Letting ewes and lambs out to grass

Username John

Hello all,

Just wondering how ye're getting on putting lambs out after lambing...

The weather here is bad enough for the job - very heavy hail showers along with cold rain yesterday, frost last night...
This morning looks good - but I see the forecast for Friday is very bad with heavy rain forecast...

Mine have access to a small paddock from the shed, which is getting bare now, so they could do with going out to the field.
But once out, it's a pain to bring em back in again...

I have a feeling I might be being too cautious, but I'd be sickened for em to get cold or worse at this stage...

So what's everyone else doing?

Hagimalone

+1

ganmo

Most of what's lambed longer than a day or 2 are out.
A few of the weaker lambs will be kept in longer
But it all depends on the shelter and the weather

arctictree

Youngest of mine are 2 weeks old now. They should be able to handle the worst of spring weather at this stage (bar deep snow). I don't have anywhere to bring them in to anyway. I was renting a shed for lambing and that's finished now.

rangler1

Username John wrote: »

Hello all,

Just wondering how ye're getting on putting lambs out after lambing...

The weather here is bad enough for the job - very heavy hail showers along with cold rain yesterday, frost last night...
This morning looks good - but I see the forecast for Friday is very bad with heavy rain forecast...

Mine have access to a small paddock from the shed, which is getting bare now, so they could do with going out to the field.
But once out, it's a pain to bring em back in again...

I have a feeling I might be being too cautious, but I'd be sickened for em to get cold or worse at this stage..

So what's everyone else doing?

Yea, you're getting bad weather down south alright,
We're getting them out no problem and haven't anything stuck to the ground
yet. but the last few days have been giving lambs an extra 24hrs indoor.
Pulled a lamb coming backwards last night, got him passed the hips no problem, but he got wider and wider from then on.....desperate pull, dead of course by the time i got him out, usually you can just keep pulling if you get past the hips, he weighed 9.5kgs.
Every day's a schoolday......and then as usually happens in a hard lambing, she put out the whole uterus.
p....d off

Username John

rangler1 wrote: »

Yea, you're getting bad weather down south alright,
We're getting them out no problem and haven't anything stuck to the ground
yet. but the last few days have been giving lambs an extra 24hrs indoor.
Pulled a lamb coming backwards last night, got him passed the hips no problem, but he got wider and wider from then on.....desperate pull, dead of course by the time i got him out, usually you can just keep pulling if you get past the hips, he weighed 9.5kgs.
Every day's a schoolday......and then as usually happens in a hard lambing, she put out the whole uterus.
p....d off

Sickening... 9.5kg is some lamb... I lost one kinda the same last week, well, he wasn't big but he must taken a breath or something on the way out... He was backwards and I pulled quick but be just didn't do, not sure why...

It's annoying when things like that happen... and I know I mull over em for too long, and lads say move on but tis easier said than done too...

Username John

Nasty cold hail showers here now again...

sea12

Username John wrote: »

Nasty cold hail showers here now again...

Lovely day up here. Let out a batch of them that were born last week. Know it's wet on Friday but it's s good sheltered field

Green farmer

One question lads, ( if that's OK O.P) what's the largest number of ewes and lambs together in a paddock before mismothering sets in ? I leave them out in groups of 5-10 in a acre plot for a day or two before joining them to a bigger flock in a 5 acre paddock. Have a good 50 in the group already with another 15 waiting to join. Don't know if it's a good idea or not though. Grass is fair scarce here as well. Fert is out but ain't much growing.

Jack180570

Username John wrote: »

Hello all,

Just wondering how ye're getting on putting lambs out after lambing...

The weather here is bad enough for the job - very heavy hail showers along with cold rain yesterday, frost last night...
This morning looks good - but I see the forecast for Friday is very bad with heavy rain forecast...

Mine have access to a small paddock from the shed, which is getting bare now, so they could do with going out to the field.
But once out, it's a pain to bring em back in again...

I have a feeling I might be being too cautious, but I'd be sickened for em to get cold or worse at this stage...

So what's everyone else doing?

We lamb them outside, then bring them in for a day to make sure ewe and lamb are correct and to tag, mark and taildock the lambs. Only problem cases are kept in longer than a day. We then let them out the following morning.

Think its dangerous to keep them in the shed too long as it makes them soft and also the risk of disease is way higher in the shed. We would walk the groups of lambed ewes twice a day to keep an eye out for problems and bring back in any problem cases... 120 lambed so far and only had to bring back in two ewes.

tom_k

Username John wrote: »

Sickening... 9.5kg is some lamb... I lost one kinda the same last week, well, he wasn't big but he must taken a breath or something on the way out... He was backwards and I pulled quick but be just didn't do, not sure why...

