How's lambing going for ye?

Farrell · 03-03-2016 12:30AM

farawaygrass wrote: »

How long do you leave on the jackets for? Do you have to take them off again or are they disposable?

Use them too, 25 for €12.50.
Once the lamb gets big enough they'll bust out them, if they haven't caught in a briar first.
Find the first few days/ week most important (foxes & weather)

Birdnuts · 03-03-2016 01:13AM

farawaygrass wrote: »

How long do you leave on the jackets for? Do you have to take them off again or are they disposable?

As needs be - usually put on young lambs going outside for the first time in rough weather:(. After a few days they are usually hardy enough to go without. However in prolonged cold/wet conditions with high wind chill, older lambs will benefit too. Currently I'm using Lammac biodegrable jackets. I order them online

http://www.animalfarmacy.ie/products/detail/livestock/sheep/lambing/24129/lammac-life-jackets-for-lambs-large-100

davidk1394 · 03-03-2016 10:16AM

ganmo wrote: »

tough day for you two guys

is the crows going for the tongue a recent change? happened here last year

Saw it last year as well. Things are picking up now thankfully

somofagun · 24-03-2016 02:20PM

I have been out of sheep the last few years and decided to get back into them last year and they are due to start lambing any day now. So far i have had 2 ewe's put out their reeds which is not the best of starts so it can only get better.

Dickie10 · 24-03-2016 09:37PM

id say your feeding them too well, silage can make this happen too if there in real good condition.

JJayoo · 25-03-2016 03:33PM

Llyen/Zwartble twins born lastnight. 13 and 12 pounds. The mother is the Zwartble and has a big hump in her back due to being squashed as a triplet in the womb, so she looks a bit dodgy but without doubt the best mother of all the sheep we have.

Long live Humpy

Username John · 25-03-2016 06:03PM

Overall, lambing isn't goin too bad here...

One ewe, who is thin to be fair has no milk (scanned for two but had three, but the condition was gone too bad before I copped it) so two pets there maybe...

Lost two lambs today - one I couldn't have done much about, the other was my own fault and am sickened cos of it..:

sea12 · 25-03-2016 09:27PM

Username John wrote: »

Overall, lambing isn't goin too bad here...

One ewe, who is thin to be fair has no milk (scanned for two but had three, but the condition was gone too bad before I copped it) so two pets there maybe...

Lost two lambs today - one I couldn't have done much about, the other was my own fault and am sickened cos of it..:

Don't dwell too much on the one you list john. There will be something else tomo.

Going ok here. 1 ewe not much milk with 2 lambs and another with massive tests that would feed a suck calf but way too big for lambs do have to milk her. Other than that going slowly a couple lambing every day. Have allot of singles this year which reduces numbers but does make it easier to get lambs out quickly

Username John · 25-03-2016 10:06PM

sea12 wrote: »

Don't dwell too much on the one you list john. There will be something else tomo.

Going ok here. 1 ewe not much milk with 2 lambs and another with massive tests that would feed a suck calf but way too big for lambs do have to milk her. Other than that going slowly a couple lambing every day. Have allot of singles this year which reduces numbers but does make it easier to get lambs out quickly

I know, but it annoys me fierce...

That sheep is coming into milk, which is good... But her two lambs are bate out trying to get milk off her all day... I have em tubed twice now... But they're a bit shagged looking...

I always think think tis better to tube em, than to bottle feed em, cos they get used to a bottle in no time and don't bother with the ewe then...
But maybe I'm wrong...

Always something ha...

arctictree · 26-03-2016 09:58AM

One of my pet lambs was doing very poorly for the last week. It would just stand there breathing heavily. Had to stomach tube it for the last few days. Then this morning I tubed it and it died after about 5 minutes. I wonder if I killed it?

farawaygrass · 26-03-2016 10:19AM

arctictree wrote: »

One of my pet lambs was doing very poorly for the last week. It would just stand there breathing heavily. Had to stomach tube it for the last few days. Then this morning I tubed it and it died after about 5 minutes. I wonder if I killed it?

I often find with very sick lambs that after I tube them they die soon afterwards. I put it down to the pressure of trying to digest the milk. But it's a sticky situation, if you don't feed they could die of hunger too. I started cutting back how much milk I give them sick lambs st a time, back to 30ml. Used to give the full syringe, 60ml. But can't say if this is better yet or not

rangler1 · 26-03-2016 11:35AM

arctictree wrote: »

One of my pet lambs was doing very poorly for the last week. It would just stand there breathing heavily. Had to stomach tube it for the last few days. Then this morning I tubed it and it died after about 5 minutes. I wonder if I killed it?

