General sheep thread

farawaygrass

roosky wrote: »

I worked on a farm in yorkshire that was on 100 year lease off the crown, every 10 years there was a review to see if farmer and landlord were happy. I was there in 2014 and lease was up in 2018 but the crown/landlord were happy to start another 100 year lease at that stage ! from what info i could get you would want to be making **** of the place to lose the lease and if you do any big investment such as drainage or putting in roads etc you can claim some money back against the rent.

Obviously we all love the idea of owning our own place but its a great option for a young farmer who doesnt own land.....not like in Ireland where you struggle to get land on much more than the 11 months !

Is it royalty and they descendants who own most of the farms then I wonder? And would the rent be steep?

Lano Lynn

farawaygrass wrote: »

Is it royalty and they descendants who own most of the farms then I wonder? And would the rent be steep?

It varies from region to region most of nothumberland is tenanted whereas there would be more freehold in wales.The Crown, dukes etc, MOD etc ,but also large investment instutions like insurance companies and trusts so the beatrix potter trust leases out farms in cumbria. Traditionally there were tenancies for 3 generations (approx 100 years) with relatively low annual rent and good security of tenure the landlord /tenant relationship is completly different over there.
But thatcher brought in farm business tenancies (10-15 years) which pushed up rents and cost of land by making it more attractive for hedge funds etc because it was easier to dump out tenants .

kk.man

I always got the impression that many tenant farmers were not exactly rolling in it despite having much more acreage and livestock numbers than ourselves. The rent might not be huge but it did seem to take a chunk out of the profits.

Siamsa Sessions

Mad about baa baas wrote: »

So..I went to a goat farmer today for some goats milk for a foal at work... managed to come home with a 2week old kid as a lockdowndistractionfor the children.. lamlac says 150g per litre of milk.. dont trust my scales..does anyone have a rough idea of how many tablespoons or how much that is..

Your scales are as likely to be right as any rule-of-thumb or approx measure

Sami23

I had a Ewe lamb this evening with twins. When checking her teats for milk she seems to have mastitis in one side as the stuff coming out is very solid sort of yellow stuff. 99% sure it wasn't just thick colostrum.
So just wondering what's the best way for me to treat it - should I continue to draw it out and what medicine if any would be most suitable to give her without affecting the milk the other side as she'll need all she can produce there.
Thanks

Sami23

Sami23 wrote: »

I had a Ewe lamb this evening with twins. When checking her teats for milk she seems to have mastitis in one side as the stuff coming out is very solid sort of yellow stuff. 99% sure it wasn't just thick colostrum.
So just wondering what's the best way for me to treat it - should I continue to draw it out and what medicine if any would be most suitable to give her without affecting the milk the other side as she'll need all she can produce there.
Thanks

Hardly need oxytoscin and not letting down milk properly?

Sami23

Deleted User wrote: »

Hardly need oxytoscin and not letting down milk properly?[/QUOTE

Don't think so - it's coming down alrit but just doesn't look great.
I'll draw her out again tonight anyway

farawaygrass

Sami23 wrote: »

I had a Ewe lamb this evening with twins. When checking her teats for milk she seems to have mastitis in one side as the stuff coming out is very solid sort of yellow stuff. 99% sure it wasn't just thick colostrum.
So just wondering what's the best way for me to treat it - should I continue to draw it out and what medicine if any would be most suitable to give her without affecting the milk the other side as she'll need all she can produce there.
Thanks

I had one like that last year. Vet gave me mastitis tubes and an antibiotic injection I think. Milked the affected side dry twice a day and used the tube. From what I remember she came back into milk and reared her lambs

DJ98

Has any one spread fertiliser on grazing ground yet? What would be best to spread at this time of year CAN or a compound?

Siamsa Sessions

DJ98 wrote: »

Has any one spread fertiliser on grazing ground yet? What would be best to spread at this time of year CAN or a compound?

Leave it in the yard til ground temp is at least 8-9C for a few days in a row. Grass won’t grow below that.

CAN for immediate grass. Nitrogen is essentially a grass accelerator more than a fertiliser. And if grass isn’t growing, there’s nothing to accelerate.

Spread a compound if you’re looking to build P and K levels, but again better to wait for milder weather.

Good read here on Spring grass and spreading nitrogen: https://www.facebook.com/1161444260573591/posts/1332643683453647/?d=n

weatherbyfoxer

DJ98 wrote: »

Has any one spread fertiliser on grazing ground yet? What would be best to spread at this time of year CAN or a compound?

put out half a bag to the acre of urea on some of the grazing ground here Friday,will do the rest that has a bit cover on it over the comming week..i wouldnt be afraid to put out can from now on once its dry but regardless of what form of nitrogen id spread this time of year id like grass up to my ankle bone..any lower id be going with cattle or pig slurry instead

Green farmer

For fluke dosing ewes at this time of year, would you still need the proper fluke drench or would the fluke old enough along the cycle that a ordinary drench like levafas diamond to do adult fluke do ?

Birdnuts

Siamsa Sessions wrote: »

Leave it in the yard til ground temp is at least 8-9C for a few days in a row. Grass won’t grow below that.

CAN for immediate grass. Nitrogen is essentially a grass accelerator more than a fertiliser. And if grass isn’t growing, there’s nothing to accelerate.

Spread a compound if you’re looking to build P and K levels, but again better to wait for milder weather.

Good read here on Spring grass and spreading nitrogen: https://www.facebook.com/1161444260573591/posts/1332643683453647/?d=n

Also don't freak out if there is a bit of yellowing on grass tips at this time of year - its nothing to do with lack of N but more related to temporary frost or wind damage that quickly goes again once proper spring time temps/conditions arrive

Kevhog1988

Noticing a bit of growth now. Going to try get a load of pig slurry.

kk.man

Kevhog1988 wrote: »

Noticing a bit of growth now. Going to try get a load of pig slurry.

