How's lambing going for ye?

arctictree

Don't see a thread on this so here goes. I'm due to start on the 28th of this month. Ram was in on the 4th October. Is that right? Looking forward to it now.

Sheep breeder

just have 5 left to go and should be finished next weekend bar one ewe lamb that was purchased, went ok but a dog attack left its problems and for good measure came back to run the hoggets a couple of times.

Username John

Sheep breeder wrote: »

just have 5 left to go and should be finished next weekend bar one ewe lamb that was purchased, went ok but a dog attack left its problems and for good measure came back to run the hoggets a couple of times.

Sorry to hear about the dog(s). Did ye get em?

rangler1

Ewes due on the 1st march, one ewe had two dead lambs last Wednesday, another had two alive yesterday, born at 5 yesterday evening, but have'nt stood up yet.......always say the sh...y ones come at the start

orm0nd

early flock couldn't go wrong and took care of them selves , done and dusted & out to grass.

mid season can't go right and are testing us,

6 or 7 ewes prolapsed, one putting out the placenta so had to induce her to make her throw the dead lambs , 2 cases of meningitis

ewe dead this morn with her intestines out , and ewe lamb dead yesterday

a lot of triplets with no fosters available,

on hindsight just another typical year :rolleyes:

farawaygrass

orm0nd wrote: »

early flock couldn't go wrong and took care of them selves , done and dusted & out to grass.

mid season can't go right and are testing us,

6 or 7 ewes prolapsed, one putting out the placenta so had to induce her to make her throw the dead lambs , 2 cases of meningitis

ewe dead this morn with her intestines out , and ewe lamb dead yesterday

a lot of triplets with no fosters available,

on hindsight just another typical year :rolleyes:

Got a ewe here that has prolapsed too. She is not due till the 15th match. Tied her up 4 times already and still coming out. Bit early to be at it really.
It's one thing I hate. Triplets are hard work also, add a lot to the workload. Hard to beat the nice hardy couple that you can let out and nearly forget about.

arctictree

First of my ewes lambed a big single today. Noticed her in the corner of the field when I went down to feed them at 6pm. Went back to the house for dinner, returned an hour later to a sucking lamb. Big 4 year old ewe, not a bother to her. She was first to lamb last year too. Brought them into the shed to avoid the foxes.

Dickie10

well after my scour/ecoli problem i washed out the shed, disenfect etc, and not another loss since Thnk God! as it stands just 4 left to lamb 2 singles and 2 doubles . out of 63 that had lambs in them (1 barren) i got so far 106 lambs, had 11 losses. Scour accounted for 6 of them. bit sick to think i would have had only 5 losses if it hadnt come. hopefully get these last 6 lambs out alive and well. had a great scan of 1.83 only for that.

arctictree

No sign of any other lambs since Monday. Always the way....

Birdnuts

arctictree wrote: »

No sign of any other lambs since Monday. Always the way....

I think this could be the spring where the later they arrive the better. Seems to be a good bit online about it being a tough one on a par with 2013. Certainly a supply of quality lamb jackets will be needed if lambing outside over the next while

Bullocks

Birdnuts wrote: »

I think this could be the spring where the later they arrive the better. Seems to be a good bit online about it being a tough one on a par with 2013. Certainly a supply of quality lamb jackets will be needed if lambing outside over the next while

How soon after they've lambed do you put them on and how long do you leave them on for ?

AnFeirmeoir

First lamb yesterday. Ram out 4th of October so a bit early

arctictree

AnFeirmeoir wrote: »

First lamb yesterday. Ram out 4th of October so a bit early

4th October here too. Had a lamb on Monday and none since. Lamb wasn't premature though and is big and healthy.

gazahayes

First ewe dead here today prolapse looked back at last year's notes and she prolapsed then too sick now that I missed that. Only a few due tomorrow on and not to start properly till the 12th

rangler1

gazahayes wrote: »

First ewe dead here today prolapse looked back at last year's notes and she prolapsed then too sick now that I missed that. Only a few due tomorrow on and not to start properly till the 12th

Had a freak year of prolapses in the ewe lambs a few years back, didn't cull them because they were so young and paid the price the following year.
I've plenty of harnesses now because of that year:rolleyes:

arctictree

Lads, hogget just lambed a single. I can't see any elders on her. Just leaving them to bond for an hour. I'll be turning her over to see if she has any milk. What are my options here if she doesn't?

rangler1

arctictree wrote: »

Lads, hogget just lambed a single. I can't see any elders on her. Just leaving them to bond for an hour. I'll be turning her over to see if she has any milk. What are my options here if she doesn't?

An injection of Oxytocin for the ewe sometimes brings them to their milk,
The lamb will need colostrum before an hour, the sooner the better, preferably ewes colostrum , if not then either Cows or a sachet of artificial colostrum.

ganmo

rangler1 wrote: »

An injection of Oxytocin for the ewe sometimes brings them to their milk,
The lamb will need colostrum before an hour, the sooner the better, preferably ewes colostrum , if not then either Cows or a sachet of artificial colostrum.