Did you give him antibiotic, might have been a pneumonia/chill.
It's not good to stomach tube a lamb if his temperature is low, ie under 37 degrees....they can regurgitate the milk and send it into the lungs.
A sickener when they die after spending time on them,
Lambing going fairly straight forward here, we did fifty adoptions here and only one failed, she's finishing her second week in the stocks at the moment.
Have had a bit of enzootic abortion in the younger ewes that weren't vaccinated, so may go back to routine enzovac again, was advised that as I don't buy in that after 6 or 7 years vaccinating that i could stop .....:mad::mad:
Also using scabivax here this year......another job

sea12 · 26-03-2016 11:36AM

[q
I always think think tis better to tube em, than to bottle feed em, cos they get used to a bottle in no time and don't bother with the ewe then...
But maybe I'm wrong

Doing the same here john plus it's much quicker

Username John · 26-03-2016 01:00PM

Any suggestions on getting a lamb to suck lads?
Lamb from a ewe that was dry, but has now come into milk. His comrade is flying, but he just won't suck... Have tubed him to keep him alive, trying to put him sucking every few hours but no go

Hard to know if am tubing him too much as well giving him the 60ml from the syringe every few hours... Maybe I should do 30ml more often...

Bleating Lamb · 26-03-2016 02:58PM

Don't know if there is one for sheep but there is an injection you can get from vet to give calves help with the sucking reflex.Cost benefit analysis may not add up though!

somofagun · 30-03-2016 02:54PM

Well we are under way with our lambing now. On Sat I had the privilege of pulling 2 dead lambs from one of the ewe,s that had put her reed out back on St Paddys day. Was a difficult one as the legs were just pulling off and the smell. Ewe is still alive but she is still a bit dopey on it. Giving her a course of injections I got from the vet so hopefully she will pull through. She was a dam good ewe as well. On Sunday we had the first to lamb with 2 healthy lambs and have had two sets of triplets since that. One of the sets of triplets was from the other ewe that had put her reed out so I was glad that we got her sorted. The broken sleep is gettin to me as i check them at 4am each morning and i'm sitting here at work waiting on the call from the ole man. Makes life interesting.

Username John · 03-04-2016 02:57PM

Well, lambing 2016 all done for my title hobby flock...

30 ewes...
61 lambs
3 dead
2 sold as pets
Leaving 30 ewes and 56 lambs...
All lambed in 15 days...

Happy enough with how it went, altho 2 of the 3 dead I should have saved... But we'll know better next year...

Few beers in the fridge chilling for this evening... Looking forward to em

ganmo · 03-04-2016 03:01PM

Username John wrote: »

Well, lambing 2016 all done for my title hobby flock...

30 ewes...
61 lambs
3 dead
2 sold as pets
Leaving 30 ewes and 56 lambs...
All lambed in 15 days...

Happy enough with how it went, altho 2 of the 3 dead I should have saved... But we'll know better next year...

Few beers in the fridge chilling for this evening... Looking forward to em

jealous!
another lamb in by the fire

sea12 · 03-04-2016 04:59PM

ganmo wrote: »

jealous!
another lamb in by the fire

Great result there john. Did you take the Rambos out after the 2 weeks again this year

Username John · 03-04-2016 06:42PM

sea12 wrote: »

Great result there john. Did you take the Rambos out after the 2 weeks again this year

No - I actually had the Ram in for 4 weeks, as I had ewe lambs in with the ewes as well...
But it seems the ram was busy for 2 weeks, then did fcuk all the remaining 2 weeks, as none of the ewe lambs went in young...

But sure...

Farrell · 03-04-2016 06:53PM

Username John wrote: »

No - I actually had the Ram in for 4 weeks, as I had ewe lambs in with the ewes as well...
But it seems the ram was busy for 2 weeks, then did fcuk all the remaining 2 weeks, as none of the ewe lambs went in young...

But sure...

Did you sponge or how did you manage to get the lambing so tight?
Thing with ewe lambs is that they sadly come in their own time, which means an March/April lamb.
Have Left Ram with Ewe lambs for 2 months

razor8 · 03-04-2016 07:33PM

Username John wrote: »

Well, lambing 2016 all done for my title hobby flock...

30 ewes...
61 lambs
3 dead
2 sold as pets
Leaving 30 ewes and 56 lambs...
All lambed in 15 days...

