General sheep thread

Buford T. Justice XIX · 25-02-2020 9:41pm

Sami23 wrote: »

Any of ye with Triplets let the 3 lambs run with their mother or would ye always foster (if possible), bottle feed 1 or sell 1 on DoneDeal ?

I'd take the biggest and bottle that one. There's rarely a good result from a ewe rearing 3 unless you're able to run a mini flock with the triplets with ration for the ewes and creep for the lambs.

Better 2 good lambs and 1 poor than 3 poor lambs, I think.

Birdnuts · 25-02-2020 10:45pm

Western Pomise wrote: »

God help anyone with ewes lambing out these few days or having to put out recently born lambs cos sheds are full.
Only 2 degrees on car there now and heavy hail showers that would freeze a young lamb.

And not let up this side of Paddy's day - I know early lamb prices are stronger this year but folk will be taking a hit on housing and extra compound feeding etc.:(

Western Pomise · 25-02-2020 11:26pm

kk.man wrote: »

I don't know what you are talking about Re flock register and animal register being one book.

If he only has a few tags missing he should bring in the sheep and go through each one. Then keep the ones with no tag aside and go through the purchase dockets and put new eid tags on those. There is a column for old tags and replacement tags in the register.

Thanks for reply,I glanced at his Flock Register and didn’t see anything in back of it.

Where are you meant to note doses or injections given to sheep?
Or is that only necessary if people are in likes of Bord Bia quality Assurance.
I know with Cattle that there’s area in back of Register for listing medicines given to animals.

Cheers for any replies....hope to go through the neighbours hoggetts if get a dry evening later in the week.

kk.man · 25-02-2020 11:57pm

Western Pomise wrote: »

Thanks for reply,I glanced at his Flock Register and didn’t see anything in back of it.

Where are you meant to note doses or injections given to sheep?
Or is that only necessary if people are in likes of Bord Bia quality Assurance.
I know with Cattle that there’s area in back of Register for listing medicines given to animals.

Cheers for any replies....hope to go through the neighbours hoggetts if get a dry evening later in the week.

No problem.

Yes medicines etc to be noted in Bord bia book. I am Bord bia assured so I am not aware of any requirement for non assured persons Re sheep.

Western Pomise · 26-02-2020 9:59pm

kk.man wrote: »

No problem.

Yes medicines etc to be noted in Bord bia book. I am Bord bia assured so I am not aware of any requirement for non assured persons Re sheep.

Thanks for reply.....wouldn’t be huge man at paperwork either and the neighbour definitely isn’t from what I can see!

General question to all looking in if not in Bord Bia certified scheme is it necessary to keep paper track of injections/doses to match up to medicines bought from vets or agri Stores?....and if so where do you record them?

Thanks for any feedback.

390kid · 27-02-2020 12:45pm

Does anyone on here get mobile plunge dipping done and do they find it good value compared to the showers?

ganmo · 27-02-2020 5:47pm

Western Pomise wrote: »

Thanks for reply.....wouldn’t be huge man at paperwork either and the neighbour definitely isn’t from what I can see!

General question to all looking in if not in Bord Bia certified scheme is it necessary to keep paper track of injections/doses to match up to medicines bought from vets or agri Stores?....and if so where do you record them?

Thanks for any feedback.

Ya you have to keep a track of the animals that got treatments and their withdrawal times. thats why so many ppl do BB, cause you're meant to be doing most of it anyway

wrangler · 27-02-2020 6:40pm

390kid wrote: »

Does anyone on here get mobile plunge dipping done and do they find it good value compared to the showers?

It's not about the value really, showering is just not as effective as dipping.
You're just not comparing like with like

DJ98 · 27-02-2020 8:23pm

Lambing due to begin here march 1st, what are the chances some will drop beforehand?

ganmo · 27-02-2020 9:04pm

DJ98 wrote: »

Lambing due to begin here march 1st, what are the chances some will drop beforehand?

I'd put money on Saturday

Western Pomise · 27-02-2020 10:42pm

ganmo wrote: »

Ya you have to keep a track of the animals that got treatments and their withdrawal times. thats why so many ppl do BB, cause you're meant to be doing most of it anyway

Thanks.....sending you a pm Ganmo.

