General sheep thread

ganmo · 12-03-2017 9:44pm

Username John wrote: »

Check to make sure they're sucking from that side...

I would say if the lambs are doing ok, and they are sucking from both sides, you should be grand...

Not sure I'd keep lambs from her.

i'm not sure if its genetic, seems to come with age more than anything

Username John · 12-03-2017 9:54pm

ganmo wrote: »

i'm not sure if its genetic, seems to come with age more than anything

I think everything is genetic

I'm not sure it's age, have seen hoggets have em...

charolais0153 · 14-03-2017 12:30am

What marker do people use. We generally use marksman but the numbers faded really quickly this year . (sprays)

orm0nd · 14-03-2017 12:56am

charolais0153 wrote: »

What marker do people use. We generally use marksman but the numbers faded really quickly this year . (sprays)

marksman as well, but find we have to put on heavy, i.e go very slowly or go over the number a couple of times

find the mules the hardest to do , fades very soon

Farrell · 14-03-2017 1:13am

Had problem with scab (bought in stock infected), gave everything 2ml of Dectomax & seamed to cure.
Notice the (bought) ram losing Wool & scratching & some inlamb Ewe lambs & lambed ewes scratching too.
Should I inject everything with ivomec / biomectin - ram, ewes, inlambs & baby lambs?

razor8 · 14-03-2017 10:05am

orm0nd wrote: »

marksman as well, but find we have to put on heavy, i.e go very slowly or go over the number a couple of times

find the mules the hardest to do , fades very soon

Coyle's markers last a long time ime

razor8 · 14-03-2017 10:07am

Farrell wrote: »

Had problem with scab (bought in stock infected), gave everything 2ml of Dectomax & seamed to cure.
Notice the (bought) ram losing Wool & scratching & some inlamb Ewe lambs & lambed ewes scratching too.
Should I inject everything with ivomec / biomectin - ram, ewes, inlambs & baby lambs?

You have no choice but too if you want rid of it unless you contract someone in

Ashill5 · 14-03-2017 10:43am

Just new into sheep this year and have all lambed grand but had 2 sets of triplets.
So have 2, pet lambs who are doing grand on Lamlac, just wondering how long I will have to keep them on it before weaning.

roosky · 14-03-2017 1:25pm

Ashill5 wrote: »

Just new into sheep this year and have all lambed grand but had 2 sets of triplets.
So have 2, pet lambs who are doing grand on Lamlac, just wondering how long I will have to keep them on it before weaning.

http://www.volac.ie/agriculture/caring-for-your-livestock/lamb-rearing

this link should have all the answers to your questions, making sure they are eating sufficient meal is the key to weaning, in my experience

IH784man · 14-03-2017 7:16pm

Username John wrote: »

Check to make sure they're sucking from that side...

I would say if the lambs are doing ok, and they are sucking from both sides, you should be grand...

Not sure I'd keep lambs from her.

Seem to only be sucking from one side,can milk her but it's sore on her,and me.What will I do with her as I dont want to be milking her every evening,will put her in a bare field with no meal for a while?

charolais0153 · 14-03-2017 7:55pm

IH784man wrote: »

Seem to only be sucking from one side,can milk her but it's sore on her,and me.What will I do with her as I dont want to be milking her every evening,will put her in a bare field with no meal for a while?

Take the two lambs away for a while...make sure their hungry and then out one of them sucking that side

Username John · 14-03-2017 9:10pm

charolais0153 wrote: »

Take the two lambs away for a while...make sure their hungry and then out one of them sucking that side

Yeah - you need to get them sucking that side. They're old enough to manage it now, is just a matter of getting them used to it...

I think you'll just have to stick with it for a while am afraid... those ewes always take time, but if she's a good ewe twould be pity for her to get mastitis. Wen you say sore, do you mean just from you at her? She doesn't have mastitis already does she?

You'd have to question whether she's worth keeping for next year tho...

