What can I expect from these beltex lambs?

[neilo]

View attachment 609578prices of liquid feed!

Any suggestions as to likely intakes?

 

[Guiggs]

They recommend 1 -1.7ltr a head a week depending on ewe size and condition. Fed alongside moderate to good quality forage that should be ample for singles, multiples will need hard feed as well but I quote "less than you normally would and from later "
When pushed I was told feed half to one kg a head of feed as Well as the liquid!
I don't feed that much to my lleyns without liquid so I'm going to have to think about that!

 

[neilo]

They recommend 1 -1.7ltr a head a week depending on ewe size and condition. Fed alongside moderate to good quality forage that should be ample for singles, multiples will need hard feed as well but I quote "less than you normally would and from later "
When pushed I was told feed half to one kg a head of feed as Well as the liquid!
I don't feed that much to my lleyns without liquid so I'm going to have to think about that!

You described those ewes as ‘big, strong Suffolk and Texel mules” IIRC, which will eat double what your Lleyns will anyway, without the issue of lost teeth meaning they can’t get anywhere near as much from forage.

There’s a reason people cull out sheep with broken mouths,I suggest the cost of keeping them right is the biggest one of them. Whatever way you go, you’ll need to feed them well to get much out of them. They won’t be getting much from grazing or bales with dodgy mouths.

 

[andybk]

dirty job liquid feed can be ,catching a sticky ewe at lambing is fun , and a lot of hauling about to fill feeders , worse with molasses , the watered down stuff (urea mix) isnt to bad ,

 

[Guiggs]

You described those ewes as ‘big, strong Suffolk and Texel mules” IIRC, which will eat double what your Lleyns will anyway, without the issue of lost teeth meaning they can’t get anywhere near as much from forage.

There’s a reason people cull out sheep with broken mouths,I suggest the cost of keeping them right is the biggest one of them. Whatever way you go, you’ll need to feed them well to get much out of them. They won’t be getting much from grazing or bales with dodgy mouths.

As you say I know I'll have to put into it to take out..i think I'll offer them a 18 or 20% liquid blend from 6 weeks out then change to the higher energy version from 3 weeks, it's designed for older ewes. They'll have ad lib baled silage regardless of what they can or can't get from it and they will have an 18% hard feed too. They are big strong ewes, but would they require as much as half a kg per lamb scanned on top of the liquid? Just sounds like a lot to me but I'm used to little lleyns!

 

[Guiggs]

dirty job liquid feed can be ,catching a sticky ewe at lambing is fun , and a lot of hauling about to fill feeders , worse with molasses , the watered down stuff (urea mix) isnt to bad ,

Luckily they can sell me some ball feeders that are made from a can to make feeding and transporting feed easy!

 

[andybk]

Luckily they can sell me some ball feeders that are made from a can to make feeding and transporting feed easy!

yea i got a few about from when we did it , just dont drop a half full can , lol

 

[neilo]

I would guess feed requirement will depend on the quality of the silage, as well as just how broken mouthed the ewes are. I do know that liquid feed through ad-lib ball feeders will keep ewes with happy mouths going well, where the worst of them might really struggle on silage and concs (as those will be getting little from the silage), however much they suck on it.

 

[neilo]

Luckily they can sell me some ball feeders that are made from a can to make feeding and transporting feed easy!

Get a few ‘Adaptaballs’, either from local merchants or DB, then cut a circular hole in an old 5 gallon drum. Hey presto, a ball feeder.

Depending on location, you can easily transport and pour it from 5 gallon drums, or sit a full IBC with a tap & pipe on a pile of pallets over the fence, and fill from that.

 

[Guiggs]

Deal done, rightly or wrongly time will tell!

 

[Razor8]

Look a very promising bunch of ewes. Are they scanned yet?

 

[neilo]

You haven’t got much to lose imo, they must be worth £80 or so to kill now, more come the Spring. Just need a few extra expenses to keep them going through the winter, given their dentition.

 

[Guiggs]

Look a very promising bunch of ewes. Are they scanned yet?

Yeah about 200%
The breakdown is on page 1 of this thread, post #20

 

[Razor8]

missed that, will you keep them a second year and cross with a maternal ram for replacements, look a good foundation flock

 

[MJT]

Good strong ewes and in good condition, if you can keep them like that until lambing they’ll do a fine job for you !

 

[farmerm]

Yes I thought £100 sounded dear. Unless they're huge and worth that to kill.

I had a pen of fairly strudy killers only make £66 last week and I ended up keeping some good yearlings ewes I tried to see in the Autumn that only reached £85. £100 for broken ewes which potentially have udder or prolapse problems seems like a lot of money to me...

 

[Guiggs]

missed that, will you keep them a second year and cross with a maternal ram for replacements, look a good foundation flock

No the plan is to get the lambs on creep and weaned early so I can cull the ewes around May while the market is good.
I've got my lleyns for the maternal flock, this is a bit of an experiment really!