Lambman · 28-02-2020 9:45am

Lambing has started here weather still brutal. Hadnt 1 ewe prolapse yet outta 140+ ewes. Got silage outside and housed 1 week before due till lamb only fed nuts 4 weeks out from lambing any ewes that are lambed seem till have plenty a milk makes u think over feeding thinking your doing the right thing might be bringing on more problems than saving them.

wrangler · 28-02-2020 11:22am

Lambman wrote: »

Lambing has started here weather still brutal. Hadnt 1 ewe prolapse yet outta 140+ ewes. Got silage outside and housed 1 week before due till lamb only fed nuts 4 weeks out from lambing any ewes that are lambed seem till have plenty a milk makes u think over feeding thinking your doing the right thing might be bringing on more problems than saving them.

Where's the problem, I have one prolapse in 86 ewes, I have 4 rams on 1 acre and they're in ****, so you can imagine the mess 86 would make on 10 acres.
Triplet ewes here are on up to 3.3 pounds with no problems. ewe lambs with 2s and 3s are getting 3lbs, again no problems.
We're doing that for over 20 years.
If you feed a pound extra to a ewe for month it costs €4/ewe, go figure.
Bigger lambs,more colostrum and better condition on the ewe

Lambman · 28-02-2020 12:32pm

I'm just saying I would usually fed the ewes earlier and would usually have 3 or so prolapse. A big thing could be that I sold all triplet ewes in lamb after scanning. Lands a mess here grass is growing but even walking the land ur leaving a mess behind you. No urea out and wont be with shape lands in. Might have till get the aul fella fired up on the fiddle ðŸ˜‚

Lambman · 28-02-2020 12:38pm

On the mobile plunge dipper I used it this year on out farm for some ewes and it's a mighty job very professional ewes all counted dip all measured and topped up after so many ewes. The only down fall is I'd till cart 3 IBC tanks till him. They empty tank every time they move they kinda have till the way its setup. Wasnt that expensive either going by amount a dip he was putting in and it had till be drawn by tractor.

farawaygrass · 28-02-2020 4:46pm

wrangler wrote: »

Where's the problem, I have one prolapse in 86 ewes, I have 4 rams on 1 acre and they're in ****, so you can imagine the mess 86 would make on 10 acres.
Triplet ewes here are on up to 3.3 pounds with no problems. ewe lambs with 2s and 3s are getting 3lbs, again no problems.
We're doing that for over 20 years.
If you feed a pound extra to a ewe for month it costs €4/ewe, go figure.
Bigger lambs,more colostrum and better condition on the ewe

You feed straw as forage isn’t it wrangler? I think I’d agree with you though. As I posted here earlier, I was short of milk at the start of lambing, got my figures mixed up. Started feeding later than normal and not as much. I upped the feed when I noticed a problem and thankfully it helped a lot. The lambs born first were very small, and will lag behind for a long time I reckon. With this weather, big strong lambs would make like that bit easier, along with plenty of milk from the ewe. I didn’t have a ewe prolapse for years, feeding couples 2lbs, but had one this year. Not bad, just stuck on a harness and she seems fine again. I’m rambling, but my conclusion would be that going forward, I’ll start feeding a small bit earlier, and build up to correct amount. I’d definitely side with a bit extra feed rather than less.
Wrangler-if feeding good silage, thst was tested at 14 % protein, would you alter your concentrate feeding then?

wrangler · 28-02-2020 6:54pm

farawaygrass wrote: »

You feed straw as forage isn’t it wrangler? I think I’d agree with you though. As I posted here earlier, I was short of milk at the start of lambing, got my figures mixed up. Started feeding later than normal and not as much. I upped the feed when I noticed a problem and thankfully it helped a lot. The lambs born first were very small, and will lag behind for a long time I reckon. With this weather, big strong lambs would make like that bit easier, along with plenty of milk from the ewe. I didn’t have a ewe prolapse for years, feeding couples 2lbs, but had one this year. Not bad, just stuck on a harness and she seems fine again. I’m rambling, but my conclusion would be that going forward, I’ll start feeding a small bit earlier, and build up to correct amount. I’d definitely side with a bit extra feed rather than less.
Wrangler-if feeding good silage, thst was tested at 14 % protein, would you alter your concentrate feeding then?

