Lambing 2017

Green farmer · 26-02-2017 11:56AM

arctictree wrote: »

Twins here this morning but ewe only has one spin. They seem to be healthy ?

If I had an alternative ewe I'd take away, wouldn't wait for one to get sick and will be harder to foster the older lamb gets .

charolais0153 · 26-02-2017 01:01PM

Had a 4 come sick the last day and she had the first lamb herself but a big yellow mush started coming out of . got a second lamb alright and she has two grand lambs now. What caused it do u think.?

Also if just a head was out, how would you get legs?

rangler1 · 26-02-2017 01:20PM

charolais0153 wrote: »

Had a 4 come sick the last day and she had the first lamb herself but a big yellow mush started coming out of . got a second lamb alright and she has two grand lambs now. What caused it do u think.?

Also if just a head was out, how would you get legs?

My OH can nearly always get her hand in beside the neck and reach the legs, but my arms are so big I have to push the head back.
When you push the head she'll force and then relax, it's while she relaxes you get the head moving back....you only gain millimetres each time and try to hold against her then each time she forces and wait for the next few seconds she relaxes.....some of them really tests your patience and strength.
Some people hang them upside down with a loader but i never needed to do that,
I'd hang them up to get a lamb bed back in alright if she put it all out after lambing, same technique, let her take it back in at her own speed, don't force anything. Put one of those prolapse spoons in and a prolapse harness on her then.....a bit of pain relief and a couple dispirin down the neck and pray

Sami23 · 27-02-2017 07:55AM

Lambing kicked off Saturday morning. 7 lambed in first 24 hours including 4 triplets. Unfortunately lost 3 lambs that got smothered with bag over their head b4 I got to them. Was chatting a neighbour who has been having the same problem this year and he was told it was down to the ewes been given to many lick buckets last few months making the bag very strong.
Mine have at buckets with them all the time also.
Has anyone else been having this problem or ever heard of the cause ?

rangler1 · 27-02-2017 08:37AM

Sami23 wrote: »

Lambing kicked off Saturday morning. 7 lambed in first 24 hours including 4 triplets. Unfortunately lost 3 lambs that got smothered with bag over their head b4 I got to them. Was chatting a neighbour who has been having the same problem this year and he was told it was down to the ewes been given to many lick buckets last few months making the bag very strong.
Mine have at buckets with them all the time also.
Has anyone else been having this problem or ever heard of the cause ?

We would never have had much of it here but a healthy lamb should shake it off, you'd see them kicking mad here to get it off
I wonder were yours born dead

Username John · 27-02-2017 08:37AM

Sami23 wrote: »

Lambing kicked off Saturday morning. 7 lambed in first 24 hours including 4 triplets. Unfortunately lost 3 lambs that got smothered with bag over their head b4 I got to them. Was chatting a neighbour who has been having the same problem this year and he was told it was down to the ewes been given to many lick buckets last few months making the bag very strong.
Mine have at buckets with them all the time also.
Has anyone else been having this problem or ever heard of the cause ?

I don't know, but I wouldn't think so...

If they didn't have minerals, you'd be in a worse state...
Its one of those damned if you do and damned if you don't. But my fear would be removing the kick buckets, if that's your normal pre lambing routine would cause you more problems than do more good...

mcgiggles · 27-02-2017 09:28AM

First few lambed at the weekend. 2 sets of twins and one single. The single was born yesterday, she is small, less than 3kg, think she was born a tad early have to check the books.. I see a lad mentioning yellow mush there, when she was born while the cleaning was waiting to come out there was some sort of yellow mush coming out of the ewe, not a whole pile now, but looked like mustardy coloured diarrhea.. (sorry but only way to describe it :-)) she let the cleaning out no problem and seems grand now. Little lamb was weak and we had to milk the ewe and the next feeds we held her up to the ewe. Went out to feed her this morning and her belly was full and she was content so think she figured out how it works. All in lamb hoggets we bought in. All 3 lambed no problem. Hope the rest go as smooth

Sami23 · 27-02-2017 09:42AM

rangler1 wrote: »

Sami23 wrote: »

Lambing kicked off Saturday morning. 7 lambed in first 24 hours including 4 triplets. Unfortunately lost 3 lambs that got smothered with bag over their head b4 I got to them. Was chatting a neighbour who has been having the same problem this year and he was told it was down to the ewes been given to many lick buckets last few months making the bag very strong.
Mine have at buckets with them all the time also.
Has anyone else been having this problem or ever heard of the cause ?

