Difficult Lambing season

sea12

Having the hardest lambing season ever this year. Having to assist about 60% of ewes so far.
The ewes got ran by 2 stray dogs 2 weeks a go and I dont know if this is what is causing it they didnt seem to badly affected by it a the the time to be honest.

Lambs coming backways, or else will ewe lamb 1 and cant lamb the second with only the front legs coming and the head twisted back in the womb.
Admitetly changed the Ram this year, and am feeding rolled oats instead of rolled barley along with sheep nuts to ensure lambs arnt too big. Other than that everything else is the same as other years.

How is everyones lambing going this year?

johngalway

Change ram again

Mine are lambing fine - so far. Only a few have dropped yet. Lambs are a little on the small side, but I'd prefer that than too big, they've plenty of time to grow. Am feeding 1lbs 18% ewe & lamb ration per head. Lambs get spectam and navel is iodine dipped as soon as I find them, all ewes and lambs numbered, ewes get dose of grovite and checked for milk, then send on down to the grass.

Fingers crossed everything keeps going like this.

Have had years with lots of trouble as well.

Username John

My lambing for this year is over now, not that I had that many anyways. But while I didnt have many loses, I had to handle an awful lot of them - over 50%.

Same as yerself - sheep too were ran by dogs a few weeks before they lambed. They knocked fences into fields I was saving, for the singles. So by the time the weekend came, and I had the fence fixed, the grass was gone. So I had to feed the singles grain as well... So I caused some of the issues with singles myself with too much feed I'd say.
I also have a new ram this year, so thats in the mix too...

Had a good few presentations with head only & no legs, head & one leg, lambs backwards... Most of them not too difficult, but you'd be killed from watching em, as if you werent there, you'd be annoyed afterwards if anything happened like...

To be fair tho, once lambed, the lambs were v nice. So am going to chance the ram again next year.

Hope things improve for you, and the rest of the lambing goes well.

Birdnuts

The dog problem appears to be getting worse since the start of the recession based on what I've heard and read. Probably due to irresponsible owners no longer taking proper care of their pets or simply abandoning them:( - most flock owners I know shoot them on sight which is understandable given the potential damage they can do.Worse is the fact that the majority of these dogs kill for fun and not because they are hungry in the vast majority of cases I've come across:(

PS: The father in law reports a good lambing season this year on our joint enterprize in the West(lost only one twin lamb from 12 ewes). The benign weather certainly helped:)

reilig

Same as that OP, only a few have dropped and have had to assist most of them. Have only 20 ewes this year and they had the run of 120 acres over the winter - so I'm thinking that they might have been over fed. Getting huge lambs, but there are heads gone back or 1 foot missing and having tight pulls. There were years when we had 100 ewes that we only had to assist 3 or 4 in total.

case 956

Lambing nearly over here. have only 25 ewes. Ewes lambed alright very little needed assistance but the hoggets are breaking my heart. 8 out of 10 lambed and had to assist 7 of them head and no legs, head one leg, backways. Got v little meal but changed my ram and used him only on hoggets he s throwing v big lambs or v small lambs. i putting my problems down to using a Suffolk ram on Suffolk x ewes. Be glad to see it over

sea12

Not much better today had to handle 4 ewes to get lambs out out of 6 ewes. Had to get vet out again this evening for one. 3rd time for vet this year and id say it must have been 5 or 6 years since I had to get the vet out for a lambing last. Usually always manage myself.

Even he said there well mixed up with the heads very far down. At least he did get the 2 out alive.

Only thing is that once they are out there up quickly and good suckers.
Hopefully it will start to improve!