Mind the tax if she has an off farm job also. We looked at splitting the farm years ago but anything herself would bring in would be handed to revenue.
without greencert she won’t get the national reserve or young farmer but she can lease entirlements (or buy) and claim the entitlement value, ANC, Criss and Eco
Yea, we leased the last 2 years. All our land is rented in, so difficult to know if we should buy as we might not have the ground in the future.
Thanks for the replies
Had a serious twin lamb, 2 weeks old literally start having seizures, bloat up and die in the space of about 3 hours. I think it’s meningitis and we brought him to vet when we seen him isolated. He gave a few injections and 10 mins later he started having a seriously bad seizure that last about 40 mins before he died.
Any thoughts, best of lamb fine this morning at 7 o’clock when I done morning checks, come 4 oclock the father suspected him and brought him over to vet, by quarter past 5 he was dead.
Anytime we had meningitis it always seemed to go on for a few days before death.
Thoughts welcome
Were the ewes vaccinated.
Seizures would be a symptom of tetanus
ewes were vaccinated with covexin as couldn’t get hepta vac
With just the last few to lamb, lambing has went well with the weather a big improvement on the last 2 years.
The ewes were being fed a 20% ewe and lamb nut for 3 weeks before lambing but they are usually just on grass after lambing.
Only issue is slower grass growth. Most ewes were lambed outside and moved to a new paddock after lambing. The only paddock I have left for the last lambers has low amount of grass. I was considering feeding the bigger cob style nut to the last batch of ewes with not enough grass for 10 days. I have never used them before. Is there any issue with the cob size if a lamb was trying to eat it? I guessing they would be too young to be interested in eating them.
Also, is there any issue with feeding them on the ground in a field that fertiliser spread recently?
We use cobs when we run out of grass in April, never have any problems with them.
what are people using for watery mouth in lambs ? Had one here this year and died , is it poor quality ewe colostrum is the main reason for it ?
Poor hygiene at lambing is the main cause ,
Good nutrition and good quality protein for the ewe for a month before lambing improves the colostrum which in turn improves the immunity in the lambs
anyone worried a bout grass tetany with ewes gone on good grass. Are ye feeding them meal a bit still or leaving out mag buckets
I've buckets out but still giving a wee handful, my ewes are a bit short of condition so need the meal anyway .
Just throwing a cob nut out on the ground
Have taken a piece of land recently that comes with commonage access. I have ewes currently grazing the commonage on the home farm but have kept some horned ewe lambs that I had planned to sell but am I now thinking I could use them to graze this new commonage ground. Would it be gone too late to put them out on it and try feeding them to stay local or should it have been done earlier?
Have a texel ewe that took ill before lambing, was caught badly in the chest and vet was called to have a look at her and she was treated. Noticed her losing some condition and as luck would have it the lambs were taken from her which were dead but not too long dead.
That was over 2 weeks ago and she will not eat and is skin and bones, I got some of those electrolyte packets you mix in water and gave them to her, I have tried drenchin Guinness into her and now im horsing a mixture of water and ready break into her to see if she will pull through. She will drink on her own and is up and about but just wont eat.
Is there any hope for her.
Try her with ivy. If not eating ivy there's feck all chance for her
Ketovic would be worth giving her also - 100ml per day.
It's great stuff.
We always put the hoggets to the hill in early May when grass starts to grow. Putting them out earlier makes them harder to settle. They keep walking to feed
How soon before lambing would a ewe start bagging up? Have a couple that were scanned in lamb but ain't showing any signs yet of developing a bag. Have another 3 weeks to lamb going by dates rams were out. All other ewes are lambed after today.
lambing finished on Sunday night in the middle of the masters. very successful lambing. Over 90 ewes lambed in 2 weeks. Don’t use the ram effect this year but had 3 rams with the ewes. only lost 4 lambs in all of lambing. 1 smothered in its own bag, 2 were triplets that was scanned as a double and wasn’t fed accordingly. One lamb lost out in field after a week. no pet lambs although 2 still being adopted on ewes who are a bit sceptical. one of the easiest beat lambing. I had them wintered on a bit of new ground u til a week before lambing and they were in great condition coming in.
Over for another year thankfully
Lambs born mid to late February due their 1st dose around now.
Would Zerofen 2.5% be ok for the 1st dose ?
Tia
Poor lambing here, fox is taking all round him, lads say they can't get close enough to shoot him.
what age are the lambs
If you know where his regular paths are then snaring/trapping is an option. I've have found it to be effective for lamp shy foxes at this time of year myself over the years
are they dirty? I’ve a few born second week of feb and there clean .
The father had a maggots in a hogget yesterday. She had a dirty back end and it was before all this rain came.
Very early in the year for them, but just to let people know.
(Edit) He actually had 3 with maggots
Newborns, twins and triplets, not sure about singles. I had a set of triplets born a few days ago, took one away to sell as a pet. Saw the two I had left with her at 9pm, went back around midnight to see the fox chewing on one. Not a great return for a years work to be left with the top of his head and his ballsack! Luckily she took the other lamb back but I can't help wondering if it's a death sentence for him. It'd put me off sheep.
I was never much good at snaring tbh. Got one years ago going through a gap in a wall. I'd be afraid I'd get a ewe caught in one. Have new lads coming shooting the next decent night as the lads I had in are losing lambs in their own place so not fair to ask them while that's going on.
I've been watching the fields closely after a few early loses to the fox. I have a good few blackies, I've the impression that they are happy once one lamb is at their feet, they don't seem to bothered about the second one. It's very annoying when you have all the work done, turn them out and the fox gets one.
That said I seem to have got on top of it with the use of this light:
https://www.countrylife.ie/shop/product/FoxLights-Predator-Deterrent/9085382?srsltid=AfmBOopBtwWndrAKr5o97k_a2w5jqMMfXnwT9mrlmi1ZsxZAezhL8gjD
Also using the OrlDen repellent that someone on here recommended on all the lambs
Sounds like a Carlsberg add!!
Anecdotal evidence here in NW that foxes 🦊 have never being as plentiful or well conditioned…..
Speaking to several farmers who have lost several lambs each and have got fellas out on the case.
Apparently a lot of foxes are being ‘fed treats’ now in the countryside in back gardens of non farming houses over the Winter…..which then further emboldens them when fresh lambs hit the ground.
Saw lots of foxes when I moved to leitrim first. English neighbour was telling me he often fed them.... don't see as many nowadays for some reason 😎