Happy enough with how it went, altho 2 of the 3 dead I should have saved... But we'll know better next year...

Few beers in the fridge chilling for this evening... Looking forward to em

You deserve the beers. But come on "happy enough" you say, that's an exceptional result from scanning time

Green farmer · 03-04-2016 07:43PM

[quote="Username John;9926889

Few beers in the fridge chilling for this evening... Looking forward to em

[/quote]

Ah, deck off and stop teasing us !!! Only starting to lamb hoggets now. Won't see the lambing shed close for another 3 weeks here.
Seriously though, that's a great lambing % and very low loss rate, well done and enjoy those beers.

Bullocks · 03-04-2016 08:19PM

Username John wrote: »

No - I actually had the Ram in for 4 weeks, as I had ewe lambs in with the ewes as well...
But it seems the ram was busy for 2 weeks, then did fcuk all the remaining 2 weeks, as none of the ewe lambs went in young...

But sure...

Good stuff John , just 1 left here and I had very little trouble until this evening a ewe lamb lambed and she doesn't want to know her lamb . I tubed him some colostrum and then got him sucking , went into the house and when I came out she had jumped out of the pen . You might be aswell if yours didn't hold !

gazahayes · 03-04-2016 08:25PM

Bullocks wrote: »

Good stuff John , just 1 left here and I had very little trouble until this evening a ewe lamb lambed and she doesn't want to know her lamb . I tubed him some colostrum and then got him sucking , went into the house and when I came out she had jumped out of the pen . You might be aswell if yours didn't hold !

Had the very same here locked them up for a day or two and the finest now

arctictree · 03-04-2016 08:43PM

Username John wrote: »

Well, lambing 2016 all done for my title hobby flock...

30 ewes...
61 lambs
3 dead
2 sold as pets
Leaving 30 ewes and 56 lambs...
All lambed in 15 days...

Happy enough with how it went, altho 2 of the 3 dead I should have saved... But we'll know better next year...

Few beers in the fridge chilling for this evening... Looking forward to em

Well done! By coincidence, I lambed exactly 30 ewes myself too. I finished a few weeks ago and have 50 lambs out in the field. I lost about 8 over the lambing for various reasons, some my own fault. I really need to scan next year, have feckin 6 pets in the garden. Also, I need to cull hard. I have ten nice dry hoggets as replacements.

Bullocks · 03-04-2016 08:52PM

gazahayes wrote: »

Had the very same here locked them up for a day or two and the finest now

How do you mean " locked them up " ? I have her in a 6' × 6' pen and I'm hoping he will master her .

rangler1 · 03-04-2016 09:30PM

Bullocks wrote: »

How do you mean " locked them up " ? I have her in a 6' × 6' pen and I'm hoping he will master her .

If you haven't a headstock you could make a halter out of light rope and tie her up, tie her tight to start with and give her a bit more movement when sne gets used to suckling, she'll probably be alright...always find ewe lambs more maternal here

Bullocks · 03-04-2016 10:15PM

rangler1 wrote: »

If you haven't a headstock you could make a halter out of light rope and tie her up, tie her tight to start with and give her a bit more movement when sne gets used to suckling, she'll probably be alright...always find ewe lambs more maternal here

I was up there and held her while he sucked and I have a feeling he had one teat sucked anyhow before that . She isn't a bad sort just doesn't even know she lambed yet ! I'll check her later but hopefully I won't have to go tying

Jack180570 · 03-04-2016 11:27PM

Username John wrote: »

Well, lambing 2016 all done for my title hobby flock...

30 ewes...
61 lambs
3 dead
2 sold as pets
Leaving 30 ewes and 56 lambs...
All lambed in 15 days...

Happy enough with how it went, altho 2 of the 3 dead I should have saved... But we'll know better next year...

Few beers in the fridge chilling for this evening... Looking forward to em

Enjoy the beers John, that is an exceptional result.. what breed are they?
We are almost finished lambing (blackface ewes), 33 left to lamb, results so far:
174 ewes lambed
272 lambs
17 dead lambs
2 dead ewes
Leaving 172 ewes and 255 lambs...

Had a lot of problems with prolapses (16) this year (two dead ewes) and a lot of malpresented lambs (15). Also lost 3 lambs because I never checked ewes that were incorrectly scanned (marked as singles when they were twins or triplets)

Happy overall with the result... note to myself.. must do better next year

How's lambing going for ye?

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