General sheep thread

charolais0153 · 30-09-2017 5:50am

kk.man wrote: »

Ok answer this ! a friend of mine was charged for clipping last year. He rang the factory and demanded as to why. They told him his lambs were dirty. Ok says the friend thats odd...i had them sheared a week ago. Refund was demanded and promptly paid.

I totally agree with a dirty sheep policy but it was blatantly applied as a money grabbing exercise by the big 3 factories last spring.

The wool would be worth a euro or two sp factory didnt like getting 'fleeced' by him so tgey took 30c or so off price

Sheep breeder · 30-09-2017 7:18am

greysides wrote: »

To be honest, farmers have been getting away with it for a long time. Even the people in the lairage who should be holding up sheep for a while have been throwing a blind eye to it. They know a lot of the farmers coming in, they are farmers or farmers sons themselves. Or they have a rapport with the larger suppliers. The problem has been that if they were to insult a supplier they were afraid he'd take his sheep elsewhere. It has always been the case that any rules had to be applied by all factories together and equally. Maybe this will happen this time.

I don't know if docking is involved or not. In the case of really bad or persistent offenders I'd be for some form of sanction. I've seen the hardship and toll it takes on workers for too many years to be soft on the issue.

Is there not a TVi in the lairage on duty doing a pre kill inspection and it is him who holds lambs for clipping or time to cool off, dry.

Green farmer · 30-09-2017 7:34am

greysides wrote: »

km man, I can't comment on that as even if I was in the lairage all that happened there would be nothing I'd have anything to do with. That would be factory rather than Dept. business.

I find most of the ordinary lads in big factories sound to deal with. Like ourselves, just ordinary people going about their daily business to put bread on the table. It's the attitude and treatment of the decision makers further up the chain that deal with pricing etc I've issues with. Memories of last spring and where stock how sourced still fresh.

rangler1 · 30-09-2017 8:16am

kk.man wrote: »

Ok answer this ! a friend of mine was charged for clipping last year. He rang the factory and demanded as to why. They told him his lambs were dirty. Ok says the friend thats odd...i had them sheared a week ago. Refund was demanded and promptly paid.

I totally agree with a dirty sheep policy but it was blatantly applied as a money grabbing exercise by the big 3 factories last spring.

As far as I know ICM will penalise if the lambs are less than 6wks shorn

eorna · 30-09-2017 3:36pm

So they penalise you if they are shorn (=clean) and they penalise you if they have wool and are 'dirty' in the factories eyes..
Fair enough all the explanations and yes i have seen lambs which are desperate looking in some factories which is unfair to the workers and would need penslised, but still i think its a money collection for the factory..
If they were that worried about cleanliness they would encourage shorn lambs as they would be 100% clean but they would loose the wool and they can b loosing..

kk.man · 30-09-2017 8:16pm

eorna wrote: »

So they penalise you if they are shorn (=clean) and they penalise you if they have wool and are 'dirty' in the factories eyes..
Fair enough all the explanations and yes i have seen lambs which are desperate looking in some factories which is unfair to the workers and would need penslised, but still i think its a money collection for the factory..
If they were that worried about cleanliness they would encourage shorn lambs as they would be 100% clean but they would loose the wool and they can b loosing..

Just like the cattle when they are scarce there is no issues with age,spec or weight.

I am not blaming Dept or ordinary guys in the factories as I have respect for both having worked closely with them in the past.

greysides · 30-09-2017 9:08pm

Sheep breeder wrote: »

Is there not a TVi in the lairage on duty doing a pre kill inspection and it is him who holds lambs for clipping or time to cool off, dry.

It's a number of years since I've set foot in the lairage. It was always a contentious issue. Things may well have changed by now.

Willfarman · 30-09-2017 10:30pm

I thought there were shearing machines set up in the line clipping off all the the belly wool? I suspect there was another reason for those lambs being held over. They weren't fed either. They were just turned out to a paddock.

greysides · 30-09-2017 10:53pm

The shearing takes place in the lairage where I work. No room on the line.

Willfarman · 30-09-2017 11:18pm

greysides wrote: »

The shearing takes place in the lairage where I work. No room on the line.

But they are hanging by their hind legs on a line as such?

greysides · 01-10-2017 4:09pm

Willfarman wrote: »

But they are hanging by their hind legs on a line as such?

I don't think so, not the last time I saw the set up but I haven't been down there recently.

DJ98 · 03-10-2017 9:13pm

How many in-lamb ewes would a 12x15ft straw bedded pen hold?

