad to go and check ewes but it saves a LOT of hastle with mismothering. Theyre all in fields next to the house and yard though. The furthest i have to go is half a mile maybe and i walk through one lot to get to them so its not far. Then its a walk back through that lot to the yard. Much less hastle and can do it in less than an hour and gets even faster as i get fitter as lambing goes on
Still feed with the quad though but at least ive sorted any problems before i go and disturb them with it.

Takes me an hour to go round them on the bike... forget walking none of it is flat, either - so you've got a lot of corners and dips you have to go and check, can't see them from a distance

 

[hendrebc]

Takes me an hour to go round them on the bike... forget walking none of it is flat, either - so you've got a lot of corners and dips you have to go and check, can't see them from a distance

I didnt think it would be an option for you but it works well here
None of mine is flat either but some of it i can check with binoculars if i need to. Can be a pain in the arse if i have to catch something and bring it back means a walk back to the yard still wouldnt like to try and go round mine on the bike every time they never settle if i do
At least it stops me getting fat

 

[Nithsdale]

The pure Texel lamb hadn't got up by 9pm, things didn't look good so it got tubed and put under the heat lamp...
Back up and checked at midnight, just as the rain started. The wee man was looking better but I left him under the lamp all night.

6:30 this morning and he was up and going. Can't make up my mind if he had sucked, but I offered him the bottle and he didn't take any notion. Mum is very proud

 

[Nithsdale]

There's a surprising amount of grass there considering the weather over the last 5 months or so. We have fields closed since the end of November and there is very little cover on them plus they're scorched.

You and me both!

Forgot to take these yesterday... 10am this morning. Some of the inbye fields my commercials are supposed to lamb on

Still envious??

 

[Kip]

Your fields look similar to mine. Jemski has 120 ewes and lambs on 24 acres... l can't even get that stocking rate mid summer [emoji853]

 

[Woolless]

Not great. I think it'll be a case of plenty of blocks in the lambing fields while in full swing then the snacker coming again out after lambing here. Wet, cold and miserable here today.

 

[Nithsdale]

I don't think it's that cold here. Lots of rain but lambs are, SO FAR, coping. Had to make a food run earlier, caught up as much as can be - everything is now on hold. Rugby is on

 

[irish dom]

Forgot to take these yesterday... 10am this morning. Some of the inbye fields my commercials are supposed to lamb on
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Still envious??

I feel your pain. Sheep came home from annual winter starvation ( or tack as you boys call it) and there was more feeding standing in the lorry. At least they were dry in there. We live in hope

 

[glensman]

Forgot to take these yesterday... 10am this morning. Some of the inbye fields my commercials are supposed to lamb on
View attachment 644296 View attachment 644298 View attachment 644300 View attachment 644302 View attachment 644304 View attachment 644308

Still envious??

No, I'm probably a bit better off than that in most fields although I've a few like that. Mine wouldn't be as poached as that, I'm possibly not as heavily stocked as you and I've only got sheep.

 

[Nithsdale]

The 'view' from the highest point where my commercials are lambing... the pictures don't show how hard the rain was falling

That view is South looking, Dumfries lays down in the mist. The next piece of land in the direction, at the same altitude as me, is the other side of the Solway Firth, in Cumbria, 30odd miles away...

It has proper chucked it down today, the fields are logged - but snow still clings on in places.

But the ewes keep lambing - this girl up on one of the highest points

I value hardiness in my ewes and lambs very highly. The above maybe shows why.


7 twins today in the TexX ewes, and 4 singles - one was hung, dead.
6 twins and 4 singles in the commercials. Would have been 7 twins but a young ewe lambed in probably the worst place before light this morning, 1 dead the other needed in.

In total only 2 lambs lost today, out of 35 born. And only those 2 ewes needed fetched in. Everything else going well.

 

[Sheep92]

Lovely countryside where you live nithsdale