Best o luck...

Edit : bare field with no meal will just give you poor hungry lambs. You need to get the lambs sucking that side

IH784man · 14-03-2017 10:21pm

Username John wrote: »

Yeah - you need to get them sucking that side. They're old enough to manage it now, is just a matter of getting them used to it...

I think you'll just have to stick with it for a while am afraid... those ewes always take time, but if she's a good ewe twould be pity for her to get mastitis. Wen you say sore, do you mean just from you at her? She doesn't have mastitis already does she?

You'd have to question whether she's worth keeping for next year tho...

Best o luck...

Edit : bare field with no meal will just give you poor hungry lambs. You need to get the lambs sucking that side

Okay I'll get her sorted tommorow,I'll take her into the shed and put lambs in another pen away from her.Shes a great ewe and a good team no point neglecting them because of laziness.Yes she doesn't like it when I milk her and when I milked today she has blood on her,couldn't see was it the teat cause I was holding her at the same time.
As regards to keeping her,depending how this goes she could just as easy be sold next week,there's plenty other ewes and lambs that won't cause as much hassle in the marts
Thanks everyone

serfspup · 14-03-2017 10:25pm

Username John wrote: »

I think everything is genetic

I'm not sure it's age, have seen hoggets have em...

definitly highly hereditary,

Username John · 14-03-2017 10:34pm

IH784man wrote: »

Okay I'll get her sorted tommorow,I'll take her into the shed and put lambs in another pen away from her.Shes a great ewe and a good team no point neglecting them because of laziness.Yes she doesn't like it when I milk her and when I milked today she has blood on her,couldn't see was it the teat cause I was holding her at the same time.
As regards to keeping her,depending how this goes she could just as easy be sold next week,there's plenty other ewes and lambs that won't cause as much hassle in the marts
Thanks everyone

Blood?

Did you draw milk from that side before? Was the pap blocked maybe, and you burst it? Happened to me last year...

IH784man · 14-03-2017 10:55pm

Username John wrote: »

Blood?

Did you draw milk from that side before? Was the pap blocked maybe, and you burst it? Happened to me last year...

Wasn't blood in the milk,must have been a cut

Farrell · 15-03-2017 12:12am

razor8 wrote: »

You have no choice but too if you want rid of it unless you contract someone in

Is there any particular brand? Will probably get from Agri direct.
Is there any drawbacks to injecting the inlamb Ewe lambs ( due early April)

MayoAreMagic · 15-03-2017 10:50am

serfspup wrote: »

definitly highly hereditary,

+1
I had a ram that threw a rake of them about 10 years ago. Never had it before then. I have found that very often they are heavy milking ewes for the first few years before this happens.

RE milking her, it shouldn't be hurting her Id have thought.. But if she has a cut or something that might explain it. Could she be stopping them on that side herself?

Have you any strongish pet that would do the milking for you for a few days?

The final option would be to foster one of them off her and keep her away from meal etc.

razor8 · 15-03-2017 11:02am

Farrell wrote: »

Is there any particular brand? Will probably get from Agri direct.
Is there any drawbacks to injecting the inlamb Ewe lambs ( due early April)

Not that well up on them but I think hygeia is good

IH784man · 15-03-2017 10:44pm

Put her in the shed in her own pen and her two lambs in a pen besides her for about 4 hours,the big side it seems to have gone down to the same size as the other side and them lambs are sucking both sides I'm nearly sure.No meal might be the answer I think.

roosky · 19-03-2017 12:24am

Last year I sold lambs to the ramadam festival in August, they were shipped to france.

At the time there was a premium for rams with tails and i was told that next year (2017) only lambs with tails would be shipped.

Is it a good or bad idea to leave the tails on all my ram lambs for this purpose,

TIA

ganmo · 19-03-2017 11:25am

roosky wrote: »

Last year I sold lambs to the ramadam festival in August, they were shipped to france.