We would never have had much of it here but a healthy lamb should shake it off, you'd see them kicking mad here to get it off
I wonder were yours born dead

You could be right as I can't say but all 3 were good size lambs so was a pity.
First year using a Charolaois ram and had heard that their lambs are usually quick to get going but I haven't seen that yet

razor8 · 27-02-2017 10:35AM

Sami23 wrote: »

Lambing kicked off Saturday morning. 7 lambed in first 24 hours including 4 triplets. Unfortunately lost 3 lambs that got smothered with bag over their head b4 I got to them. Was chatting a neighbour who has been having the same problem this year and he was told it was down to the ewes been given to many lick buckets last few months making the bag very strong.
Mine have at buckets with them all the time also.
Has anyone else been having this problem or ever heard of the cause ?

without doubt the lick buckets caused it and i will guess they were yellow ones. it happened here in 2012 after the bad year when ewes were lacking condition going into the shed so i put buckets in the pens with them and lost 15 lambs over lambing in the bag. its was as hard as rubber and even hard to break with your hands, stopped using them after that and no problems since

razor8 · 27-02-2017 10:38AM

mcgiggles wrote: »

First few lambed at the weekend. 2 sets of twins and one single. The single was born yesterday, she is small, less than 3kg, think she was born a tad early have to check the books.. I see a lad mentioning yellow mush there, when she was born while the cleaning was waiting to come out there was some sort of yellow mush coming out of the ewe, not a whole pile now, but looked like mustardy coloured diarrhea.. (sorry but only way to describe it :-)) she let the cleaning out no problem and seems grand now. Little lamb was weak and we had to milk the ewe and the next feeds we held her up to the ewe. Went out to feed her this morning and her belly was full and she was content so think she figured out how it works. All in lamb hoggets we bought in. All 3 lambed no problem. Hope the rest go as smooth

were these scanned? I usually see yellow mustard mush when a ewe has absorbed a lamb

Username John · 27-02-2017 10:47AM

razor8 wrote: »

without doubt the lick buckets caused it and i will guess they were yellow ones. it happened here in 2012 after the bad year when ewes were lacking condition going into the shed so i put buckets in the pens with them and lost 15 lambs over lambing in the bag. its was as hard as rubber and even hard to break with your hands, stopped using them after that and no problems since

Really? The liveline ones is it?

Used them here a few times, and never had an issue like that with them. But, I only have small numbers, so maybe I had an issue but cos numbers were so small I didn't make the link...

I used to only use em with singles tho, and they would have been their only source of minerals (they weren't getting much if any ration)

Sami23 · 27-02-2017 10:58AM

razor8 wrote: »

Sami23 wrote: »

Lambing kicked off Saturday morning. 7 lambed in first 24 hours including 4 triplets. Unfortunately lost 3 lambs that got smothered with bag over their head b4 I got to them. Was chatting a neighbour who has been having the same problem this year and he was told it was down to the ewes been given to many lick buckets last few months making the bag very strong.
Mine have at buckets with them all the time also.
Has anyone else been having this problem or ever heard of the cause ?

without doubt the lick buckets caused it and i will guess they were yellow ones. it happened here in 2012 after the bad year when ewes were lacking condition going into the shed so i put buckets in the pens with them and lost 15 lambs over lambing in the bag. its was as hard as rubber and even hard to break with your hands, stopped using them after that and no problems since

Two of the buckets were the yellow ones, the rest were green lid ones.
Did you stop giving lick buckets altogether or reduce number given ?

razor8 · 27-02-2017 11:07AM

Username John wrote: »

Really? The liveline ones is it?

Used them here a few times, and never had an issue like that with them. But, I only have small numbers, so maybe I had an issue but cos numbers were so small I didn't make the link...

I used to only use em with singles tho, and they would have been their only source of minerals (they weren't getting much if any ration)

They went through threw them like sweets. So I guessing it was the quick change in mineral levels that caused it. Now I bolus them and drench and if I put a bucket in with them they wouldn't touch it

Username John · 27-02-2017 11:22AM

razor8 wrote: »

They went through threw them like sweets. So I guessing it was the quick change in mineral levels that caused it. Now I bolus them and drench and if I put a bucket in with them they wouldn't touch it

Yeah, cos I'm a bit mane - I used to take em out after a while...

I didn't leave em with the ewes all the time, as I found they would eat em like sweets all right... so maybe that helped me too...

You wouldn't think they'd cause that kinda problem...

orm0nd · 27-02-2017 11:29AM

feeding no meal since turn out but have hi mag licks

label say " do not use long term with old ram lambs "

at what age should I pull the buckets. ?

