General sheep thread

k mac · 17-01-2022 11:51am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118476640#Comment_118476640

I had that same problem have only 1 ram as i have a small flock, didn't want to leave him with the ewes after they were tipped so ended up leaving him on his own in the corner of a field beside the slatted house so he can at least see the cattle, don't know if that is any help but he is quiet so far. I give him a small few nuts every day in a trough, when you say hand feeding is that what you mean? He seems quiet only 1 day when he was with the ewes and i was feeding meal he gave a run at me and hit me a bit of a dunt.

Hoping to get the ewes scanned shortly if i can and was wondering could i then let him back with the ewes that are definitely in lamb?

White Clover · 17-01-2022 7:53pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118488356#Comment_118488356

I wouldn't as he could give one of the inlamb ewes a dunt that could cause her to throw the lambs.

Mad about baa baas · 19-01-2022 8:42am

In lads experience do first time lambers usually go a few days early? Or is there any pattern. ..

wrangler · 19-01-2022 11:13am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118491077#Comment_118491077

Especally if you were trough feeding them, the rams can be bullies

White Clover · 19-01-2022 11:58am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118498694#Comment_118498694

Exactly. That was the point I was trying to make.

Kevhog1988 · 19-01-2022 2:57pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118498113#Comment_118498113

No pattern at all except when the first go there seems to be an avalanche

Mad about baa baas · 19-01-2022 6:30pm

Thanks for reply..I thought that would be.the answer but I know from working with horses where we would've precise covering dates that maiden mares are in my experience more likely to foal early..also most mares do the same every year as in a mare that foals 2 weeks late this year will likely do the same next year..be interesting to do a study on individual ewes

Kevhog1988 · 20-01-2022 5:27pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118501406#Comment_118501406

i had a mare go a month over once. Was wider than she was tall

Mad about baa baas · 20-01-2022 7:28pm

If they go over a month overtime the foals actually get smaller..not that common thankfully..anyway we better stop before we derail the sheep thread entirely ..

Mad about baa baas · 23-01-2022 5:32pm

Arrived home from work to discover some f*#ckers around with about 20 hounds..didn't go into field they said but ewes are in a very tight cluster panting not grazing..some due to lamb in a week..could that bring them on to lamb early? Nothing I can do I assume... was aiming to have them in from Wednesday night..small numbers so I leave them out in small paddock beside house during the day. ..

DJ98 · 23-01-2022 6:22pm

How many ewes approximately would you feed on 13 acres of catch Crop in a month?

Young95 · 25-01-2022 9:52pm

What kill out % would lambs that had access to ab lib meal for 6 to 7 weeks kill out at ? Would they reach 46 n 47 % ? Dorset and llynn x lambs . All weather and ewe lambs ? Coming on now flesh wise but still another 2 weeks to go I’d say .

Kevhog1988 · 25-01-2022 10:02pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118532786#Comment_118532786

I send mine at 47kg lw to hit 23kg dw when on ad lib over a month

Kevhog1988 · 25-01-2022 10:05pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118532842#Comment_118532842

how do you find the dorset out of interest?

Dinzee Conlee · 25-01-2022 10:15pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118521883#Comment_118521883

Very hard to answer… I have only been doing it a few years, and it all depends on how Oct and Nov come.

You could sow the same date, two years in a row and have a great crop one year and nothing the next year…

Put in about 5-6 acres this year. Wasn’t a great crop. Has kept 75 lambs ticking for most of the winter, but they have a grass run back too…

Young95 · 25-01-2022 10:58pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118532842#Comment_118532842

Did they kill out at 23 kilo ? That was good going at that live weight to reach that dead weight. The dorsets are doing well for me but it’ll be another year till if I can tell you if there a good sheep or not . We had a Dorset ram first back in 2014 and kept a lot of ewe lambs off him which turned out to be great ewes and were prolific. But they all have terrible problems for the hoofs growing too long . But that was the gene from the first ram . Bought two new lads there from new bloodlines in 2020 and they have no feet issues but only have dry ewe lambs off them at present so can’t say much bout there daughters yet .. but from a terminal side they seem to be doing the job . But still to early to tell . Need another year .

