Lambing

Dinzee Conlee

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118837139#Comment_118837139

That’s tough going DJ…

We only ever had small numbers, but a good few years ago we had a toxo outbreak like that…

it was very disheartening - I think the final tally was 25% lamb losses and we lost a good few ewes as well, probably to sepsis.

Going into the shed every morning was tough going for a while, as you were expecting the worst…

But it passed. We injected the ewes for toxo and enzo afterwards and the year after I think we had a great lambing…

I know that’s not much help to you now, but try to keep going as best you can. It is tough, facing into it, but it won’t be for too long more hopefully…

paddysdream

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118837139#Comment_118837139

Everyone gets years like that .Toxo was a problem here last year with 50% of the scanned in lamb ewe lambs never even springing.

Scanned c 100 in early January 2021 with about 80 or so in lamb .rams were only in 3 weeks .

Less than 40 actually lambed although those that did were perfect.Kept all the sheep but perhaps 10 or so of the dry ones from last year had tiny lambs this March. Healthy etc but very small singles from decent sized hoggetts.

Lambing here down to about 70 at this stage ,ewe lambs plus a few ewes rescanned in February as in lamb.

Middling enough scan rate in general but probably have more lambs out in the field at this stage than most years .Very little losses ,no disease pressure and hardly any lambing difficulties. One dead ewe so far where most years would have 10 plus at this stage.

No exact reason although culled very tight last autumn.Had one broken mouth escaped the cull and one dry one ( so far )

Always say once it's outside the door it's surmountable

farawaygrass

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118837564#Comment_118837564

If you can go with the mentally that you are learning all the time to makes things easier or better next year its a small saving grace. The important bit to that thought is to act on whatever the issue was for next year.

everyone in life encounters problems but if you look at the ones who are successful and happy, a lot of that is down to their outlook.

weatherbyfoxer

scanning rate here was back a bit due to toxo..was back to 1.78 from around the 2.0 we scan most year..now we are over half way through lambing im starting to wonder why id want to scan over 1.8 ever again?!..this year with 15 more singles than thriplets we are able to foster off every thriplets lamb..no pets or stinkin feeder to worry about..near every ewe is gone out to the field with 2 lamb

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118837139#Comment_118837139

Everyone has years like that.....i lost 12 out of a bunch of 30 replacement hoggots before...you think it wouldnt be possible to do them wrong

We lost something like 20% to smallenberg one year

Cold comfort now,but afaik those sheep should have certain immunity to it going forward......have you many cats about on the farm,some of them can spread toxo on hay etc,i remember the father having a pure dose of it one year and launching a purge on wild cats around the place

Tileman

That’s tough going. As others said most important thing is to look after yourself.

try get as many fit ones with their lambs out of the shed. It helps to visually reduce the number in the shed and feels like your getting through the lambing a little more.

even the noise of 100 shed in a shed would go through u when ure not feeling 100%.

everyone has a year like it but at least it’s outside the door.

clonagh

It's very difficult when you get a year like that but we have to hope and believe that next year will be better...

Birdnuts

Its kicked off here with a big whore of a ram lamb that has the ewe sore and struggling a bit. At least she has started to show more interest in him the past hour or so as she wasn't keen on having him anywhere near her this morning

Bleating Lamb

Sorry to hear of your hassle DJ98…..hopefully next year is a better one for you.

wrangler

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118847680#Comment_118847680

Did you give her anything for pain relief,

Even before vets were advocating injecting for pain relief here we used to give two panadols down the neck after a hard lambing

clonagh

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118841393#Comment_118841393

That's impressive, what's your fostering technique?