Yea, we count the first pound of meal as replacing the silage, silage plus 2 lbs of meal would be a good feed for them ..........
I don't know what you'd need to be feeding them after lambing this year to keep them milking, ewes will milk off their backs in bad conditions if they're in good condition themselves

DJ98 · 28-02-2020 7:11pm

Have a horned ewe here, one of her horns is growing very close to her eye, what would the safest way to remove it be? Would a vet be required to do it?

farawaygrass · 28-02-2020 8:22pm

wrangler wrote: »

Yea, we count the first pound of meal as replacing the silage, silage plus 2 lbs of meal would be a good feed for them ..........
I don't know what you'd need to be feeding them after lambing this year to keep them milking, ewes will milk off their backs in bad conditions if they're in good condition themselves

Did you do the sums on the straw vs silage? They’re would be a lot of positives feeding straw I’d imagine. You are based in Leinster I believe? Plenty of good straw around, different in the West

wrangler · 28-02-2020 9:32pm

farawaygrass wrote: »

Did you do the sums on the straw vs silage? They’re would be a lot of positives feeding straw I’d imagine. You are based in Leinster I believe? Plenty of good straw around, different in the West

Feeding straw is a lifestyle choice here, much cleaner and easier.
The pound of meal replaces the silage so for 120 days it costs €16, plus about about €7 for straw which they'd have to be bedded anyway feeding silage.
So it's costing about €20/ewe to replace the silage

MIKEKC · 28-02-2020 10:33pm

DJ98 wrote: »

Have a horned ewe here, one of her horns is growing very close to her eye, what would the safest way to remove it be? Would a vet be required to do it?

Cut an inch off with hacksaw. No blood there so no problem

MIKEKC · 28-02-2020 10:34pm

wrangler wrote: »

Feeding straw is a lifestyle choice here, much cleaner and easier.
The pound of meal replaces the silage so for 120 days it costs €16, plus about about €7 for straw which they'd have to be bedded anyway feeding silage.
So it's costing about €20/ewe to replace the silage

Why not feed hay?

wrangler · 28-02-2020 10:52pm

MIKEKC wrote: »

Why not feed hay?

Straw is easier, just bed the sheep and they'll pick what they need.
A lot of hay is not much better than straw, like most of it is cut well past its best stage

Lano Lynn · 28-02-2020 11:36pm

DJ98 wrote: »

Have a horned ewe here, one of her horns is growing very close to her eye, what would the safest way to remove it be? Would a vet be required to do it?

if you want to preserve her good looks get a paint stripper blow heater .shield her eye with a bit of wood and heat the end of the horn and bend it away from her face don't over heat the 'quick of the horn'

ganmo · 29-02-2020 1:35am

DJ98 wrote: »

Have a horned ewe here, one of her horns is growing very close to her eye, what would the safest way to remove it be? Would a vet be required to do it?

Dehoring wire is the easiest way I reckon

greysides · 29-02-2020 3:10am

ganmo wrote: »

Dehoring wire is the easiest way I reckon

For cattle, this is what I would do. Provided you only take an inch or two, it would be just like cutting a finger nail, no blood, no sensation.

RobinBanks · 01-03-2020 7:18am

Hi All

Warning, stupid question incoming......

I have some lamb crunch left over and was going to throw it into trough for baby calves. Looking at ingredients there is no major difference between the lamb and calf crunch. Why is there specific rations for lambs and calves??? And is there a reason why you wouldn’t give one to the other???

ganmo · 01-03-2020 9:49am

RobinBanks wrote: »

Hi All

Warning, stupid question incoming......

I have some lamb crunch left over and was going to throw it into trough for baby calves. Looking at ingredients there is no major difference between the lamb and calf crunch. Why is there specific rations for lambs and calves??? And is there a reason why you wouldn’t give one to the other???

Number one difference would be copper, feeding a calf ration to lambs would kill them eventually

Siamsa Sessions · 01-03-2020 10:18am

RobinBanks wrote: »

Hi All

Warning, stupid question incoming......

I have some lamb crunch left over and was going to throw it into trough for baby calves. Looking at ingredients there is no major difference between the lamb and calf crunch. Why is there specific rations for lambs and calves??? And is there a reason why you wouldn’t give one to the other???

Could you mix in a small amount with the calf ration every day over the space of a few weeks?

Lambman · 01-03-2020 11:48am

Bit off topic but does Netflix have any farming programmes on it?

RobinBanks · 01-03-2020 12:12pm

ganmo wrote: »

Number one difference would be copper, feeding a calf ration to lambs would kill them eventually

I had planned on feeding lamb crunch to calves not other way round

DJ98 · 02-03-2020 12:41am

How long do people leave between checking ewes at night?

