Winter Housing Sheep

[Sheep92]

 

[Jonp]

what do you do in mid July and where do you wean lambs to?

Put the lambs on the best field but with the droughts recently that's becoming difficult to find. Without the drought the lambs would be sold as stores in September and retained hoggets put on an off farm field for the winter...but it looks like that plan is going out the window as the field owner has just put up a for sale sign!
This year is turning into a repeat of last year, I've had no rain for over 5 weeks and constant sun, if it doesn't rain next week, as forecasted, I will have to decide whether to feed or try and off load the lambs early and save the ewes.
That's why I've lambed early as at least most of the lambs are well grown now.
It's all a gamble...do I feed and hope the store price is good, because if it's not I've spent my money for little return, or sell early and make some return to keep the ewes going for another gamble on the weather next year?
I have to look after the ewes as if they are not in good condition come tupping the conception rate will plummet again this year and I'll be on an even steaper spiral downward.

So your question is a good one

 

[Wood field]

That’s a grand set up and good looking stock, thanks for sharing

 

[toquark]

An impressive set up indeed, the farm and stock’s a credit to you. Interesting to hear the reasons behind winter housing, it’s just not done in my neck of the woods, but there’s usually ample winter grazing as we’re a big dairying area. That’s said, we’re not all that much cheaper for winter tack, so it may become more common, especially with the number of beef cattle which have gone over recent years, lots of redundant sheds knocking about.

 

[neilo]

The wintering is the only difference to other sheep farms, as said its quite common over here where there's not much other options, it's not even a case of winter grazing being expensive, it can't even be got in my area nowadays, before yhat shed was built sheep went away for grazing, what I was paying for grazing over 7 years built the shed 55000 euro is what all cost.
A second hand feeder feeds the sheep which cost 3 grand, walk through feeders would cost a heck of a lot more and there still wouldn't be enough feed space.
It stacks up for me as I own the farm and yheres no dead money going out the gate on winter grazing. The fertility of the farm has improved drastically as has the sheep and no running g around in the winter, no risk of dog attacks either

Presumably housing them allows the overall stocking rate, and thus output, on the farm to be increased, and using the silage balances out fodder supplies. Good set up I reckon.

 

[neilo]

Doesn't sound very 'easy care' !!

Do the figures stack up ? All that labour, buildings and machinery...... not to mention concentrates at £400 tonne.

Horses for courses I suppose. I sooner keep mine outside 24/7 just eating grass.

I remember our sheep group have a talk from John Vipond a couple of years ago, where he said his most profitable costed flock was 1800 Easycares, housed over winter on TMR, then let out for lambing outside.

 

[Bury the Trash]

I remember our sheep group have a talk from John Vipond a couple of years ago, where he said his most profitable costed flock was 1800 Easycares, housed over winter on TMR, then let out for lambing outside.

sounds good as long as there's not more work and cost on health care for them being in 'close quarters'
slats are part of the key to that i suppose . high capital cost tho and what else could that building be used for ie dual purpose.
but clearing sheep off the ground for a decent length of time.. is so darn good

 

[toquark]

sounds good as long as there's not more work and cost on health care for them being in 'close quarters'
slats are part of the key to that i suppose . high capital cost tho and what else could that building be used for ie dual purpose.
but clearing sheep off the ground for a decent length of time.. is so darn good

What's worse for the sheep - being on ground which is hardly rested or being in close quarters in a shed? Has there been any research done? I get ours off after tupping in November, and not back till the end of Feb and what a difference it makes to the sheep and the ground.

 

[Sheep92]

That’s a grand set up and good looking stock, thanks for sharing

Thank you sure it's something different

 

[Sheep92]

Presumably housing them allows the overall stocking rate, and thus output, on the farm to be increased, and using the silage balances out fodder supplies. Good set up I reckon.

It does, just trying g to breed the perfect sheep for my farming system, I couldn't carry that number of sheep with out that shed and I need output. I could just drop numbers back and feed nothing and spend nothing on the sheep but your into a very low output system then and your fixed costs are still the same and have to be paid

 

[Jonp]

What's worse for the sheep - being on ground which is hardly rested or being in close quarters in a shed? Has there been any research done? I get ours off after tupping in November, and not back till the end of Feb and what a difference it makes to the sheep and the ground.