Birdnuts

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118849818#Comment_118849818

Vet happened to be checking our ponies at the time and she got pain relief and stuff for inflammation. Thankfully seems to have worked cos she is in much better form 2day.

weatherbyfoxer

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118850176#Comment_118850176

mixture of wet fostering and foster units.

orm0nd

Fairly hectic week here with ewe lambs lambing, never had them all lamb in such a short time frame.

wrangler

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118864129#Comment_118864129

Same here, 59 ewes and 20 ewe lambs all lambed in 20 days, most of them in 7 days, rams were out with them 35 days , nice to get them over so quick

k mac

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118849818#Comment_118849818

when you say 2 panadols down the neck, is that crushed in water or just the tablets whole. Had a ewe prolapse yesterday and cleaned it with warm water and put it back in and put on a harness, gave her an antibiotic in case of a infection, but she is lying down alot since and think she might need pain relief.

wrangler

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118865271#Comment_118865271

Made a mistake there, it was disprin we used, we'd just shove two dispirins down the neck, dispirin is soluble as well so quicker acting

wrangler

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118865271#Comment_118865271

Has she lambed or in lamb

k mac

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118865583#Comment_118865583

In lamb, about 2 weeks from lambing. Gave her some solphadeine there now

Birdnuts

Clown up the road from me whose sheep are always straying due to not bothering to properly fence his place, lost 2 lambs to a road accident today. I and others have warned him several times about this issue but he is too tic to be bothered. Lady involved was well shaken too but thankfully uninjured but bumper and headlight on car damaged

farawaygrass

Saw a ewe hogget getting sick this evening, white water bag out. Said I’d leave her a while and done another odd job. Came back and saw the lamb on the ground, lifeless. Heart beating but not breathing. Tried my best but no look. No bag over it’s head although it might have been licked off by the ewe, after it was too late. It’s the second time I caught a lamb this year with heart beating but not breathing, although the first one did have bag over it’s had.

I wonder are them lamb resuscitation Kits good for a situation like this?

arctictree

I feckin hate when that happens. Been through it myself a couple of times, steam still coming off the lamb. Sometimes you watch them for ages, turn your back and then they lamb.

Dinzee Conlee

Did someone here have a issue with the lambing bags being a bit too thick or something one year? I have it in my head that a mineral fixed it for em - maybe a mineral bucket or lick or something?

k mac

Had a hogget lambed with twins sunday night and she has no milk. Had to pull one of the lambs so she was slow to stand and had to bottle her for the first day, checked after lambing and the other lamb got colustrum it must be after that she dried up. Was half expected it as the hogget was very fat and i had restricted her feed the last few weeks due to this so hence no milk. gave her 2cc of oxytocin but i know this is probably not much benefit because its a case of not having milk and not that she is not letting it down. Question i have is i got them out to grass today for 4 hours as the weather allowed hoping that would get the milk going, i have been giving the 2 lambs feeds from bottles to help keep them going but they have no interest in the bottle barely touching it, tried the hogget there again and still has no milk but i am thinking is she producing small amounts and the lambs are sucking her dry and that is why they have no interest in the bottle. Am i better leaving them without the bottle and see how they go. The lambs are fairly bright and warm surely if they were getting nothing from the teat they would be eager for the bottle.

wrangler

Iknow it's different on other farms but we find that if a lamb is on a ewe it'd die of the hunger before it'd drink lamlac. topping up lambs never works here for some reason, We have to take them off the ewe

All you can do is watch them

k mac

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118917370#Comment_118917370

Thanks for the advice. I am giving the ewe about a kg of meal a day and hay when in and if weather allows let her out to grass and and get milk in her. Even if it was wet tomorrow i might be best let her and the lambs out to the grass, they are charolais lambs so bare enough but hunger with no milk might kill them before the wet/cold. Ideally if i could let the ewe out on her own but that won't work will be bawling at the gate looking for the lambs

wrangler

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118917407#Comment_118917407

It's difficult to assess charolais lambs too, I see them out in the field on a wet day and you'd be ashamed of them the way they humped up and cold, yet when I put my hand under their belly it feels full. They're usually alright then by a week old, they're hungry lambs but they thrive fierce well if they get enough milk

Weather is mild now, I'd let them out and monitor them for a few hours so the ewe can get some grass in

k mac

Seems to have a small bit of milk tonight and got about 100ml of frisky into the weaker lamb. Think I will leave them for the night and let them out in the morning

arctictree

I'd tube the lambs and then leave them in a pen beside the ewe for a few hours where they can't get at her. Then check her for milk.

Kevhog1988

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118917208#Comment_118917208

If shes starting to let down milk put her out in the day and tube the lambs if you can. Another shot of oxytocin too might help