General sheep thread

arctictree

DJ98 wrote: »

At what age would a lamb survive without the ewe.

I have a runt of a lamb that was grazing since 14 days old. Never seen it suck the ewe after 2 weeks.

kk.man

Bleating Lamb wrote: »

Have some of ewes and lambs ranging from a week of age to 3 weeks in field that was left idle since September,good cover of grass on it but naturally fair bit t of yellow through it from the tough winter.Thinking of going without nuts for them when they run out on around Wednesday.Weather meant to turn a bit warmer then.....are others here feeding nuts to ewes where they have reasonable grass or not?

I was thinking the same (withdrawing nuts) imo weather is too cold yet. Ewes are very unsettled despite ok grass covers.
If weather picks up I will stop nuts...what's a few more bags till mid week hopefully!
That's my take on it.

Buford T. Justice XIX

kk.man wrote: »

I was thinking the same (withdrawing nuts) imo weather is too cold yet. Ewes are very unsettled despite ok grass covers.
If weather picks up I will stop nuts...what's a few more bags till mid week hopefully!
That's my take on it.

My big worry still would be tetany in ewes, I'd be slow to drop any supplements till the weather softens a bit yet.

charolais0153

Stopped nuts to ewes about 7 or 10 days ago. Growth really picked up . creeping lambs anyway so its better give it straight to lamb rather than to ewe

White Clover

Anyone here with just one ram? What do you do with him for the summer? Will probably need a second ram this autumn, should I buy one now?

roosky

White Clover wrote: »

Anyone here with just one ram? What do you do with him for the summer? Will probably need a second ram this autumn, should I buy one now?

you could let him off with a screw of a ram lamb or a wether or something, they will need very little feeding all summer

White Clover

roosky wrote: »

you could let him off with a screw of a ram lamb or a wether or something, they will need very little feeding all summer

Thanks roosky, If I was buying something, would i be better off buying a ram lamb? Don't have any wether at the moment and don't think I have any screw lamb....yet anyway!!

kk.man

White Clover wrote: »

roosky wrote: »

you could let him off with a screw of a ram lamb or a wether or something, they will need very little feeding all summer

Thanks roosky, If I was buying something, would i be better off buying a ram lamb? Don't have any wether at the moment and don't think I have any screw lamb....yet anyway!!

How about a ewe with lambs u intend culling?

Siamsa Sessions

White Clover wrote: »

Anyone here with just one ram? What do you do with him for the summer? Will probably need a second ram this autumn, should I buy one now?

You could leave him with lambs when they're weaned. We'll be weaning around mid-June and the ram can stay with them then until he's ready to go back to the ewes in October. Unfortunately, there'll still be some lambs here til then

White Clover

Siamsa Sessions wrote: »

You could leave him with lambs when they're weaned. We'll be weaning around mid-June and the ram can stay with them then until he's ready to go back to the ewes in October. Unfortunately, there'll still be some lambs here til then

What will you do with him until mid June?

Sami23

White Clover wrote: »

What will you do with him until mid June?

Presumably just leave him with the ewes and lambs ?

charolais0153

White Clover wrote: »

Anyone here with just one ram? What do you do with him for the summer? Will probably need a second ram this autumn, should I buy one now?

No choice now. If ypu were buying a lamb now would be a great time but id say the breeders wouldnt like to sell. Youd get to see lamb coming off ewe compared his comrades

Sheep breeder

Sami23 wrote: »

Presumably just leave him with the ewes and lambs ?

And have nice early lambs

Siamsa Sessions

Sami23 wrote: »

Presumably just leave him with the ewes and lambs ?

Yeah, he’ll be with them til weaning. I’d be very surprised if any of the ewes came tipping when the lambs are still with them. If they do, we’ll just have to manage!

IH784man

Pick up a cheap dry ewe or two for company about the mart some night and let them graze away with the ram and factory them when the ram goes to the ewes

J.O. Farmer

Sheep breeder wrote: »

And have nice early lambs

You should be so lucky. In the unlikely event that some do go in lamb the number would be small. If the poster only has 1 ram and plans on getting a second they probably have less than 100 ewes. I can't see them having more than 2 or 3 ewes lambing early. It'll hardly make them or break them one way or the other.

Sami23

Sheep breeder wrote: »

And have nice early lambs

NO cause he only be with them til weaning time 😞

Sheep breeder

Have seen ewes go in lamb before weaning on good grass, like flushing them and lamb in sept/Oct.

Sami23

Sheep breeder wrote: »

Have seen ewes go in lamb before weaning on good grass, like flushing them and lamb in sept/Oct.

Fair enough. Maby it can happen but hasn't around here so far anyway touch wood

Willfarman

Sell the hoore! Buy a couple of ram lambs you like the look of in the autumn or an aged ram and sell or hang up when your done with them. Handiest way for a small flock.

J.O. Farmer

Sheep breeder wrote: »

Have seen ewes go in lamb before weaning on good grass, like flushing them and lamb in sept/Oct.

Yeah but what percentage are you talking about. Also most breeds generally don't cycle out of season. A few like dorsets do.

If you were dealing with a few hundred ewes it would be more likely to be a problem

charolais0153

J.O. Farmer wrote: »

Yeah but what percentage are you talking about. Also most breeds generally don't cycle out of season. A few like dorsets do.

If you were dealing with a few hundred ewes it would be more likely to be a problem

You could have one of those no mate harnesses on him

ganmo

Sheep breeder wrote: »

Have seen ewes go in lamb before weaning on good grass, like flushing them and lamb in sept/Oct.

What breeds?
Mountain type breeds are unlikely to breed out of season

White Clover

Thanks lads. Will probably run him with a ewe for culling and her lambs.

White Clover

Willfarman wrote: »

Sell the hoore! Buy a couple of ram lambs you like the look of in the autumn or an aged ram and sell or hang up when your done with them. Handiest way for a small flock.

I had considered that option will. The lambs from him are smashers though, I'd say at least 95% are U's, no bother lambing them and he's very quiet. The breeder told me there's a lot of breeding in him and I can see it coming through now.

Sami23

White Clover wrote: »

Thanks lads. Will probably run him with a ewe for culling and her lambs.

How long in lamb can you send a ewe to the factory or does it matter ?

White Clover

Sami23 wrote: »

How long in lamb can you send a ewe to the factory or does it matter ?

Can't answer that for you. My own situation is he'll be with her for about 6 weeks, til weaning and he'll go with the lambs then. Surely if she does tip it won't cause any problems in the factory?

tom_k

charolais0153 wrote: »

You could have one of those no mate harnesses on him

I looked at getting one of those last year, was around €80 I think? Seperated him off with a couple of dry ewes instead.

arctictree

Lads, I have a 4 week old pet lamb that is going on its back regularly and then kicking like mad to get back up. This happens every few minutes. It has a very rounded belly but I don't think it's bloat as last feed was 8 hours ago. Any ideas? Is it fecked? It has no interest in feeding.

wrangler

arctictree wrote: »

Lads, I have a 4 week old pet lamb that is going on its back regularly and then kicking like mad to get back up. This happens every few minutes. It has a very rounded belly but I don't think it's bloat as last feed was 8 hours ago. Any ideas? Is it fecked? It has no interest in feeding.

probably is, try some liquid parafin.....5ml and see how it goes.
Pet lambs are very prone to do that, it's probably gas from fermenting milk.
We don't seem to get it and I put it down to adlib feeding the petlambs, little and often seems to suit lambs better than big amounts three and four times a day