Lambman · 02-03-2020 6:59am

Set phone alarm every 2 hours or so and check the cameras on phone so dont have till get out off bed if nothing happening.

charolais0153 · 02-03-2020 3:40pm

DJ98 wrote: »

How long do people leave between checking ewes at night?

2.5 - 3 hours

farawaygrass · 02-03-2020 4:47pm

DJ98 wrote: »

How long do people leave between checking ewes at night?

After finishing up all other jobs I’ll check them after 3 hours, and try for max of 4 hours at night

ganmo · 02-03-2020 6:02pm

RobinBanks wrote: »

I had planned on feeding lamb crunch to calves not other way round

Lamb crunch is usually the dearer of the 2

Lambman · 03-03-2020 11:55pm

Withe the weather here and sheep lambing I've sheep in a shed were I just leave a round bale in the middle and have feeding barriers around it so they can eat whenever they want but I notice every single ewe that lambed in that shed is lambing at night wonder is it just coincidence?

Western Pomise · 04-03-2020 1:10am

Lambman wrote: »

Withe the weather here and sheep lambing I've sheep in a shed were I just leave a round bale in the middle and have feeding barriers around it so they can eat whenever they want but I notice every single ewe that lambed in that shed is lambing at night wonder is it just coincidence?

Would say it’s just coincidence,what time of day do you give them their nuts?

kk.man · 04-03-2020 8:16am

Western Pomise wrote: »

Would say it’s just coincidence,what time of day do you give them their nuts?

I know a dairy guy who feeds late in the evening as he recons it puts off calving for the day time. I don't know if their is scientific study on it but he swears by it.

Lambman · 04-03-2020 8:46am

Feeding nuts morning and evening silage available all the time.

Dinzee Conlee · 04-03-2020 9:56am

Lambman wrote: »

Feeding nuts morning and evening silage available all the time.

You don’t have the lights on at night so you?

Siamsa Sessions · 04-03-2020 10:54am

Dinzee Conlee wrote: »

You don’t have the lights on at night so you?

I turned the lights off last year and it seems to have encouraged them to lamb during the day, especially in the morning. Worked the same this year.

Could be wrong but I’m sure someone told me the natural time for them to lamb is morning as it gives the lambs maximum time before dark when predators come out again

Lambman · 04-03-2020 11:03am

No lights are off at night shed would be badly lit anyways so camera works better with night vision than poor light so I turned off the lights. Same story last night 2 ewes lambed at half 4 nothing in that shed all day yesterday. Would once a day feeding make a difference if I were till just feed meal in the morning.

ganmo · 04-03-2020 11:07am

We need to get some goat Gene's into our sheep, they dont lamb in the dark

Lambman · 04-03-2020 1:41pm

Bit the bullet as they say and hunted 22 ewes and 32 rams out to grass. Cold nights but giving it dry so gonna take the chance takes a bit off pressure off for now. Was mostly big single lambs that's why it's a bad ratio off lambs per ewe.

Sami23 · 04-03-2020 1:53pm

Lambman wrote: »

Bit the bullet as they say and hunted 22 ewes and 32 rams out to grass. Cold nights but giving it dry so gonna take the chance takes a bit off pressure off for now. Was mostly big single lambs that's why it's a bad ratio off lambs per ewe.

How old are they ?

arctictree · 04-03-2020 4:45pm

I'm in bed at 10. Up at 3 for an hour and then back to bed until 7.

So far, there have been no lambs at 3am. I just use it to feed some young pet lambs. A lot of mine seem to lamb at about 5 or 6am as I often find lambs on the ground at 7.

Lambman · 04-03-2020 4:50pm

From 2 days till 8 days. Mostly singles and all outta texel ram so there plenty wool on them. Tempted till try another batch out in the morning again probably will let them at it. Have 1 lamb there small lamb as he was a double but lost other one anyways first 2 days he was grand moved him and ewe into larger pen with other lambs and ewes and noticed one morning he was stretched funny and not able till stand for too long so moved them back till a pen on there own. Was always able till get up and suck ewe but he cant walk anymore than a yard at a time. Any ideas what I should be giving him?

arctictree · 05-03-2020 9:36pm

Lads, any hope for a lamb with its guts hanging out the navel? I presume not....

thelegend1979 · 05-03-2020 10:07pm

Needs a stitch asap to have any hope.

General sheep thread

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