Effect of rain on tipping

Siamsa Sessions

In a nutshell, will the ram and ewes stop making babies while tis lashing rain for days on end - like it is at the moment?

They all looked fairly miserable when I checked them this morning.

I suppose to put it in technical terms, does heavy rain affect the ewes cycling and the ram's ability to perform?

rangler1

Siamsa Sessions wrote: »

In a nutshell, will the ram and ewes stop making babies while tis lashing rain for days on end - like it is at the moment?

They all looked fairly miserable when I checked them this morning.

I suppose to put it in technical terms, does heavy rain affect the ewes cycling and the ram's ability to perform?

We've all been taught that ewes have to be on a rising plane of nutrition at mating and they're not getting much nutrition standing under a ditch every second day at the moment so it probably will effect the lamb crop, rams not going out here for another ten days so hopefully there'll be a change in the weather......there's guys much worse off than sheep farmers at the moment, count our blessing eh

Siamsa Sessions

rangler1 wrote: »

We've all been taught that ewes have to be on a rising plane of nutrition at mating and they're not getting much nutrition standing under a ditch every second day at the moment so it probably will effect the lamb crop, rams not going out here for another ten days so hopefully there'll be a change in the weather......there's guys much worse off than sheep farmers at the moment, count our blessing eh

Thanks as ever.

There's a few ewe lambs here now and actually surviving is higher on their agenda than breeding at the moment

But you're right - plenty lads worse off than sheep farmers. I see lots of them around here (south-east) and that's before you consider the rain lads have been getting over in the west.

rangler1

Siamsa Sessions wrote: »

Thanks as ever.

There's a few ewe lambs here now and actually surviving is higher on their agenda than breeding at the moment

But you're right - plenty lads worse off than sheep farmers. I see lots of them around here (south-east) and that's before you consider the rain lads have been getting over in the west.

One of the sheep specialists years ago used to advise meal feeding is this sort of weather at mating or even high energy buckets (proper ones like crystalyx), I never done it but I never saw ewes as dirty as this year, grass is just flying through them

Siamsa Sessions

I'm tempted to throw them something alright but will probably be blindly optimistic and hope the lack of 'dry matter' doesn't affect them too much (at this critical time).

You've got me thinking now - would it be worth spending say €2 per ewe on meal at this time of year if it meant a higher conception rate? Hard to know what effect it'd have though, as in how many extra lambs would you get for your €2 and the extra labour of feeding them.

Another way of looking at it: would you be saving a few quid now by not feeding them, but losing more next Spring by NOT feeding them now?

rangler1

Siamsa Sessions wrote: »

I'm tempted to throw them something alright but will probably be blindly optimistic and hope the lack of 'dry matter' doesn't affect them too much (at this critical time).

You've got me thinking now - would it be worth spending say €2 per ewe on meal at this time of year if it meant a higher conception rate? Hard to know what effect it'd have though, as in how many extra lambs would you get for your €2 and the extra labour of feeding them.

Another way of looking at it: would you be saving a few quid now by not feeding them, but losing more next Spring by NOT feeding them now?

When it was recommended before I went off looking for high energy buckets (before google that was), couldn't source them and the bunch of sheep were too big to even consider trough feeding so I went off the idea, the flock scanned over 200% after, so had I found hi energy buckets that time I'd be swearing by them them ever since.

Siamsa Sessions

Tis mad how the mind works and how everything seems obvious in hindsight. You'd have been using those buckets ever since if you'd found them!

Might hedge my bets here and throw out a few mineral buckets this afternoon

Green farmer

The mind does be playing tricks on me, on years of poor scanning ,wondering if they reabsorbed embroes after tipping.

rangler1

Green farmer wrote: »

The mind does be playing tricks on me, on years of poor scanning ,wondering if they reabsorbed embroes after tipping.

Barren ewes or few doubles, barren ewes could be toxo if there's a lot of them, are they vaccinated, worse toxo outbreak we ever got was out on grass before housing, just saw bloody arses and and 30% barren after........you only tolerate that once

Green farmer

[quote="rangler1;104802572"........you only tolerate that once[/quote]


Once or until memories fade enough for lads to take a chance again. Do for toxo here as well, more suffered with issues of ewes not getting enough good grass throughout the year was my problem I reckon. Also mineral and fluke dosing shortly as the simple things could knock them back easily.

charolais0153

Green farmer wrote: »

Once or until memories fade enough for lads to take a chance again. Do for toxo here as well, more suffered with issues of ewes not getting enough good grass throughout the year was my problem I reckon. Also mineral and fluke dosing shortly as the simple things could knock them back easily.

If you got a small bit of toxo and yous still had the ewes that got toxo would they pass on immunity. We vaccinated for enzo this year

arctictree

Would Lambing Ewes first times as 2 year olds reduce the risk of toxo? Surely if toxo was around they would have got and recovered from it at this stage? Wondering whether to vaccinate them or not.....

Green farmer

I always thought they picked it up the year before and it lay dormant until the sheep became pregnant to following year. After that their immune for life. But I'm open to correction.

rangler1

arctictree wrote: »

Would Lambing Ewes first times as 2 year olds reduce the risk of toxo? Surely if toxo was around they would have got and recovered from it at this stage? Wondering whether to vaccinate them or not.....

You can take the risk i suppose, you're going to be late lambing if you haven't got the vaccine yet, it's scarce this year and farmers can't get it.
they have to be vaccinated at least 4 weeks before mating

rangler1

Green farmer wrote: »

I always thought they picked it up the year before and it lay dormant until the sheep became pregnant to following year. After that their immune for life. But I'm open to correction.

That's enzo, and they never really get immune to enzo, they are prone to abort again and will spread it in their lambing fluids even if they lamb normal.
They'll get infected with Toxo and abort and get immunity all within two or three mths

arctictree

rangler1 wrote: »

They'll get infected with Toxo and abort and get immunity all within two or three mths

But what if they get infected as 1 years olds. Are they then immune when lambing a year later?

Westernrock

Aside from the fact vaccine is harder to get this year surely it is best to vaccinate?
One shot as a ewe lamb will cover them for life so it's not expensive vs barren ewes and abortions/sick ewes?

Green farmer

rangler1 wrote: »

That's enzo, and they never really get immune to enzo, they are prone to abort again and will spread it in their lambing fluids even if they lamb normal.
They'll get infected with Toxo and abort and get immunity all within two or three mths

When the toxo hit here I had 1-2 the first year, considerably more in the second year and a huge percentage the third year. Nothing since as vaccinating and test everything that aborts or suspicious. Reckon I even got it myself from handling lambs, so I'm immune for life as well.

rangler1

arctictree wrote: »

But what if they get infected as 1 years olds. Are they then immune when lambing a year later?

Yes they get immunity if they're infected.
How will you know they're infected if they're not in lamb

grassroot1

For the torture endured alone during an abortion outbreak I cannot see how anyone serious about sheep farming would not be vaccinating for both toxo and enzo