Housing Sheep

benjamin999

im goin housing my sheep this year as i lost 2 pure bred dorsed ewe lambs 2 pneaumonia last winter:mad:. i hav alot of money put into them and cant afford to lose many more. ino that this happens but i thought that it could have been avoided if they were housed.

so this year im goin to:

> is there any injections i have to give them before i house them or anything
> and would i have to dose them aswell

solorpower

I am not sure that housing is the answer to your problem.
what vacination had you given your ewes?
sheep usuall do just as well outside for the winter as they do indoors.

housing around lambing time is always a good idea in my experience but i always like to get them back out ASAP.

i always vacinate with heptavac-P, it will help prevent pneumonia in your ewes.

snowman707

solorpower wrote: »

I am not sure that housing is the answer to your problem.
what vacination had you given your ewes?
sheep usuall do just as well outside for the winter as they do indoors.

housing around lambing time is always a good idea in my experience but i always like to get them back out ASAP.

i always vacinate with heptavac-P, it will help prevent pneumonia in your ewes.

+1
We got a lot of pneumonia in housed ewes last spring, mentioned to the vet that I didn't think the Heptavac -P PLus was giving protection, she asked how many we lost and I said none ,

she replied stay with the Vaccination programme it might be a different story re losses if we didn't vaccinate

5live

benjamin999 wrote: »

im goin housing my sheep this year as i lost 2 pure bred dorsed ewe lambs 2 pneaumonia last winter:mad:. i hav alot of money put into them and cant afford to lose many more. ino that this happens but i thought that it could have been avoided if they were housed.

so this year im goin to:

> is there any injections i have to give them before i house them or anything
> and would i have to dose them aswell

I'd say dose for fluke and worms and use heptavac p as advised above. Try to use a house with good air flow as on calm days condensation and any pneumonia bugs in the flock will remain in the house and will be worse than lambing outside. Personally, i find no pneumonia when outside but it will explode when inside as the ewes are in closer contact

johngalway

5live wrote: »

I'd say dose for fluke and worms and use heptavac p as advised above. Try to use a house with good air flow as on calm days condensation and any pneumonia bugs in the flock will remain in the house and will be worse than lambing outside. Personally, i find no pneumonia when outside but it will explode when inside as the ewes are in closer contact

+1,000,000.

Sheds are fantastic, but, get something contagious inside of them and you'll remember it for the rest of your days. It's my belief that with the right weather for it there's more of a pneumonia risk indoors than out.

Many years ago we had a very nasty experience with "something" contagious in the sheep shed. Three different vets and autopsies could not tell us conclusively what it was. The only solution was one we done ourselves, let the lot out of the shed, problem stopped after that. We strongly suspect it was some type of pneumonia, or pneumonia related. I think we were vaccinating with Covexin 8 back then. Use Heptevac P+ now.

Wainwright09

Sorry to hijack the thread but,I've seen some signs around lately for ''polytunnels direct'' and i've heard they're giving them at good prices.So i'm just wondering,Whats the general consensus on their suitability as housing for sheep? We got out of sheep a few years back and are considering getting back into them,as another enterprise on the farm may be getting the chop.I dont have the housing for them so i'd be considering polytunnels as an option.Would definitely be the cheapest option but would it be the best? I suppose if they were sited correctly you could keep a good flow of air through them,a lot of the time.But any of them that i've been in seemed to be a bit stuffy.

5live

Wainwright09 wrote: »

Sorry to hijack the thread but,I've seen some signs around lately for ''polytunnels direct'' and i've heard they're giving them at good prices.So i'm just wondering,Whats the general consensus on their suitability as housing for sheep? We got out of sheep a few years back and are considering getting back into them,as another enterprise on the farm may be getting the chop.I dont have the housing for them so i'd be considering polytunnels as an option.Would definitely be the cheapest option but would it be the best? I suppose if they were sited correctly you could keep a good flow of air through them,a lot of the time.But any of them that i've been in seemed to be a bit stuffy.

I have one with going on 25 years. I am very happy with it as only one case of pneumonia and very few chilled lambs. The plastic lasts over 7 years on mine but it is very exposed and you do need to go in first sign of a hole and patch. They said budget on replacing every 5 years and that is a good guide as far as i can see.

As far as stuffiness goes, on a calm day yes but what house isnt on a calm day. The end of mine is open to the prevailing wind, a bit too much so, but that is the trade off i made in putting it up. All i can say is it works for me and my reasons for putting it up were similar to yours

Wainwright09

Sounds good 5live.Is it a hard job to recover these tunnels or would it be reasonable enough to get it done professionally?
I was considering just buying the materials and putting them up myself.
Another thing is,How would you clean them out? Could it be done with a tractor and loader?,i suppose it all depends on the size of the tractor.

johngalway

I had a quick look at the PT direct site there. All I can see is tunnels that'd be suitable for growing veg/fruit etc. The sheep tunnels have mesh on the sides to allow airflow. Basically all the sheep versions are is something to keep the rain off their backs. Apologies if I'm being overly simplistic

They'd be easy enough to clean out from the sides if there was a way of taking the mesh off the sides.

5live

Wainwright09 wrote: »

Sounds good 5live.Is it a hard job to recover these tunnels or would it be reasonable enough to get it done professionally?
I was considering just buying the materials and putting them up myself.
Another thing is,How would you clean them out? Could it be done with a tractor and loader?,i suppose it all depends on the size of the tractor.

Its a job that needs someone that really knows what he is doing i think. I got mine from colm warren polytunnels and the second cover was way way better put on and secured than the first. I think it was about a grand for the plastic and a bit less for the 2 guys putting it on.

The mesh is nailed onto the plastic tensioners around the tunnel and then nailed onto a board around the base. If you do put one up, just make sure there is enough height at the gables to drive in with your tractor and loader. Also, it would be no harm to put 12x3 boards around the floor on the inside. It will help keep the net safe when cleaning out and also keep the straw from piling up and putting pressure on the net. And then run a roll of 3 foot sheep wire around the inside of the netting to keep the sheep away from bursting through. I should have copped that myself but didnt:o.

If you are going to the ploughing there are a few examples there to check out and you can talk to the guys selling and maybe get a good deal too

Wainwright09

Yeah,i dont think the PT tunnels would suit.It's just something i'm considering anyway,so i'll have to go talk to a few people and see their own setups and then go from there.The local Teagasc advisor would be able to help me out here i'd say.So,thanks for the advice.