Kevhog1988 · 26-01-2022 10:59am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118533096#Comment_118533096

That was the first few i brought to the factory from the shed. They were in the shed on 16/10 and brought to the factory on 28/11 so 43 days on ad lib meal and killed out at an average of 47.89% of live weight. Im not far from Kildare chilling so weighed every saturday after that and brought anything 47kg or over to the factory on the Monday. I would have considered them maternal lambs so interested in how a more paternal breed would do. Have a dorset put on the ewes this year so will do the same exercise next year.

Young95 · 26-01-2022 12:15pm

thats a fair chart you have done ! But good to see anything at 45 kilo with desent flesh need to go !

Kevhog1988 · 26-01-2022 1:32pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118534500#Comment_118534500

Id be interested in how your dorset x kill out as that's what ill be going to the factory with next year. they seem to be a very heavy boned sheep so may need to be drafted heavier?.

I created that chart and uploaded to google sheets so that i can input the weights on my phone when weighing them and then see what sort of gain etc they have been achieving. Happy to send it on to anyone who wants it.

Have one runt left that just wont gain weight. a triplet pet from last year that was reared on a bottle. The missus wants me to get him vasectomised and keep him as a teaser. Anyone know if that's expensive?

AntrimGlens · 26-01-2022 2:59pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118534917#Comment_118534917

Kev, It's been a couple of years now since I got one vasectomised but it was around £60 then. The vet that does it takes about 5/6 Dorset lambs off me every year to vasectomise and sell on to customers. It might be dearer now because the practice has been taken over by one of these large English Vet firms that come in and stick their prices up.

I bled six ewes myself in October to get blood samples analysed for trace elements before tupping time. I left the bloods into the vets to send off to the lab and only got the selenium results back as they said they had no iodine results. Wasn't happy as I'd asked for it, but the selenium levels were low so I did them with a bolus for both S&I. Got the bill in before Xmas for £147 for lab fees for the six samples. Thought No way is that right, spoke to one of the vets when he was out doing our Tb test and he said that would be correct. I said that I never got the Iodine results and wouldn't be paying for it, so he said because I took the samples myself, none of the Vets really took ownership of the submission to the lab or following up with me, which would have been the case if one of the vets had taken the samples. I dread to think how much the six samples would have cost me if I'd paid the vet to come out and bleed them.

It cost me less to bolus the 200 ewes than it did to pay the vets and lab fees for six.

Jonnyc135 · 26-01-2022 5:55pm

Hi there, new to this and was wondering what some of you think. Basically have 48kg horn ram lambs on adlib 8 weeks +, brought a small batch of them that got to 48kg 4 weeks ago to ballyhaunis. Killed out great about 45-46% averaging 22kg dead weight. Sent the rest of them to ICM Navan today extremely disappointed in fact cant believe it. The were averaging roughly the same 48kg as first batch, even handled better as longer on adlib and killed out only 20.2kg or 42%. They were all in the same pen eating the same nuts and weigher at home is digital and 99% accurate. Was I shafted by them? is there anything I can do bar never send lambs there again?

Kevhog1988 · 26-01-2022 6:03pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118536573#Comment_118536573

Only way to ensure you are happy with the price is to go to the mart as you cant take a dead lamb back. I was fairly dissapointed with my first batch that went to KC off grass but have found the ones on meal were consistent after that so i think my weights have been fairly correct. If you weighed them with full stomachs this time and empty the time before it can cause a difference. Did you get deducted for being overwight?

Jonnyc135 · 26-01-2022 7:26pm

Yeah I always go off empty weight, No penalties whatsoever. In fact the heaviest lamb was 52.5kg and only came into 21.7. His comrade was 53kg and came into 24kg in ballyhaunis. These are all indoor ad lib fed. What is really killing me is how come the same bunch of lambs in the same pen in the same shed fed the same meal have such different kill out percentages and the only main difference was the different factory they were brought too.

Tileman · 26-01-2022 8:13pm

vwey annoying. And would t be surprised with factory Carey on.

had 2 ewes cast with my own of last lambs. Were mud fat and on ad-lib meal. Were classified as Hoggets and paid at that rate but only at 23kgs.

jusy goes to show what goes on.

Dinzee Conlee · 26-01-2022 8:27pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118537206#Comment_118537206

Would you have been better off at the higher price to 23 than the ewe price up to 40kg is it?

Tileman · 26-01-2022 8:34pm

Yea was probably a few euro better off but my point was more on how they can link an Eid tag to a carcass abs only pay to 23 when they were probably closer to 40kg.

obviously sold the meat on as lamb rather than old ewe.