General sheep thread

Willfarman

Yes. They are very prone to clostridial disease for some reason unbeknownst to me

Ashill5

It's my first time lambing, would it be better vaccinate with Heptevac P before the ewes lamb or wait and vaccinate the lambs after a few days.

wrangler

Ashill5 wrote: »

It's my first time lambing, would it be better vaccinate with Heptevac P before the ewes lamb or wait and vaccinate the lambs after a few days.

Do the ewes 4 to 6 six weeks before lambing.....it'll take it that long to be effective

It's not suitable for lambs under three weeks of age anyway

sea12

Lost a good hogget today. Putting silage into feeder last night and she got caught under it. Fecking raging. Always so careful with it. Poor old devil

Kevhog1988

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NsSVRPiURlQ&t=11s  found this on youtube.. they seem to have some good videos.

DJ98

Anybody any ideas of how to adjust the fill level on jfc drinking, have one that will only half fill but others that won't stop filling, not really relevant but is a problem as it's soiling the sheep's bedding.

wrangler

DJ98 wrote: »

Anybody any ideas of how to adjust the fill level on jfc drinking, have one that will only half fill but others that won't stop filling, not really relevant but is a problem as it's soiling the sheep's bedding.

Yea, it destorys the bed if the drinker leaks
I presume you've tried taking off the lid and adjusting the ballcock.
Otherwise the rubber stopper in the valve needs replacing if the water doesn't stop when the ball pushes it fully closed

DJ98

wrangler wrote: »

I presume you've tried taking off the lid and adjusting the ballcock.
Otherwise the rubber stopper in the valve needs replacing if the water doesn't stop when the ball pushes it fully closed

How exactly do you adjust the ball cock, they are only new and I never had this problem with any of the old ones

wrangler

DJ98 wrote: »

How exactly do you adjust the ball cock, they are only new and I never had this problem with any of the old ones

http://jfcagri.com/uk/sheep/small-capacity-drink-bowls/dbl4/

If thats the bowl your using, screw off the cover and you'll see the ball cock like the one in the pic with the blue float, click on that picture, when it's enlarged you'll you where the adjustment is on the arm of the float.
there's a little bolt and nut there, loosen that and, to lower water level, move the float down a small bit and tighten.
Takes a bit of trial and error

sea12

When is the sheep census due back.

Ard_MC

sea12 wrote: »

When is the sheep census due back.

Paper version 31st of Jan and online i think its the 14th of Feb.

marathon

Bit of advice needed I’m going dip my toe in sheep I going buy in lamb ewes any advice on breed and price to pay and what’s best time buy them going buy 5 or 6 start with?

Lambman

marathon wrote: »

Bit of advice needed I’m going dip my toe in sheep I going buy in lamb ewes any advice on breed and price to pay and what’s best time buy them going buy 5 or 6 start with?

Have you any experience with sheep? Buying in lamb ewes mighten be a great idea till start with... price wise you should be fitta pick up ewes scanned in lamb for €130 - €160 depending on age quality and amount off lambs there carrying... hard till know what your buying though check all ewes have correct udders and good mouths.

IH784man

Try and start with a lowland ewe in lamb to a Charolais ram,they will be easy lambed to help you get started in sheep.
Price wise can be anything from 100-180.I find buying springers very good value and as the spring months go on they can be bought cheaper.
If there is any genuine clearance sales in your local marts I would buy there if you only buying a handful,these sheep will be all genuine and farmer owned with a genuine reason for selling.Eg, getting out of sheep/retirement etc

Lambman

IH784man wrote: »

Try and start with a lowland ewe in lamb to a Charolais ram,they will be easy lambed to help you get started in sheep.
Price wise can be anything from 100-180.I find buying springers very good value and as the spring months go on they can be bought cheaper.
If there is any genuine clearance sales in your local marts I would buy there if you only buying a handful,these sheep will be all genuine and farmer owned with a genuine reason for selling.Eg, getting out of sheep/retirement etc

Would only buy sheep in lamb till charrlois later in spring when weathers warmer unless he can go use them for lambing... definitely easy lambed but if he's starting up a flick he'll be looking till breed replacements? Which is were the charrlois wouldn't suit.

IH784man

Cheaper to buy in replacements in a small flock,Charollais lambs are as good as any on a dry day,it's the driving wind and rain that kills them

Lambman

IH784man wrote: »

Cheaper to buy in replacements in a small flock,Charollais lambs are as good as any on a dry day,it's the driving wind and rain that kills them

yea I know I've 2 charrollais rams here but lamb inside and they get at least 3 days inside before being turned out mighty sheep for factory lambs have texels rams and a BFL ram for replacements as some charrlois bloodlines are poor for milk... with a small flick buying in replacements can be dangerous unless you have separate fields till quarantine them away from main flock... I got a bad touch here when I was increasing numbers a few years back.