Artificial stuff is the last resort, ask your neighbours if they've some colostrum around the place

farawaygrass

rangler1 wrote: »

Had a freak year of prolapses in the ewe lambs a few years back, didn't cull them because they were so young and paid the price the following year.
I've plenty of harnesses now because of that year:rolleyes:

Wonder what caused it in the ewe lambs? You'd imagine they would be safe. Although tge neighbour told me the same happened to him one year with his ewe lambs. He was feeding them hay and nuts but was running short of hay so upped the nuts for them. He reckoned that was tge cause. It's the one ailment I hate in sheep. Mastitis a close second

arctictree

rangler1 wrote: »

An injection of Oxytocin for the ewe sometimes brings them to their milk,
The lamb will need colostrum before an hour, the sooner the better, preferably ewes colostrum , if not then either Cows or a sachet of artificial colostrum.

She just had another lamb (the perils of not scanning!). Turned her over and even though her elders are small , there is milk coming out both sides. Gave her 2ml of oxytocin and cut some of the wool in that area. The lambs seem to sucking. Any point giving them the colostrom now?

rangler1

arctictree wrote: »

She just had another lamb (the perils of not scanning!). Turned her over and even though her elders are small , there is milk coming out both sides. Gave her 2ml of oxytocin and cut some of the wool in that area. The lambs seem to sucking. Any point giving them the colostrom now?

If you offer them some and they take it, they probably need it, they're probably getting enough but some hoggets mightn't have enough for two
+1 on artificial being the last reeort, but it's better than nothing, scrounge some cows colostrum from a dairy farmer before the season and freeze

Birdnuts

Bullocks wrote: »

How soon after they've lambed do you put them on and how long do you leave them on for ?

I can only describe what happens in my own small setup as everyone probably has there own approach to such things depending on their set-up and location. My lot lamb indoors and when the ewe has bonded I put them out. If the weather is benign I obviously don't need to worry. If the outlook is potentially severe in terms of cold/wet I put the jackets on before I let them out .I will leave the jackets on for as long as needs be until the lambs are 6-8weeks old. After that only lambs that are obviously struggling are left with their designer gear;)

Arrow in the Knee

Birdnuts wrote: »

If the outlook is potentially severe in terms of cold/wet I put the jackets on before I let them out .I will leave the jackets on for as long as needs be until the lambs are 6-8weeks old. After that only lambs that are obviously struggling are left with their designer gear;)

6-8 weeks is far too long for jackets on lambs unless you have them in the tundra.

ihatewinter

How long should jackets be left on for. I have a high percentage of twins due and the area is exposed where they will graze. They will lamb in sheltered areas.

Birdnuts

Arrow in the Knee wrote: »

6-8 weeks is far too long for jackets on lambs unless you have them in the tundra.

Hence the "as needs be" bit in my post. Obviously the jackets will only be used as required in terms of the prevailing conditions during that time period which I meant as a "max" rather than an averge. Lambing on the North Mayo coast you can get the type of hail storms, wind etc. well into May that people down the country would rarely experience at any time of the year. Little natural shelter is also an issue so obviously I would use these jackets far more than someone lucky enough to have a nice sheltered south facing slope in the midlands for example.

PS: My flock is mostly mountain types so the lambs are considerably smaller too then what you see with lowland breeds, which will obviously outgrow a lamb jacket far quicker. Though I recently saw some jackets being marketed online up to the size of adult sheep. Obviously the adult ones are for harsher climates I would assume

arctictree

That 2nd lamb is awfully small. Fed her a few times with the tube yesterday, left her overnight and she is still going this morning. She must be getting something from the ewe. Her sibling seems to be flying along. Can a ewe with really small elders still have enough milk for two?

gazahayes

First lamb this morning in the snow

rangler1

arctictree wrote: »

That 2nd lamb is awfully small. Fed her a few times with the tube yesterday, left her overnight and she is still going this morning. She must be getting something from the ewe. Her sibling seems to be flying along. Can a ewe with really small elders still have enough milk for two?

you're probably better to take he small one and feed it yourself if the udder is small, hoggets need to be well fed before lambing to feed a double, let her off with one and she'll be a better ewe at the end of the yeart

rangler1

gazahayes wrote: »

First lamb this morning in the snow

Lambing started here yesterday with the snow, luckily don't have to put them out for a few days

Bullocks

gazahayes wrote: »

First lamb this morning in the snow

Will you leave them out ? I've a few lambed over a week still in because the weather is so miserable but the ewes are starting to get fed up I'd say the last few days .

gazahayes

Bullocks wrote: »

Will you leave them out ? I've a few lambed over a week still in because the weather is so miserable but the ewes are starting to get fed up I'd say the last few days .

Brought it in for a day or 2 or till there's more to join it