I can only speak for my own small closed flock that live out of a come as you want dirt floor shed over the winter and lamb Feb - March.
I lime the shed at the start of winter and top up the high use areas around the two doors and feeder regularly.
The benefits
Sheep get exercise
Sheep get shelter when they want
Have no footrot, codd or scald...no footbath or trimming.
Dirt floor drains and doesn't get wet. Don't use alot of straw as most sheep prefer to sleep outside except in constant heavy rain.
Field gets heavy dunging and revives pretty quickly in the spring.
No watery mouth or other shed diseases at lambing no ABs.
Sheep can lamb indoors or outdoors as they please
If the weather's bad they mostly stay in the shed
If the weather's good they don't
They always have good quality haylage to eat.
Don't feed alot of concentrate and only target twins a couple of weeks pre lambing. They all come to the shed at least once a day for feed at dusk and a fill up with haylage...an ideal time to feel udders to guess how close to lambing (when their heads are jambed in the feeder.)
Not much lambing intervention or deaths
I get to sleep 10pm to 5am during lambing (mostly)
Always search out newborns where ever they are and iodine them, rams get a blue neck, ewes a red arse.
Rams ringed at birth or within a day as I know which to grab cause of their mark.(small dot nuts, big mark no nuts)
Shed born lambs are in a pen only if they're not suckling when I find them in the morning and as soon as they do they're into the small nursery paddock next to the shed.
If the lambs are strong they are into a sheltered field from there in trailer full bunches asap. They were out in the frost and snow this year and the small bale hay is still under the trees where I spread it out.
Had six pens for 120 ewes.
Weak lambs die early or are taken by unshot foxes...can generally spot them....only the strong survive and thrive.
Losses up to now less than 10%
Combined indoor outdoor lambing with feed only in shed allows me a reasonable stocking rate and lamb income whilst allowing most of the fields to winter recover. Tractor parked up in Nov and not used till spring.

Sunbathing

Live 4ft from shed, down south, works for me....so far!

 

[Aspiring Peasants]

I sooner keep mine outside 24/7 just eating grass.

I wish I could grow grass 365 days a year!

 

[kiwi pom]

I wish I could grow grass 365 days a year!

I think the idea is you have enough ground to feed your sheep 365 days a year, you can grow the grass you feed over winter in the late summer/autumn and feed it in winter.
Don't know much about sheep but that seems to be what they do here.
I'm guessing your stocking rates are much higher.

 

[Wood field]

I think the idea is you have enough ground to feed your sheep 365 days a year, you can grow the grass you feed over winter in the late summer/autumn and feed it in winter.
Don't know much about sheep but that seems to be what they do here.
I'm guessing your stocking rates are much higher.

Location and climate , we winter 2/3 outside but there’s not much grass , feed bales and provin
Indoor ( inbye ewes) in from Jan to April, lamb and go out on to fresh grass .. if it’s growing by then !
Allows us to up the numbers

 

[Tim W]

I wish I could grow grass 365 days a year!

You don't have to grow it 365 ---just put enough aside to feed 365
Some people do this by cutting grass, making it into hay/silage , carting it inside---then carting it out again in the winter to feed stock
Others just set aside standing grass and leave it for the ewes to graze in winter

 

[Aspiring Peasants]

You don't have to grow it 365 ---just put enough aside to feed 365
Some people do this by cutting grass, making it into hay/silage , carting it inside---then carting it out again in the winter to feed stock
Others just set aside standing grass and leave it for the ewes to graze in winter

If only life was so simple

 

[Bury the Trash]

ime It actually is that simple, yes there are plenty of people telling (or trying to) tell me different yes, (not directly ) if they did i would ignore it in the ongoing battle that is keeping an open mind. and learning things that ive not really done to any degree before.

burning diesal, wearing out machinery consuming plastic is all seen as an absolute necessity , hmm

Do a bit of both nowadays .conserve and lay up grass for later grazing use . modern electric fencing systems are so good.
but don't house at all these days i must admit .

 

[Aspiring Peasants]

By delaying the grazing of grass when it is at it’s most nutritious and could be used for fattening lambs and grazing it when its a half dead yellow mat that may or may not feed ewes depending on snow, ice and rain doesn’t seem very appealing. That’s why I said if only life was so simple!

 

[Tim W]

I find the deferred grass comes into it's own in the snow & rain---it's wet & fields can be inaccessible to vehicles, the snow has to be pretty deep to stop the ewes finding grub (over winter they need lots of belly fill rather than high quality stuff?)

 

[Aspiring Peasants]

Yes but more important is good spring grass after lambing and that is a lot less and poorer quality if pastures haven’t been rested and have had sheep plodging about on them all winter