It's annoying when things like that happen... and I know I mull over em for too long, and lads say move on but tis easier said than done too...

Exact same story here with the first ewe with a single a few weeks ago. Could have waited for a triple and tried to foster one onto her but milked her colostrum off for the freezer and stuck her on donedeal, a few hours later she was off down the road as a foster ewe and I felt a whole lot better.

rangler1

Green farmer wrote: »

One question lads, ( if that's OK O.P) what's the largest number of ewes and lambs together in a paddock before mismothering sets in ? I leave them out in groups of 5-10 in a acre plot for a day or two before joining them to a bigger flock in a 5 acre paddock. Have a good 50 in the group already with another 15 waiting to join. Don't know if it's a good idea or not though. Grass is fair scarce here as well. Fert is out but ain't much growing.

200 ewes in one batch here and no mismothering as long as they;re 5 or 6 days old before they're joined with the bunch.
Grass is tight alright but getting nearer to growth all the time....first grass tetany death yesterday, month old lambs plus frost will bring grass tetany

Jack180570

rangler1 wrote: »

200 ewes in one batch here and no mismothering as long as they;re 5 or 6 days old before they're joined with the bunch.
Grass is tight alright but getting nearer to growth all the time....first grass tetany death yesterday, month old lambs plus frost will bring grass tetany

How big is the paddock that you have the 200 ewes in Rangler...

rangler1

Jack180570 wrote: »

How big is the paddock that you have the 200 ewes in Rangler...

they're on 50 acres divided into seven paddocks, the paddocks are between five and ten acres, they're going on to one of the five acre ones today so that'll
be well stocked, all the ewes have doubles

Birdnuts

First few lambs arrived this week and are enjoying this brief fine spell in the lambing paddock. However looking at the weather forum suggests they will be spending a lot of time indoors again with much cold/rain on the cards as we head into the new month:(

Username John

Shocking day here... Lashing driving rain all morning...

Glad I didn't have any lamb out in it...

Need to get em soon tho - am back to work on Monday... So either Sunday or Monday morning hopefully... We'll see what the weather gods say I guess...

Green farmer

Username John wrote: »

Shocking day here... Lashing driving rain all morning...

Glad I didn't have any lamb out in it...

Need to get em soon tho - am back to work on Monday... So either Sunday or Monday morning hopefully... We'll see what the weather gods say I guess...

Not too much rain here, but right cold gusty wind. Put a batch out yesterday. Hoping they've the good sense to stand under shelter, or at the right side of their mothers

Username John

Green farmer wrote: »

Not too much rain here, but right cold gusty wind. Put a batch out yesterday. Hoping they've the good sense to stand under shelter, or at the right side of their mothers

Gas the differences in such a small distance too...

We had a great day yesterday - and today, it hasn't stopped raining since about 5 this morning I'd say... Cold wet horrible day...

ganmo

it was fairly windy last weekend and the hoggets were all in the shelter of a small hill for the most of the day, they aint dumb

Username John

Jack180570 wrote: »

Think its dangerous to keep them in the shed too long as it makes them soft

Would have to strongly disagree there jack...
...
...
...
I have suffolky ewes - they're soft to begin with...

sea12

Username John wrote: »

Shocking day here... Lashing driving rain all morning...

Glad I didn't have any lamb out in it...

Need to get em soon tho - am back to work on Monday... So either Sunday or Monday morning hopefully... We'll see what the weather gods say I guess...

Back to work Monday too. They all went on a go slow this week when I was off. They will be back in full force when I am back in work.

Lost one lamb this morning. The ewe lay down on him. Sickner to lose them like that

arctictree

sea12 wrote: »

Lost one lamb this morning. The ewe lay down on him. Sickner to lose them like that

Hate when that happens. Usually a lovely lamb too. Not sure what can be done. Bigger pens maybe?

Username John

Well - turfed out my few ewes and lambs this afternoon...

Day isn't too bad - almost warm, but overcast, will rain soon I'd say, but hopefully not too much...
Oh - and just as a I type, started misting rain...

They out now anyways...

Green farmer

Username John wrote: »

Well - turfed out my few ewes and lambs this afternoon...

Day isn't too bad - almost warm, but overcast, will rain soon I'd say, but hopefully not too much...
Oh - and just as a I type, started misting rain...

They out now anyways...

They'll be fine. There's heat in the air and the rain is light. Forecast looks good for week

Green farmer

Username John wrote: »

Well - turfed out my few ewes and lambs this afternoon...

Day isn't too bad - almost warm, but overcast, will rain soon I'd say, but hopefully not too much...
Oh - and just as a I type, started misting rain...

They out now anyways...