At the time there was a premium for rams with tails and i was told that next year (2017) only lambs with tails would be shipped.

Is it a good or bad idea to leave the tails on all my ram lambs for this purpose,

TIA

This year it's in June. I'd speak to whoever bought them last year to see if they'll be in the market again this year.

farawaygrass · 19-03-2017 11:48am

Any of ye ear notch ewes for culling after lambing? I tried a few different places on the ear but they bleed a lot after I notch them

Farrell · 19-03-2017 12:15pm

farawaygrass wrote: »

Any of ye ear notch ewes for culling after lambing? I tried a few different places on the ear but they bleed a lot after I notch them

Could you record tag numbers?

charolais0153 · 19-03-2017 12:53pm

farawaygrass wrote: »

Any of ye ear notch ewes for culling after lambing? I tried a few different places on the ear but they bleed a lot after I notch them

Out a big red X on them

farawaygrass · 19-03-2017 1:56pm

If I record numbers I'd be afraid one would slip through unknown to me. I used to put a big red mark on them alright, probably go back to that. You have to be on the ball at shearing time though to make sure you mark her as she's been shorn. So is the ear notch only really for baby lambs?

stantheman1979 · 19-03-2017 4:25pm

Don't worry about a bit of blood! They're not gonna bleed out on you. I've seen lads cut the ends off the ear so a notch isn't gonna kill them!!!

serfspup · 19-03-2017 8:02pm

farawaygrass wrote: »

Any of ye ear notch ewes for culling after lambing? I tried a few different places on the ear but they bleed a lot after I notch them

always notch prolapse & mastitis culls I do it as they are being turned out there can be a bit of bleeding but there is no way they can lose the mark.

kk.man · 19-03-2017 8:30pm

As a matter of interest is there a notch thing you buy?.if so how much approximately?

charolais0153 · 19-03-2017 8:32pm

serfspup wrote: »

always notch prolapse & mastitis culls I do it as they are being turned out there can be a bit of bleeding but there is no way they can lose the mark.

They'll never lose the mastitis either. Just a matter of feeling the bag

razor8 · 19-03-2017 8:51pm

kk.man wrote: »

As a matter of interest is there a notch thing you buy?.if so how much approximately?

https://www.fanevalleystores.com/category/351/ear-notchers

Green farmer · 19-03-2017 8:51pm

Going to see if I can get management eartags next time I order tags. Like a blank tag but a different colour, ( like red ). Just stick the tag in ear and easily spotted later. Currently Spray paint culls, but sometimes can fade by time their culled, after weaning.

ganmo · 19-03-2017 9:30pm

Farrell wrote: »

Could you record tag numbers?

I want to try them plastic circles that go around the tag. Anyone use them?

farawaygrass · 19-03-2017 10:13pm

I use them when tagging replacement ewe lambs. Find it great-you know with a glance the age etc of the ewe.
Think I paid 25-30e for ear notch.
Management are good too but I'd be afraid they could get snagged and fall out

Green farmer · 19-03-2017 11:12pm

You know the flexi tags / slaughter tags for get 0.20cent , could you get blank ones in the different colour ? Just stick the tag in with a flexi tag applicator ? I don't know, can you ?

farawaygrass · 20-03-2017 12:42am

I'm almost certain Cormac do them alright

Lambman · 20-03-2017 8:59pm

Lads not sure if it was this thread or not but I remember in the last week someone had up about a lamb or lambs bad on there feet after lambing and the vet thinking it might be joint I'll? Well I'd 1 today great big lamb mad for sucking but lies even when it sucks on closer inspection it's 2 front hoof joints look swollen and bent back under him any ideas Wat it is or how till sort it?

farawaygrass · 20-03-2017 9:45pm

Sometimes they are born with the hooves bent under them. So if you imagine your arm being the lambs leg, your hand would be bend back under and you would be walking on you wrist so to speak. It usually comes right on it's own but we never had it very bad. Is he old?

razor8 · 21-03-2017 12:02am

Lambman wrote: »

Lads not sure if it was this thread or not but I remember in the last week someone had up about a lamb or lambs bad on there feet after lambing and the vet thinking it might be joint I'll? Well I'd 1 today great big lamb mad for sucking but lies even when it sucks on closer inspection it's 2 front hoof joints look swollen and bent back under him any ideas Wat it is or how till sort it?