Watch the docs after it.

Kevhog1988

Was just looking at the calf price thread on here.. mad that 3 calves sold for a fiver in some mart over the weekend and you cant buy a pet lamb for less than 30 euro. I wonder will the poor beef prices cause an influx into sheep

DJ98

Have a tams application in for sheep hurdles and other bits but have yet to get approval. I will be needing the hurdles this week to set up the shed in preparation for lambing. If I buy the hurdles before I get the approval (if I get the approval) can I claim back the grant on these?

orchard farm

DJ98 wrote: »

Have a tams application in for sheep hurdles and other bits but have yet to get approval. I will be needing the hurdles this week to set up the shed in preparation for lambing. If I buy the hurdles before I get the approval (if I get the approval) can I claim back the grant on these?

No sorry you need tams approval before any investments are made

Siamsa Sessions

Kevhog1988 wrote: »

Was just looking at the calf price thread on here.. mad that 3 calves sold for a fiver in some mart over the weekend and you cant buy a pet lamb for less than 30 euro. I wonder will the poor beef prices cause an influx into sheep

I couldn't see many new entrants (those who never had sheep) but those with sheep and sucklers might build ewe numbers a bit.

Dinzee Conlee

Kevhog1988 wrote: »

Was just looking at the calf price thread on here.. mad that 3 calves sold for a fiver in some mart over the weekend and you cant buy a pet lamb for less than 30 euro. I wonder will the poor beef prices cause an influx into sheep

Well, is it right too in a way (not saying calves should be so low in price)

But, aren't calves a by-product. Milk is primary product, calves are created to get to the milk...

Whereas with lamb - it is the primary product.

Now, I might be biased :rolleyes:

As for lads entering sheep - maybe you might see more lads buying some store lambs, I don't see many going lambing.

Green farmer

Dinzee Conlee wrote: »

As for lads entering sheep - maybe you might see more lads buying some store lambs, I don't see many going lambing.

thats probably the run of it alright.

Kevhog1988

Dinzee Conlee wrote: »

Well, is it right too in a way (not saying calves should be so low in price)

But, aren't calves a by-product. Milk is primary product, calves are created to get to the milk...

Whereas with lamb - it is the primary product.

Now, I might be biased :rolleyes:

As for lads entering sheep - maybe you might see more lads buying some store lambs, I don't see many going lambing.

Agree they are a by product and maybe i'm soft but still sad all the same to see a life valued at so little.

Mad about baa baas

Kevhog1988 wrote: »

Agree they are a by product and maybe i'm soft but still sad all the same to see a life valued at so little.

My father always told me stories of the 80's when calves hit rock bottom.. he said lads came out of mart to find calves on their trailers left by people that wanted rid
Also some of those Jersey bull calves would take longer to get to 45kg than a pet lamb.. unfortunately a share of those calves will be put down on bigger farms as is the norm in new Zealand

Dinzee Conlee

Kevhog1988 wrote: »

Agree they are a by product and maybe i'm soft but still sad all the same to see a life valued at so little.

Oh, I agree Kev.

I don't think any animals valued at 'throw away' prices is good for anyone. But nor do I think calves valued at very high money is good either...

Green farmer

Mad about baa baas wrote: »

My father always told me stories of the 80's when calves hit rock bottom.. he said lads came out of mart to find calves on their trailers left by people that wanted rid

I tried rearing calfs years ago around the year 1999 .Remember going to the mart and buying good quality semential and Belgium blue calves a few weeks old for £18-£20. Bullocks and heifers, no difference in prices. Only did it for a few years to eat abit of grass. Dont know what they'd make these days, but looking back it seemed fair cheap then.

Bleating Lamb

Asked to update sheep register for an elderly neighbour,just checking to be sure,was it from 2019 or 2020 that sheep purchased in mart etc just kept their original tag for life and did not need to be retagged when they came into his flock?

Thanks for any replies,he bought in ewes and hoggetts both years.

Kevhog1988

Bleating Lamb wrote: »

Asked to update sheep register for an elderly neighbour,just checking to be sure,was it from 2019 or 2020 that sheep purchased in mart etc just kept their original tag for life and did not need to be retagged when they came into his flock?

Thanks for any replies,he bought in ewes and hoggetts both years.

i just enter the tag of the sheep into my register when i buy it. i didnt think you could/should remove the previous tag to add your own??.

orm0nd

Bleating Lamb wrote: »

Asked to update sheep register for an elderly neighbour,just checking to be sure,was it from 2019 or 2020 that sheep purchased in mart etc just kept their original tag for life and did not need to be retagged when they came into his flock?

Thanks for any replies,he bought in ewes and hoggetts both years.

Well before these years..

If he has the copy of the dispatch document just write that in with date etc

roosky

Bleating Lamb wrote: »

Asked to update sheep register for an elderly neighbour,just checking to be sure,was it from 2019 or 2020 that sheep purchased in mart etc just kept their original tag for life and did not need to be retagged when they came into his flock?

Thanks for any replies,he bought in ewes and hoggetts both years.

my best guess would be about 2013 or 2014 when that changed so no need to retag sheep when bought

weatherbyfoxer

sheep would sicken you at times..out this morning to find a big strong single suffolk x ewe kicking her last kicks at the feeding barrier..was happily eating silage at 8.30 last night and to make it worse had a twin bearing hoggets ewe with bits of a rotten lamb hanging out through the back of her prolapse harness...fair play to anyone with big numbers of sheep