Tips on using stocks

[Mcnulty24]

Morning

Lambing romneys outdoors but have access to a building if needs be. Looking to foster on the triplets when possible, happy with wet fostering and skinning but limited experience with using stocks.

Any tips for success (and importantly, how long to give the ewe before giving it up as a bad job)

Thanks

 

[GTB]

A lot depends on the breed. Some breeds (most hill breeds) just will not take another lamb full stop. I'm not sure how Romneys are but something like a mule or a suffolk x are easier to fool IME.

 

[Longlowdog]

Some ewes will surrender after 3 days, most want 5.
Hygiene is the most forgotten thing I've seen on a number of the farms I've worked on. Ewes in adopters are looked on as failures and some I've seen have been treated disgracefully with regards cleanliness.I know it's not easy to clean adopters but if you want to save the powdered milk bill the trade off is a wee bit extra work
Sorting food and water for a restrained ewe is difficult and you need the time to regularly switch them round so she's never hungry or thirsty. Unless you come up with a good system to provide both simultaneously (and I've not seen one yet).

 

[David.]

If you can't wet foster I'd not waste my time.
We currently have a tex x mule into her second week of therapy to try and get her to acknowledge her OWN 2nd lamb
I suspect that quite a lot of box fostered lambs get shaken off the moment they are turned to grass anyway.

 

[MJT]

If you are wanting to foster a couple of lambs onto a couple of ewes with singles, always find that swapping the single lambs works best so that the ewes have 2 completely new lambs each, take to them a lot better , otherwise they always favour their own lamb.

 

[jemski]

Works better if the ewe has lost her own lamb or if you take hers away and replace with 2 new. In that instance it only takes a couple of days. Trying to add one to a single normally takes up to 5 days.
As above, make sure you keep them clean as they get dirty very quickly where they stand. I straw up under the ewe every day and muck out after each ewe.
I've never had one reject after turnout but I make sure they are very well bonded and the lambs are good and strong.
I used to be really stubborn about making them take the lamb. Now if it's not working after a week I let the ewe win. Unless it's her own lamb she's rejecting. Then the witch can bloody wean the lamb from the stocks!!!!!!

 

[jemski]

Also, on all my fosters, I put a big F on the ewe after the number, and do the same on the foster lamb so I can keep track. The ewes own lamb just gets the number.

 

[jemski]

Oh and put the ewe in for 10 mins or so before you put the lambs in - they often go a bit mental and can trample the lambs.

 

[Mcnulty24]

Thanks all, the idea of getting the trips on the bottle and selling on is looking more and more tempting.

 

[jemski]

Definitely worth using if a single loses her lamb - then you can put two on her. Otherwise might be easier to sell pet lambs.

 

[shearerlad]

Unless it's her own lamb she's rejecting. Then the witch can bloody wean the lamb from the stocks!!!!!!

I had one like that last year. I told her every morning "you will bloody well take your lambs, you awkward b######"
Year before the mell hammer ended up in the Polly tunnel. Was quite s good to put at the pen of a stubborn ewe. A bit of persuasion and the bright yellow shaft reminded me to check on her!

 

[Stewartry hill]

I sheared ewes on a farm before I finished took two from adopter sheared and put back with two very big lamb's Shepard said they're going to take them

 

[neilo]

A lot depends on the breed. Some breeds (most hill breeds) just will not take another lamb full stop. I'm not sure how Romneys are but something like a mule or a suffolk x are easier to fool IME.

Texel crosses always used to be easier to fool than Charollais ewes. For Highlanders (Romney crosses) I don't bother trying to get one on with their own, as it's rarely successful. Two fresh ones on will occasionally work, but the b*tches seem to be able to count better than some.

I only use stocks as an absolute last resort, when nothing else has worked and it would mean a ewe not rearing anything otherwise.
I have a Charollais ewe in a pen currently. She had 2 enormous dead lambs (Beltex crosses) and went in the stocks a couple of hours later. I put 2 on, which she hadn't seen before, and hadn't been with her own lambs. She was in for 10 days, and now in a loose pen (second attempt). She's still very unhappy with the second one, who is managing to grab a suck when the other does.

 

[Romney_Rob]

Had limited success with stocks but we always try to skin as a first choice - usually 3-4 days and then release. Biggest problem is ewe sitting on them when she is in the stocks - that's frustrating

 

[multi power]

Works better if the ewe has lost her own lamb or if you take hers away and replace with 2 new. In that instance it only takes a couple of days. Trying to add one to a single normally takes up to 5 days.
As above, make sure you keep them clean as they get dirty very quickly where they stand. I straw up under the ewe every day and muck out after each ewe.
I've never had one reject after turnout but I make sure they are very well bonded and the lambs are good and strong.
I used to be really stubborn about making them take the lamb. Now if it's not working after a week I let the ewe win. Unless it's her own lamb she's rejecting. Then the witch can bloody wean the lamb from the stocks!!!!!!

That makes sense about putting 2 lambs on that none are her own, i sometimes do it with a lame cow and couple of calves, but always take her own away or else she favours it

 

[GTB]

Our ewes won't accept an extra lamb at all. The only adopting we do is via skinning but this only works if the ewe has no live lamb of her own.

 

[Bill dog]

Think you'd be best not to bother sticking a Romney in the stocks. I struggle to get them to eat or drink if I have to bring them in for attention. After 5 days in jail it would have dried up/ sat on its lambs, or both!

 

[sheep600]

I been lambing rommeys and have yolks. if I have a single and there is a spare lamb around. in the yolk she goes put spare lamb in two or three days they take them.. good way of using up the three and fours

 

[Al R]

Also, on all my fosters, I put a big F on the ewe after the number, and do the same on the foster lamb so I can keep track. The ewes own lamb just gets the number.

We put an A for adoption

 

[Al R]

Wet adopted over 100 lambs this year so far. Only had 1 fail.
Done 30-40 skinnings. The glamorgans want a lamb and will take instantly. The mules and texel's we leave them in for 3 days and then evaluate the situation.
Only got 2 stocks after 2 big TexX ewes smashed the other 2 into bits when they were new. Had 3 ewes in the stocks, 1 was her own lamb on a texbel ewe lamb, she was in for 7 days, out in the field and back in the following day for another 7. Now out and doing ok. Another was a triplet mule who didn't want 2 of the lambs we left on her, both got adopted off and a month old lamb was put in with her for a week before she submitted to the lamb - in a 1/2 acre field with the texbel so they can't run to far from their lambs :/