They'll be fine. There's heat in the air and the rain is light. Forecast looks good for week

Jack180570

Username John wrote: »

Would have to strongly disagree there jack...
...
...
...
I have suffolky ewes - they're soft to begin with...

To be fair I should have qualified my statement that keeping them in the shed too long is dangerous... it does depend on the type of ewe you have and the system you operate, and of course the farmers preference...

We are running a hill flock of scotch and swale crosses so they are hardy to start with... just find that the lambs have a lot more risk of picking up disease in the shed than when they are out even though we clean out and disinfect every pen between lambing and disinfect the navals the minute we get the lamb in the field and all the ewes were vaccinated.

Green farmer

I hate losses. Was up in cormac's before lambing started. Bought some new additional penning especially for lambing. Saw some hanging buckets there. Asked how much ? €12 a bucket. Said I'd leave them as would have needed a few and was after spending enough on gates. Instead I continued to use empty mineral lick buckets. Week later found a lamb had jumped into one filled with water in the corner of pen and drowned. Cost of lost lamb would have bought a good few buckets !!!

Username John

Jack180570 wrote: »

To be fair I should have qualified my statement that keeping them in the shed too long is dangerous... it does depend on the type of ewe you have and the system you operate, and of course the farmers preference...

We are running a hill flock of scotch and swale crosses so they are hardy to start with... just find that the lambs have a lot more risk of picking up disease in the shed than when they are out even though we clean out and disinfect every pen between lambing and disinfect the navals the minute we get the lamb in the field and all the ewes were vaccinated.

I should have said as well - the ewes and lambs were in and out of the shed. They had access to a small paddock, so they were out by day and in by night. Although towards the end, when they were older I didn't bother closing em in at night, they could just come and go as they pleased.

I would agree tho, keeping em in the shed, without ever letting em out does make the lambs a bit soft... I try to put em out by day on day 2 or 3, and then after that its weather dependent on when they go out full time.

I don't clean out or disinfect the pens between lambings, but I use a lot of straw, and also don't spare the iodine on the navals as soon as they're born...
Its working out so far anyways...

Green farmer wrote: »

I hate losses. Was up in cormac's before lambing started. Bought some new additional penning especially for lambing. Saw some hanging buckets there. Asked how much ? €12 a bucket. Said I'd leave them as would have needed a few and was after spending enough on gates. Instead I continued to use empty mineral lick buckets. Week later found a lamb had jumped into one filled with water in the corner of pen and drowned. Cost of lost lamb would have bought a good few buckets !!!

Haven't lost one like that in a while, but we have in the past... sickening
I found one lamb 2 seasons ago, in the bucket, water up to his ears, but alive... and surprisingly he lived... I thought he was too cold, but no...

I always tie up the buckets with a bit of baling twine, to be a bit higher...

arctictree

Green farmer wrote: »

I hate losses. Was up in cormac's before lambing started. Bought some new additional penning especially for lambing. Saw some hanging buckets there. Asked how much ? €12 a bucket. Said I'd leave them as would have needed a few and was after spending enough on gates. Instead I continued to use empty mineral lick buckets. Week later found a lamb had jumped into one filled with water in the corner of pen and drowned. Cost of lost lamb would have bought a good few buckets !!!

I insist on using taller buckets for water in the lambing pens. I also try to not leave a water bucket in the lambing pen (I just put one in periodically) if she hasn't lambed yet as ewes have been known to lamb straight into the bucket if not being watched.

I had one ewe sit on her lamb in her pen this year and killed it. Sickening.

Jack180570

arctictree wrote: »

I insist on using taller buckets for water in the lambing pens. I also try to not leave a water bucket in the lambing pen (I just put one in periodically) if she hasn't lambed yet as ewes have been known to lamb straight into the bucket if not being watched.

I had one ewe sit on her lamb in her pen this year and killed it. Sickening.

We have gone away from using the buckets because of the risk and also the work... what we use now are 6 inch sewer pipes, three lengths at each side of the shed with a hole cut out on the top in each pen and a ballcock feeding each pipe.
Cost a bit to do a the start but works well, just flush out the pipe with the powerwasher before lambing season to clean it out... no losses and no work drawing water to the ewes.

Username John

Jack180570 wrote: »

We have gone away from using the buckets because of the risk and also the work... what we use now are 6 inch sewer pipes, three lengths at each side of the shed with a hole cut out on the top in each pen and a ballcock feeding each pipe.
Cost a bit to do a the start but works well, just flush out the pipe with the powerwasher before lambing season to clean it out... no losses and no work drawing water to the ewes.

Heard it done before, and its prob a good job.

But my facilities wouldn't as sophisticated as that. There is no set lambing area, with the lambing pens just put together in the bigger pen where the ewes are.

Think we're stuck with buckets for a long while to come yet...