New Proposed Sheep Scheme

Buford T. Justice V wrote: »

Sami23 wrote: »

Thinking of doing the same 2 actions myself.
Just wondering will mineral buckets be sufficient for the mineral supplementation post mating action ?

https://twitter.com/FJSheep/status/821093593771286530

Yes but that doesn't answer my question about the mineral buckets. They would be a very easy way to comply with that action.
And the flystrike action should be ok if you dag the dirty ones and apply Clik or Ectofly etc

Sami23 wrote: »

Yes but that doesn't answer my question about the mineral buckets. They would be a very easy way to comply with that action.
And the flystrike action should be ok if you dag the dirty ones and apply Clik or Ectofly etc

I was at the Breaffy, Co. Mayo meeting last night, the mineral bucket question was asked and the reply was that mineral buckets were fine as long as manufacturer's instructions were adhered to. I.e. if it says one bucket is sufficient for 30 sheep for 10 days then you'll need 6 buckets for the 60 days if you have 30 ewes. Keeping of records and receipts required of course.

MayoAreMagic wrote: »

Sorry, couldn't make the meeting. Im just wondering if a course of cobalt doses would suffice for mineral supplementation? i.e. 30 cobalt every 20 days, dosing each animal 3 times - that is the correct rate for a ewe of around 50kg. There is no reason why it shouldn't. In fact it is far more reliable than leaving the bucket at them, as generally some ewes will gorge on them while others wont go near them... Not to mention that it is cheaper - those buckets are a rip off...

The information given at the meeting was that any form of mineral supplementation is fine as long as manufacturer instructions are adhered to, this applies to licks, buckets, boluses, drenches, bagged minerals etc.

Record keeping and receipts are required. The Teagasc rep at the meeting made the point that merchants reps may be telling farmers that they need one product over another but that most farmers would/should know their mineral requirements generally. He made specific reference to cobalt requirements in our part of the country.

MayoAreMagic wrote: »

Thanks for the feedback. I've already encountered some scaremongering on this front 'you will need the lickblocks' - they cant explain why you need them though...
Considering my ewe numbers have risen considerably since the reference years, and the fact that you have to treat all ewes present on the farm, not just the ones you are getting the payment for, I would actually lose money if I went the lickblock route...

Was there much info given on the mineral supplementation pre-weaning option? It seems very vague in the documentation...

It's the same from certain "wise men" around here, "Ya'll have to get the lick buckets - the dear ones!". Not true as confirmed last night. The main point made was that the 60 day supplementation begins on turning out the ram(s). And indeed as you pointed out its a whole flock measure so people, myself included will need to be smart when deciding which product to use. Most will already use the supplementation methods that work best for them already so it's just a matter of ensuring product coverage for the required 60 days.

There was little extra info given on the pre-weaning supplementation (Hill flocks). Most of what I learned was from the Q&A period after the presentation and I don't recall any questions on this particular measure - which was surprising given the good attendance of hill farmers (who aren't shy ).

Looking at the documentation it is quite vague regarding timing, lamb ages, coverage period etc.

rangler1 wrote: »

Why not bolus them before the ram goes out with them, I'd always bolus them a month before putting out the ram so that any deficiencies would be addressed before mating

Exactly the best method is the bolus given before we sponge and flush the ewe and one job done and dusted and all ewes covered. This is a simple straight forward scheme.

If you scanned 345 lambs from your 209 ewes let's say but you only sell 320 lambs and have none in your census.what are you going to say about 25 lambs that aren't there...fox,abortion...
Legally doesn't knackery have to take dead lamb

Id be cautious as regards the mineral dosing at mating for hill flocks. It will result in a number of ewes having twins that aren't capable of maintaining them on the hill. It might be a good idea if you have lowland grass that can maintain them for the spring and summer, but for any guys who let them back to the hills it could end up being a nightmare, i.e. higher losses in both sheep and lambs, a lot more runt lambs and ewes being in poor condition going to the ram the following year... Sheep welfare?

A far more suitable option for hill flocks would be supplementation in mid to late pregnancy

Quick one on the Flystrike Control action for lowland flocks.
Is it for lambs or ewes or both that it has to be carried out on do ye know ?
Thanks

Sami23 wrote: »

Quick one on the Flystrike Control action for lowland flocks.
Is it for lambs or ewes or both that it has to be carried out on do ye know ?
Thanks

Was anything like this asked last night rangler1

rangler1 wrote: »

every task chosen has to be carried out across the whole flock

the minerals is only to ewes and the fecal sampling is only lambs

For the mineral supplementation post mating will the likes of Growvite or Thriver be acceptable for the scheme ?

Sami23 wrote: »

Quick one on the Flystrike Control action for lowland flocks.
Is it for lambs or ewes or both that it has to be carried out on do ye know ?
Thanks

Was reading the fly strike, says you've to use mechanical as well as chemicals, to remove daggs, wonder does that mean you'd have to have a clipping machine ? Or could you just use a hand clippers to remove the odd dagg ?