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Tubs v Liquid for feeding ewes.
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<blockquote data-quote="Kingcustard" data-source="post: 8326620" data-attributes="member: 90692"><p>The reason I am trying to move a way from concentrates is.....</p><p></p><p>1. Easycare ewes don't have a requirement for it if they have grass, or haylage/silage. I am just concerned about minerals and a bit of energy, protein not so much of an issue with ECs as they seem to be able to take care of that bit themselves.</p><p></p><p>2. Spent £500 on the snacker last year getting the tow bar all replaced and the electrics redone as they gave up. Need a new set of tyres every year on the Can Am with all the miles towing.</p><p></p><p>3. Checking sheep is just driving around them, feeding sheep is towing the snacker to all parts of the farm up some steep hills and having to return to the feed silo 3 times to get everything fed.</p><p></p><p>4. Spend 2 hours after everything is fed going round them all again to check that everything has mothered up.</p><p></p><p>5. Ewes I haven't been feeding have had next to no prolapsed, fed ewes were a disaster for the last 3 or 4 years, no way of stopping some ewes gorging themselves and other ewes waiting til you are away and getting nothing.</p><p></p><p>6. Had a lot of near death experiences with the snacker on steep wet or snowy hills. Not worth a broken neck for.</p><p></p><p>7. Every morning the ewes are all at every gate waiting for the feed, no matter what the weather, dragging their lambs after them. And when I go to the next field they all come belting across to the fence to try and get more.</p><p></p><p>8. If you go in the field with the buggy to check sheep they think they are getting fed and start chasing you.</p><p></p><p>9. Surely not every farmer that uses tubs or liquid instead of hard feed can be wrong, and the price is set to reflect intakes against the other feed options, no matter what your rep tries to tell you.</p><p></p><p>10. Every year without fail there will be at least one lorry that arrives when we are snow bound and needs towed out and then the feed blown in to a trailer and then tipped at the main farm which is 4 miles away from where the sheep are which is an added pee about.</p><p></p><p>11. If I am not feeding ewes I can leave gates open in a lot of fields and not have to worry about 100 ewes appearing at the house when the buggy starts up. Sounds pathetic but when you 25 years of rugby and clipping have screwed your knees up it is not fun getting in and out to open a gate, shut it, feed ewes, then open and shut it when you are out again.... 4 times every gate times 12, no thanks</p><p></p><p>12a if you start feeding ewes you have to keep feeding them after they lamb. I run 300 ewes to the other farm 17 miles away once lambed, feeding that as well is a nightmare in time and stress about worrying about mothering up. Not to mention time away from the lambing fields. Dad always says leaves them as everything will mother up but with triplets or even pairs, 1 lost lamb every 2 or 3 days is still £100+ if it dies and if you spend 10 minutes trying to get it back to its mum you are probably getting 5 more lost with all the chasing about through the fields. </p><p></p><p></p><p>These are my experiences on a hill farm in Scotland, I am sure everyone will have a reason why I am wrong but every farm is different and every farms ewes are different.</p><p></p><p>My days of flying about with a quad and a snacker in all weathers are gone, I am trying to get to a system I can still be doing when I am 70!!</p><p></p><p>As I stated at the start, I wasnt needing a lecture on hard feed, more just people's experiences of the pros and cons of tubs v blocks v Liquid.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Kingcustard, post: 8326620, member: 90692"] The reason I am trying to move a way from concentrates is..... 1. Easycare ewes don't have a requirement for it if they have grass, or haylage/silage. I am just concerned about minerals and a bit of energy, protein not so much of an issue with ECs as they seem to be able to take care of that bit themselves. 2. Spent £500 on the snacker last year getting the tow bar all replaced and the electrics redone as they gave up. Need a new set of tyres every year on the Can Am with all the miles towing. 3. Checking sheep is just driving around them, feeding sheep is towing the snacker to all parts of the farm up some steep hills and having to return to the feed silo 3 times to get everything fed. 4. Spend 2 hours after everything is fed going round them all again to check that everything has mothered up. 5. Ewes I haven't been feeding have had next to no prolapsed, fed ewes were a disaster for the last 3 or 4 years, no way of stopping some ewes gorging themselves and other ewes waiting til you are away and getting nothing. 6. Had a lot of near death experiences with the snacker on steep wet or snowy hills. Not worth a broken neck for. 7. Every morning the ewes are all at every gate waiting for the feed, no matter what the weather, dragging their lambs after them. And when I go to the next field they all come belting across to the fence to try and get more. 8. If you go in the field with the buggy to check sheep they think they are getting fed and start chasing you. 9. Surely not every farmer that uses tubs or liquid instead of hard feed can be wrong, and the price is set to reflect intakes against the other feed options, no matter what your rep tries to tell you. 10. Every year without fail there will be at least one lorry that arrives when we are snow bound and needs towed out and then the feed blown in to a trailer and then tipped at the main farm which is 4 miles away from where the sheep are which is an added pee about. 11. If I am not feeding ewes I can leave gates open in a lot of fields and not have to worry about 100 ewes appearing at the house when the buggy starts up. Sounds pathetic but when you 25 years of rugby and clipping have screwed your knees up it is not fun getting in and out to open a gate, shut it, feed ewes, then open and shut it when you are out again.... 4 times every gate times 12, no thanks 12a if you start feeding ewes you have to keep feeding them after they lamb. I run 300 ewes to the other farm 17 miles away once lambed, feeding that as well is a nightmare in time and stress about worrying about mothering up. Not to mention time away from the lambing fields. Dad always says leaves them as everything will mother up but with triplets or even pairs, 1 lost lamb every 2 or 3 days is still £100+ if it dies and if you spend 10 minutes trying to get it back to its mum you are probably getting 5 more lost with all the chasing about through the fields. These are my experiences on a hill farm in Scotland, I am sure everyone will have a reason why I am wrong but every farm is different and every farms ewes are different. My days of flying about with a quad and a snacker in all weathers are gone, I am trying to get to a system I can still be doing when I am 70!! As I stated at the start, I wasnt needing a lecture on hard feed, more just people's experiences of the pros and cons of tubs v blocks v Liquid. [/QUOTE]
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