Lambing 2017 so far has been trouble free but accommodation issues a couple of times when poor wethaer delayed turn out, first texel lambs here in a couple of years & very happy with offspring from the ram I bought in Tullamore, (although he didn't come cheap

)

approx 35 stragglers left and not forgetting the ewe lambs in March/april

mcgiggles · 27-02-2017 11:30AM

@Razor - yep they were scanned but not by us, she was a hogget we bought in lamb, it looks like one dot on her back smudged but it could well be 2 dots done in a rush...? That might make sense actually, as the single was very small..

rangler1 · 27-02-2017 11:36AM

orm0nd wrote: »

feeding no meal since turn out but have hi mag licks

label say " do not use long term with old ram lambs "

at what age should I pull the buckets. ?

Lambing 2017 so far has been trouble free but accommodation issues a couple of times when poor wethaer delayed turn out, first texel lambs here in a couple of years & very happy with offspring from the ram I bought in Tullamore, (although he didn't come cheap )

approx 35 stragglers left and not forgetting the ewe lambs in March/april

I leave himag buckets with my march lambers until early june with no ill effects and I'd swear the lambs eat more of them than the ewes.....they're always around them anyway

charolais0153 · 27-02-2017 05:21PM

If u were to cut out Meal would u need buckets for them still when on lush grass

rangler1 · 27-02-2017 05:51PM

charolais0153 wrote: »

If u were to cut out Meal would u need buckets for them still when on lush grass

Suckling ewes need magnesium to prevent grass tetany in April/may.
Hi magnesium buckets is one of the ways to give it to them.
Grass tetany kills ewes very quick especially on lush grass

Farrell · 27-02-2017 10:37PM

rangler1 wrote: »

Suckling ewes need magnesium to prevent grass tetany in April/may.
Hi magnesium buckets is one of the ways to give it to them.
Grass tetany kills ewes very quick especially on lush grass

If you're giving Ewe & lamb nuts would you need a hi mag bucket?

orm0nd · 28-02-2017 12:52AM

Farrell wrote: »

If you're giving Ewe & lamb nuts would you need a hi mag bucket?

if nuts are suitable for lambs they don't usually contain cal mag, however the fact that your feeding concentrates would lower the risk of tetany from grass,

rangler1 · 28-02-2017 02:36AM

orm0nd wrote: »

if nuts are suitable for lambs they don't usually contain cal mag, however the fact that your feeding concentrates would lower the risk of tetany from grass,

Some ewe and lamb nuts have magnesium, lambs'll only eat a small amount anyway, ewes don't give the lambs much time to eat them, but don't use E +L in a creep feeder for lambs if it has magnesium in it.

cattle man · 28-02-2017 10:40AM

Lambing underway here since Saturday all going ok. But pressure coming on shed with weather. When are lads letting lambs out ?
Weather really not helping.

Sami23 · 28-02-2017 10:42AM

Quick question for people more experienced than me.
Have a hoggot that lambed on Saturday, both lambs were dead this morning.
Question is how long will she b suitable for fostering a lamb onto as not sure if I'll have a lamb for her 2day ?

adam14 · 28-02-2017 02:40PM

cattle man wrote:

Lambing underway here since Saturday all going ok. But pressure coming on shed with weather. When are lads letting lambs out ? Weather really not helping.

Not letting twins out for a week and singles 3-4 days all with the weather. Should be going out sooner, all adding to the work...

charolais0153 · 28-02-2017 05:35PM

cattle man wrote: »

Lambing underway here since Saturday all going ok. But pressure coming on shed with weather. When are lads letting lambs out ?
Weather really not helping.

Depends on the case that some need a bit more minfing. A fine big couple is definetly hone out at two days old in a sheltered paddock

mcgiggles · 01-03-2017 09:47AM

2 more last night from a cheviot cross hogget, first twins off our own ram (charollais), both fine big lambs, I'd say about 4.5kg and at least a 5kg, was late so didn't get to weigh them, will weigh them today, ewe was great. Have a few cheviot crosses and they were a bit feckin wild when we got them in first but seem to have calmed a bit

Sami23 · 02-03-2017 03:48PM

Query on Oxytocin, does it only work to let down milk directly after lambing or can it b used on a ewe lambed since Saturday who appears to b low on milk for her twins ?
Tia

Green farmer · 02-03-2017 03:52PM

Can cows colostrum be used on lambs ???

mcgiggles · 02-03-2017 04:22PM

think someone on here said before that cows colostrum is better than no colostrum

Lambing 2017

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