General sheep thread

arctictree

Weighed the Feb born lambs today. The odd heavy one but a lot of runts, mostly triplet lambs. You live and learn.

wrangler

arctictree wrote: »

Weighed the Feb born lambs today. The odd heavy one but a lot of runts, mostly triplet lambs. You live and learn.

Did you leave the ewes with the three,

arctictree

wrangler wrote: »

Did you leave the ewes with the three,

The odd one with good milk I did. Mainly because I didn't have an automatic feeder this year. Will be getting one for next season.

Buford T. Justice XIX

I was at a meeting last night and a man made a point that once the UK leaves the EU, the 70% of NZ lamb imports into the EU that currently go into Britain will now be looking for a new home elsewhere in the EU.


Maybe a point to keep in mind if thinking of expansion or investment as that can only lead to a price drop?

Green farmer

Buford T. Justice V wrote: »

I was at a meeting last night and a man made a point that once the UK leaves the EU, the 70% of NZ lamb imports into the EU that currently go into Britain will now be looking for a new home elsewhere in the EU.


Maybe a point to keep in mind if thinking of expansion or investment as that can only lead to a price drop?

The other positive way of looking at it, is there have been numerous reports here over the last year or two of factories having up to 30-50% of their winter daily kill coming on lorries off the ferry. They won’t be able to do that after brexit. Cannt ship the NZ ones in alive.

Kato74

Hmmm a Sheep thread.
Someone tell me why it is almost impossible to get lamb this year??
Can find full legs in supermarkets OK but trying to get a shanks or a rack was like looking for hens teeth this year.

Siamsa Sessions

Green farmer wrote: »

The other positive way of looking at it, is there have been numerous reports here over the last year or two of factories having up to 30-50% of their winter daily kill coming on lorries off the ferry. They won’t be able to do that after brexit. Cannt ship the NZ ones in alive.

Some of the NZ lamb will also still go to the UK since I'm guessing there'll be a NZ-UK trade agreement?

Or will the UK look elsewhere for its lamb imports?

I'd love to be optimistic about the above. But tis hard to be optimistic with the factories pulling the price from 7.00 to 5.40 within a fortnight.

As I saw on Twitter, imagine the uproar if processors cut milk prices by 20% in a fortnight?

Bullocks

Kato74 wrote: »

Hmmm a Sheep thread.
Someone tell me why it is almost impossible to get lamb this year??
Can find full legs in supermarkets OK but trying to get a shanks or a rack was like looking for hens teeth this year.

Surely a good butcher near you can get what you want if you ask ? I've gotten shanks in the local supervalue this year

Buford T. Justice XIX

Kato74 wrote: »

Hmmm a Sheep thread.
Someone tell me why it is almost impossible to get lamb this year??
Can find full legs in supermarkets OK but trying to get a shanks or a rack was like looking for hens teeth this year.

Bad weather slowed numbers of lambs finishing and Ramadan is still keeping demand up and prices up.


Also, the low margins and high costs of early lamb has reduced the numbers of late finishing early lambs coming on stream around now.


And as Bullocks said, head into your local butcher, no problems getting any kind of lamb in local butchers here.

charolais0153

Siamsa Sessions wrote: »

Some of the NZ lamb will also still go to the UK since I'm guessing there'll be a NZ-UK trade agreement?

Or will the UK look elsewhere for its lamb imports?

I'd love to be optimistic about the above. But tis hard to be optimistic with the factories pulling the price from 7.00 to 5.40 within a fortnight.

As I saw on Twitter, imagine the uproar if processors cut milk prices by 20% in a fortnight?

5.40????
Its the same every year. 130 is a Damn good price for a lamb,anything above that is a bonus

roosky

charolais0153 wrote: »

5.40????
Its the same every year. 130 is a Damn good price for a lamb,anything above that is a bonus

if the factory were willing to pay €7/kg two weeks they are now, they don't operate at a loss to keep a supermarket happy!

They know that if they keep farmers at an average of €100 a lamb we will stay at it and they have way too much control over the price they want to give.....imagine if two weeks ago i said i want €100 per lamb then this week rang kepak and said i want €120 and there is no negotiation.....they wouldn't entertain me too long !!!

ganmo

Kato74 wrote: »

Hmmm a Sheep thread.
Someone tell me why it is almost impossible to get lamb this year??
Can find full legs in supermarkets OK but trying to get a shanks or a rack was like looking for hens teeth this year.