Sounds like joint ill, noroclav asap usually works but you need to nail it straight away if it gets a grip you won't cure it

Lambman · 21-03-2017 1:05am

Not even 24 hours old yet... sorry lads was in lambing shed there gonna be a busy 1 thank god there inside... can lambs be born with joint illl?

White Clover · 21-03-2017 3:52am

Lambman wrote: »

Not even 24 hours old yet... sorry lads was in lambing shed there gonna be a busy 1 thank god there inside... can lambs be born with joint illl?

No, usually got through naval from dirty bedding. Important to get iodine on naval ASAP after birth.

Lambman · 21-03-2017 3:54am

Yea done religiously here... first time I seen this tho

Buford T. Justice XIX · 21-03-2017 11:21am

Lambman wrote: »

Yea done religiously here... first time I seen this tho

I've seen something like that in lambs and calves. At 24 hours old it probably is some tendon or ligament problem rather than joint ill. Keep an eye on it, it will probably right itself in a week or so when the tendon/ligament sorts itself out.

Farrell · 21-03-2017 10:37pm

Green farmer wrote: »

You know the flexi tags / slaughter tags for get 0.20cent , could you get blank ones in the different colour ? Just stick the tag in with a flexi tag applicator ? I don't know, can you ?

Is there any tag like this who can be written on with a perm marker which will keep the ink?

Lambman · 22-03-2017 12:50am

Yea as I say we had it in a calf last year vet called it tendonitis? Hopefully will rightify itself a few big sheep men seen it there 1 said give it a vitamin injection and will be grand in a few days the other says no need will come good itself... so I'm going till let it go till see because I don't think it's a deficiency as all singles we're fed the same and in same field and this is the only lamb like this... but both did agree it's a big lamb from a hogget so lighten off had much room inside her which likely caused it till start with.

Green farmer · 22-03-2017 11:05am

Farrell wrote: »

Is there any tag like this who can be written on with a perm marker which will keep the ink?

Got these lads in the post this morning. Will stick a blank red tag in cull ewes years, and spot them easily after weaning. Not sure what the little metal pen is for though.

Ard_MC · 22-03-2017 1:10pm

Green farmer wrote: »

Got these lads in the post this morning. Will stick a blank red tag in cull ewes years, and spot them easily after weaning. Not sure what the little metal pen is for though.

Is it not a spare applicator for the tagger? The pin you have might not fit the tags..just a guess.

Green farmer · 22-03-2017 2:54pm

Ard_MC wrote: »

Is it not a spare applicator for the tagger? The pin you have might not fit the tags..just a guess.

That's it alright. Just didn't know what to make of it initially.

davidk1394 · 22-03-2017 7:22pm

Green farmer wrote: »

Got these lads in the post this morning. Will stick a blank red tag in cull ewes years, and spot them easily after weaning. Not sure what the little metal pen is for though.

Have the blue version here. Very handy for spotting ewes for culling. Have the tagger in the pocket all the time as well as a few tags. No ewe slips under the radar anymore.

White Clover · 23-03-2017 10:46am

Lads, got back into a few sheep this year after a 20 year break! Lambing going well, averaging 200% so far so can't fault that!
My question is on tagging,
What tags do ewes require?
Ditto lambs?
Which ear should I put my own management tag?
I notice some ewes missing the eid (I think) tag from their right ear. What do I do with these ewes?
Appreciate any info on this,
Thanks

General sheep thread

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