General sheep thread

White Clover

farawaygrass wrote: »

Do you tag them at birth? I don’t tag till autumn time, and just put two of the same colour in each ear

I just use a small management tag at a day old and tag permanently in the autumn.

farawaygrass

White Clover wrote: »

I just use a small management tag at a day old and tag permanently in the autumn.

Do the lambs ever lose them management tags?

White Clover

farawaygrass wrote: »

Do the lambs ever lose them management tags?

Rarely to be honest. If they lose one by the first dose, they still have their aerosol number on their side so I just retag then.

OneMan37

Kevhog1988 wrote: »

Theyd hardly all lose them?

I think 2/3 out of the group of 16 lambed about 5 weeks ago and nothing since.

Kevhog1988

OneMan37 wrote: »

I think 2/3 out of the group of 16 lambed about 5 weeks ago and nothing since.

Could be on the next cycle. I think its every 17 days??

OneMan37

Kevhog1988 wrote: »

Could be on the next cycle. I think its every 17 days??

Highly doubt it, as I’ve another group that weren’t stressed all lambing in last few weeks. They were all running with the same ram, in one field. I separated them later.

razor8

OneMan37 wrote: »

Highly doubt it, as I’ve another group that weren’t stressed all lambing in last few weeks. They were all running with the same ram, in one field. I separated them later.

Blood tests will probably tell you they aborted

White Clover

Any tips on dealing with an outbreak of orf in pet lambs inside? Never before had orf here, inside or outside.

Sami23

White Clover wrote: »

Any tips on dealing with an outbreak of orf in pet lambs inside? Never before had orf here, inside or outside.

Tubby lick buckets

joe35

Anyone know when would be the best time to put a dog in pup. TIA

J.O. Farmer

joe35 wrote: »

Anyone know when would be the best time to put a dog in pup. TIA

Round about the time she's in heat, roughly every 6 months.

After that how will it suit you if when she has them 9 weeks later.

Other than that time of year doesn't matter so much.

I've a feeling that the lead ran out of my charollais ram's pencil. Only 1/3rd the way through and no char lamb for a few days now.

joe35

J.O. Farmer wrote: »

Round about the time she's in heat, roughly every 6 months.

After that how will it suit you if when she has them 9 weeks later.

Other than that time of year doesn't matter so much.

Thanks farmer, how do you know when she's in heat.

I've to leave my dog down with a fella and I'm not leaving him there for 6 monthsðŸ˜.

He said he didn't know when she'd be round

charolais0153

joe35 wrote: »

Thanks farmer, how do you know when she's in heat.

I've to leave my dog down with a fella and I'm not leaving him there for 6 monthsðŸ˜.

He said he didn't know when she'd be round

Other male dogs would be coming, shed be kicking herself more, blood dripping from her,

OneMan37

razor8 wrote: »

Blood tests will probably tell you they aborted

Vet doesn’t seem to know about blood test. But they were running with older ewes mid to late pregnancy. Maybe they weren’t getting enough meal due to competing with older ewes around feeding trough ? This could have impacted them adversely, they were on very poor (non existent) grass.

farawaygrass

I bought a well bred sheep dog a few years ago and would like to breed from her. I have never saw her once come in heat. Can you inject them to bring them cycling like cattle?

razor8

OneMan37 wrote: »

Vet doesn’t seem to know about blood test. But they were running with older ewes mid to late pregnancy. Maybe they weren’t getting enough meal due to competing with older ewes around feeding trough ? This could have impacted them adversely, they were on very poor (non existent) grass.

Unless they were very thin it wouldn’t cause them to abort

If the vet doesn’t know about blood test for abortion then get a new vet

farawaygrass

Bought hoggets last year and some are jumping walls. Have them separated as don’t want them to spoil the rest of the sheep. Wondering am I better off fattening them up and factorying them or sell them on for breeding again. They would be all sound for breeding and any person interested would be told before hand about their problem. But would anyone be interested in such sheep?

wrangler

farawaygrass wrote: »

Bought hoggets last year and some are jumping walls. Have them separated as don’t want them to spoil the rest of the sheep. Wondering am I better off fattening them up and factorying them or sell them on for breeding again. They would be all sound for breeding and any person interested would be told before hand about their problem. But would anyone be interested in such sheep?