Welcome to the sheep forum

charolais0153

roosky wrote: »

if the factory were willing to pay €7/kg two weeks they are now, they don't operate at a loss to keep a supermarket happy!

They know that if they keep farmers at an average of €100 a lamb we will stay at it and they have way too much control over the price they want to give.....imagine if two weeks ago i said i want €100 per lamb then this week rang kepak and said i want €120 and there is no negotiation.....they wouldn't entertain me too long !!!

They know that the lambs are fit now. Farmers arent going to hold onto them for a price rise to happen because we are against each otjer instead of being against the factory. If nobody sent lambs for 2 weeks. The factories would rise the price fairly sharpish but that aint going to happen because of the farmers noy acting as a collective unit

tabby aspreme

Did anyone get the balance of the welfare scheme payment, there was something about being paid a while ago, hasn't arrived yet, I could be due an inspection

Cran

tabby aspreme wrote: »

Did anyone get the balance of the welfare scheme payment, there was something about being paid a while ago, hasn't arrived yet, I could be due an inspection

Haven’t got it here either

Birdnuts

Potential maggot issue with one of the hoggets - will have a better look in the morn

DJ98

What's the best spray to kill docks?

Western Pomise

Birdnuts wrote: »

Potential maggot issue with one of the hoggets - will have a better look in the morn

Was she clipped?

stantheman1979

DJ98 wrote: »

What's the best spray to kill docks?

Dock star I would say. I’m no expert but it did the job for us

Birdnuts

Western Pomise wrote: »

Was she clipped?

Shearer coming in 10 days - probably should have clipped her myself but we haven't had a prolonged spell of weather like this(warm and humid) in these parts for many a year so I guess I took my eye off the ball:(

Green farmer

Birdnuts wrote: »

Shearer coming in 10 days - probably should have clipped her myself but we haven't had a prolonged spell of weather like this(warm and humid) in these parts for many a year so I guess I took my eye off the ball:(

Had an incidence of flystrike here earlier in week, I managed to catch the ewe with a empty meal bag in the field. Just clipped away all the infected area and treated her with iodine. We were shearing today and she had healed up about 90% of the way. Hopefully will have the rest of flock finished tomorrow. Flys seem to be getting earlier and earlier each year.

Kevhog1988

ewes are filthy around the arse jere. Neighbour shearing them tomorrow. Ill give them a good dose at the same time.

wrangler

theemigrant wrote: »

ewes are filthy around the arse jere. Neighbour shearing them tomorrow. Ill give them a good dose at the same time.

It's just the soft grass this time of the year combined with the amount of wool on their tail ends, we only dose a few thin ones here at lambing and the yearlings if they need it.

Kevhog1988

Ah shur itll do them no harm to give it to them all the same

charolais0153

theemigrant wrote: »

Ah shur itll do them no harm to give it to them all the same

Sure way to waste money and build up resistance.

kk.man

I dagged all mine..Now it was some job but they are as clean as whistles since. I am not as worried bout fly strike till the shearer arrives.
I have put this down to molases in the nuts not to worms.

wrangler

kk.man wrote: »

I dagged all mine..Now it was some job but they are as clean as whistles since. I am not as worried bout fly strike till the shearer arrives.
I have put this down to molases in the nuts not to worms.

Soft green grass this time of the year would do it anyway.

sheepfarmer92

I wouldnt bother dosing them, as said already, its the soft grass that does it, had 12 ewes with maggots starting so dagged all the ewes that had any dirt on them, not in such a rush to shear now

Bleating Lamb

sheepfarmer92 wrote: »

I wouldnt bother dosing them, as said already, its the soft grass that does it, had 12 ewes with maggots starting so dagged all the ewes that had any dirt on them, not in such a rush to shear now

That’s quite a few ewes to be affected or are you talking from a few hundred ewes?....pm if you want.

sheepfarmer92

Bleating Lamb wrote: »

That’s quite a few ewes to be affected or are you talking from a few hundred ewes?....pm if you want.

Its out if around 1300 ewes , never had them this early though, father even said hes never seen them as early with us