TheDoc77 · 03-10-2017 9:25pm

I would say 14-15 ewes but it would also depend on how much trough space they have in that size pen

DJ98 · 03-10-2017 9:31pm

TheDoc77 wrote: »

I would say 14-15 ewes but it would also depend on how much trough space they have in that size pen

Would be divided using walk-through troughs.

Cran · 03-10-2017 9:56pm

DJ98 wrote: »

Would be divided using walk-through troughs.

Would depend on size of ewes, but I'd wouldn't wang to give any less than 18 inches feed space if not shorn. So 15 fed trough would be 10 ewe, if other side trough as well 14/15 based on space in pen

DJ98 · 03-10-2017 9:58pm

Cran wrote: »

Would depend on size of ewes, but I'd wouldn't wang to give any less than 18 inches feed space if not shorn. So 15 fed trough would be 10 ewe, if other side trough as well 14/15 based on space in pen

All ewes would have a full fleece and would be suffolk x

roosky · 04-10-2017 8:59am

Cran wrote: »

Would depend on size of ewes, but I'd wouldn't wang to give any less than 18 inches feed space if not shorn. So 15 fed trough would be 10 ewe, if other side trough as well 14/15 based on space in pen

when ever i hear 18 inches of space per ewe, i think its mad but then put 15 80kg ewes shoulder to shoulder and you would be shocked what room they need

stantheman1979 · 05-10-2017 11:16pm

Our pens are 30 ft long by 8ft wide. We put 30 singles, 27 twins and 24 triplets in but they’re shorn and smaller than Suffolk’s. so in you’re case I’d say 10-12 each side

390kid · 06-10-2017 5:36pm

Seen some Romney lambs in the mart Monday night. Anyone here have any experience with them or know much about them?

LambMaster · 06-10-2017 7:57pm

390kid wrote: »

Seen some Romney lambs in the mart Monday night. Anyone here have any experience with them or know much about them?

I don't know much about them. They're said to be somewhat resistant to foot-rot and liver fluke as well as some other problems.

390kid · 07-10-2017 9:06am

LambMaster wrote: »

I don't know much about them. They're said to be somewhat resistant to foot-rot and liver fluke as well as some other problems.

Ah right. They made a wee bit more than other lambs that night. Are they a NZ breed?

razor8 · 07-10-2017 2:39pm

They originated in Romney marsh in U.K. Afaik and we're exported to New Zealand.

I've started using them to breed replacements. Finding them very good so far but have only Lambed off spring this year

Green farmer · 07-10-2017 3:11pm

razor8 wrote: »

They originated in Romney marsh in U.K. Afaik and we're exported to New Zealand.

I've started using them to breed replacements. Finding them very good so far but have only Lambed off spring this year

did your first batch of Romney x ewe lambs wean decent lambs compared to rest of flock ? Did you notice any difference ?

razor8 · 07-10-2017 4:44pm

Green farmer wrote: »

did your first batch of Romney x ewe lambs wean decent lambs compared to rest of flock ? Did you notice any difference ?

Ran the singles with the rest of flock and all of them are gone now. 3 went in first draft for factory in July. Still a few twins left but overall very happy with them

Very clean back ends. Hoggets have recovered well for the ram which will go out in 2 weeks. So far so good.

Lost 2 hoggets in July and thought it was something genetic but sent off one to lab and she came with twisted gut

cattle man · 08-10-2017 10:50pm

What to lads see the benefits of crutching ewes before going to the ram ?

White Clover · 09-10-2017 1:55pm

Lads, have a few cull ewes for the Mart soon. Do I have to fill out a dispatch docket for them?

Ard_MC · 09-10-2017 2:07pm

White Clover wrote: »

Lads, have a few cull ewes for the Mart soon. Do I have to fill out a dispatch docket for them?

Yeah..dispatch for everything leaving the holding.

Lambman · 09-10-2017 8:36pm

Cheapest place till buy the blue ram harness?

roosky · 10-10-2017 10:45am

sold culls last nigh, big ewes but 70 was all i could get for them, Ill factory them anymore.

I also had 48 kg ram lambs, well fleshed 85 was all i was getting, they will go to ICM monday

trade very poor last nigh in Elphin

kk.man · 10-10-2017 11:43am

roosky wrote: »

sold culls last nigh, big ewes but 70 was all i could get for them, Ill factory them anymore.

I also had 48 kg ram lambs, well fleshed 85 was all i was getting, they will go to ICM monday

trade very poor last nigh in Elphin

I found bringing factory fit sleep to the Mart is a disaster..agents getting a good cut of them. I swore I'd never do it again after this summer. I was going to the Mart to buy sheep so trying to kill two birds with one stone.

General sheep thread

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