They'll probably settle after lambing, our hoggets that didn't lamb are a lot wilder than those with lambs
Can you summer them somewhere with sheep wire

farawaygrass

wrangler wrote: »

They'll probably settle after lambing, our hoggets that didn't lamb are a lot wilder than those with lambs
Can you summer them somewhere with sheep wire

They lambed this spring (majority did-a few slipped lambs). I had them separated in a well wired field for about 3 weeks and gave them another chance with the main bunch this week and they jumped again after a few days.
I actually went through them there and 75% of them had the same flock tag number. The fella I bought off bought them as lambs off a few different farms. It must be in them. I’m leaning towards getting rid of them now as last thing I want is to spoil my own sheep.
I was leaning more towards buying breeding hoggets going forward but it’s it can be hit and miss with various different issues.
Maybe time to buy a nice maternal ram and breed my own again from next year

wrangler

farawaygrass wrote: »

They lambed this spring (majority did-a few slipped lambs). I had them separated in a well wired field for about 3 weeks and gave them another chance with the main bunch this week and they jumped again after a few days.
I actually went through them there and 75% of them had the same flock tag number. The fella I bought off bought them as lambs off a few different farms. It must be in them. I’m leaning towards getting rid of them now as last thing I want is to spoil my own sheep.
I was leaning more towards buying breeding hoggets going forward but it’s it can be hit and miss with various different issues.
Maybe time to buy a nice maternal ram and breed my own again from next year

I thought they'd settle if ithey were fenced for a few weeks. best to get rid so.
I like breeding our own here and it was good when we had a big number, but it's awakward now in a small flock.
All my ewes are fifth generation doubles and I can honestly say it doesn't guarantee higher prolificacy. you'll improve the lamb crop better with good management at mating

farawaygrass

I left them in a field beside the yard(very bare, no grass at all)while I brought in the rest and low and behold they are gone into another field with a nice cover! Definitely have my mind made up now!

OneMan37

farawaygrass wrote: »

I left them in a field beside the yard(very bare, no grass at all)while I brought in the rest and low and behold they are gone into another field with a nice cover! Definitely have my mind made up now!

What breed mix are they. My Hilltex are quiet but Charollais cross lambs are wired.

Young95

wrangler wrote: »

I thought they'd settle if ithey were fenced for a few weeks. best to get rid so.
I like breeding our own here and it was good when we had a big number, but it's awakward now in a small flock.
All my ewes are fifth generation doubles and I can honestly say it doesn't guarantee higher prolificacy. you'll improve the lamb crop better with good management at mating

Do you think the whole only keep doubles thing is a con wrangler? I’ve kept a few single lambs here and there just as prolific as double or triplet lambs .

wrangler

Young95 wrote: »

Do you think the whole only keep doubles thing is a con wrangler? I’ve kept a few single lambs here and there just as prolific as double or triplet lambs .

Hasn't made any difference here anyway

farawaygrass

OneMan37 wrote: »

What breed mix are they. My Hilltex are quiet but Charollais cross lambs are wired.

They would be mule and sufflock mule.
Another thing thinking back, the lad I bought them off had them in a shed when I went to look at them. Might mean nothing, or they were giving him hassle too. Live and lean

serfspup

Young95 wrote: »

Do you think the whole only keep doubles thing is a con wrangler? I’ve kept a few single lambs here and there just as prolific as double or triplet lambs .

the vast majority of hill ewes were single born yet when brought to low ground and better nutrition they are quite prolific.

sheep were among the first animals domesticated if it was as simple as breeding twins to get twins then all sheep would have twins and they would only very rarely have triplets.

Kevhog1988

Does the ram have any input on how prolific the lambing is?. Almost finished lambing and im at 212% after using a zwarbtle this year.

wrangler

Kevhog1988 wrote: »

Does the ram have any input on how prolific the lambing is?. Almost finished lambing and im at 212% after using a zwarbtle this year.

Not really, the ram put's in enough semen for loadsa lambs, ewes determine the lamb crop.
We used to AI ewes here and we'd jump the rams on site. you could get 50 servings out one jump

Kevhog1988

wrangler wrote: »

Not really, the ram put's in enough semen for loadsa lambs, ewes determine the lamb crop.
We used to AI ewes here and we'd jump the rams on site. you could get 50 servings out one jump

Strange how this year is far better than last yeae