IH784man

Do you cross the BFL on lowland ewes? Are the ram lambs hard finished

Lambman

No run him with perth type horned ewes keep the twin ewe lambs for breeding as hoggets as I lamb the horneys mid April outdoors so most wouldn't be the weight for breeding as ewe lambs... yea the ram lambs are hard finished alright I just sell them as stores at the backend... they wreckon castrate them at couple days old and they will finish quicker but I wouldn't have the time till start running around after every lamb at a couple days old till do it be out more petrol in the quad than you'd take back in them haha

IH784man

Thinking of trying breeding some mules next year,would reckon you'd need to finish the ram lambs to make more money than lowland ewes, if you sell a mule ewe lamb at 120/30 and sell the ram lamb at 70 or so as a store,you have the same money as if you finished 2 lowland lambs.

Lambman

Yea that's true but your gonna need till be lambing them in February till sell ewe lambs fit for breeding unless you intend till feed them which eats into your profit... I lambed early one year but you end up getting a smaller crop off lambs aswell as the horned ewe isn't bred for early lambing... and the ram lambs hit maturity early so they would need till be separated at 10 weeks unless you castrate them and they will have till be kept separated from the lowland ewe lambs aswell so it's another batch and another field less all in all its more work than its worth IMO

DJ98

Have a ewe here scanned in lamb with twins due mid Feb, she won't eat or drink anything yesterday or today, have her separated from the main flock, shes getting nuts and hay, any ideas?

charolais0153

DJ98 wrote: »

Have a ewe here scanned in lamb with twins due mid Feb, she won't eat or drink anything yesterday or today, have her separated from the main flock, shes getting nuts and hay, any ideas?

Is she thin? Probably twin lamb disease.
Twin Lamb Disease or Pregnancy Toxaemia is a metabolic disorder where the body’s energy requirements are not being met, resulting from a significant decline in the level of nutrition. In the final two months of a ewe’s pregnancy, 70% of the lamb’s growth is taking place. It is therefore particularly important at this time to make sure the ewe has enough good feed to keep her and her lamb going. Ewes carrying twins are more often affected, but ewes carrying single lambs can also get the disease.

Stressful events like worms, feet problems, mouth problems, yarding and transport can bring on Pregnancy Toxaemia. Late pregnant ewes should not be without feed for longer than 4 hours.

Signs:
Separation from the flock.

Don’t run away when approached.
Appear blind.
‘Star gazing’ – stands looking into the sky.


Treatment
For any treatment to be successful it must be given early. For treatment to be effective the ewe should be able to chew and respond to food in her mouth, if not it is unlikely that she will respond to treatment.

We have had the best treatment results with Botonic Energy oral paste – this is available from the surgery.
Other treatments are:
Glycerol (Glycerine) given orally 100ml twice daily
Glucose, 100ml of sterile 6% solution given under the skin daily
Glucose Solution, 100 – 200ml given orally twice a day,
Continue treating the ewe until she recovers, if she doesn’t respond to treatment, she must be humanely destroyed

ganmo

DJ98 wrote: »

Have a ewe here scanned in lamb with twins due mid Feb, she won't eat or drink anything yesterday or today, have her separated from the main flock, shes getting nuts and hay, any ideas?

breadsoda and glycerol
or something like chanatol

DJ98

ganmo wrote: »

breadsoda and glycerol
or something like chanatol

Ceto phyton, would that be suitable?

ganmo

Yup

DJ98

ganmo wrote: »

Yup

Would she need calcium as well, I know last year vet gave us that and calcium to treat a ewe worth twin lamb disease but she was in worse condition

ganmo

DJ98 wrote: »

Would she need calcium as well, I know last year vet gave us that and calcium to treat a ewe worth twin lamb disease but she was in worse condition

Might be alright without it but it might be an idea to have some ready

Lambman

Chanatol 100ml per day wouldn't bother calcium as magnesium deficiency doesn't usually occur before lambing make sure she's getting water though

wrangler

Lambman wrote: »

Chanatol 100ml per day wouldn't bother calcium as magnesium deficiency doesn't usually occur before lambing make sure she's getting water though

Calcium can often perk up a sick one though, calcium on it's own, not calmag