f**k Up Fortnight

[aangus]

First time ever .. walked in and looked through the mothering pens , found one twin drowned in the water bucket

I had one that lambed in the water bucket this year, lesson learned though

 

[paul&mandy]

Crows and ravens been a nightmare this yr. Crows have learnt there dead mates laying about as a deterrent don't matter now. Trouble is they can't know the same kill zone of a rifle...

 

[paul&mandy]

Here’s a question for the outside lambers :-
We lamb one bunch early inside, mainly to save / rest ground
Moor ewes are brought in for lambing and a group from away ground brought nearer home.
I struggle to catch and mark up / ring the outside ones , if I go round with quad or buggy I end up with a mob following me thinking they are getting fed
I’ve a 26 acre piece that’s got a steep front but a flatish top and does afford a dry lye and rushy bits for shelter , so … how do you folk do it ?

We pen all the lambed ones once a week in corner of field with rappa pen. Ring and put over gate. No chances of missed ones then.

 

[aangus]

Dundas in yesterday for some deadstock, he was saying there are some losses around, and other drivers can't believe what they are having to pick up

 

[Wood field]

Dundas in yesterday for some deadstock, he was saying there are some losses around, and other drivers can't believe what they are having to pick up

Our knacker man was here yesterday, one ewe and a couple of lambs , he even took the fox our shooters got .
Wagon was brim full, few cows and calves the rest ewes and lambs

 

[aangus]

I wonder will there be less lambs on the ground this year than last? Wasn't there a rumour last year that Shearwells had sold so thousands of tags compared to the year before

 

[steveR]

First time ever .. walked in and looked through the mothering pens , found one twin drowned in the water bucket

Number 127 in the list of ways a sheep can die.

Herself is paranoid about this one, so buckets are removed once the ewe has had a post lambing drink. Only half full after that.

Water troughs in sheds are boxed in with just enough room for a single ewe to drink at a time.

 

[Northeastfarmer]

Wasn't there a rumour last year that Shearwells had sold so thousands of tags compared to the year before

That’s probably because Shearwell isn’t the company it was and everyone has moved away…

 

[Wood field]

Number 127 in the list of ways a sheep can die.

Herself is paranoid about this one, so buckets are removed once the ewe has had a post lambing drink. Only half full after that.

Water troughs in sheds are boxed in with just enough room for a single ewe to drink at a time.

We only put a couple of inches of water in !
We use old mineral lick buckets , trouble is they are big enough to swallow a lamb

 

[Keithy1394]

Here’s a question for the outside lambers :-
We lamb one bunch early inside, mainly to save / rest ground
Moor ewes are brought in for lambing and a group from away ground brought nearer home.
I struggle to catch and mark up / ring the outside ones , if I go round with quad or buggy I end up with a mob following me thinking they are getting fed
I’ve a 26 acre piece that’s got a steep front but a flatish top and does afford a dry lye and rushy bits for shelter , so … how do you folk do it ?

We only lamb 100 or so outside but i just ring and tail lambs at 24 hours old each day as i do my rounds and mark the lambs . We sometimes number all ewes before lambing then just catch lambs ring them and number lambs to match mother

 

[steveR]

Crows and ravens been a nightmare this yr. Crows have learnt there dead mates laying about as a deterrent don't matter now. Trouble is they can't know the same kill zone of a rifle...

Been a Carrion crow bouncing around the lambing field and the adjoining paddock (earmarked for early turnout but like a swamp) really annoying Steph when she was here, so the .22 was taken out 2 mornings in a row on her early walk, and Mr Crow was snaffled the 2nd day

Glad to see the back of him

 

[steveR]

We only put a couple of inches of water in !
We use old mineral lick buckets , trouble is they are big enough to swallow a lamb

I prefer the round buckets for that reason. Little bit taller too I think?

 

[Stw88]

set a single out yesterday afternoon, 5 o’clock it was standing at the gate (very muddy round gate) took lamb to a dry part of the field and it’s mother followed. Went round at 8 and it was up to its belly in clart stone dead . Another 2 deformed lambs had to be put down and another dead deformed one this morning. Surprising how many deaths there is that you have no control over.

 

[Jerry]

Here’s a question for the outside lambers :-
We lamb one bunch early inside, mainly to save / rest ground
Moor ewes are brought in for lambing and a group from away ground brought nearer home.
I struggle to catch and mark up / ring the outside ones , if I go round with quad or buggy I end up with a mob following me thinking they are getting fed
I’ve a 26 acre piece that’s got a steep front but a flatish top and does afford a dry lye and rushy bits for shelter , so … how do you folk do it ?

lamb 300 or so outside. Ewes are set stocked. By scan.

Singles in bare fields, multiples on good grass. No supplementary feeding other than energy licks and mineral blocks.

Ewes are numbered pre lambing when I vaccinate them.

Lambs are tailed and tagged before 24 hours old else I can’t catch them. If weather crap they also get a plastic jackets.

If quiet I lift all ewes and lambs to a new field, but only if I have time.

 

[gone up the hill]

I wonder will there be less lambs on the ground this year than last? Wasn't there a rumour last year that Shearwells had sold so thousands of tags compared to the year before

Yes there will be less lambs about this year than last.

A lot less ewes being lamb for starters, add that in with Smb and all the losses recently/ now from the weather and you can see lamb numbers will be down despite late lambing flocks mostly having very good scannings.

 

[BAF]

Yes there will be less lambs about this year than last.

A lot less ewes being lamb for starters, add that in with Smb and all the losses recently/ now from the weather and you can see lamb numbers will be down despite late lambing flocks mostly having very good scannings.

Hopefully that keeps lamb prices up for all the poor buggers that have lambed in the last few weeks through this miserable weather!

 

[Jerry]

I went thru the scanned empty Hoggs Monday, found 1 definitely in lamb and she’s just dropped her lamb.

Spotted her messing about 90 mins ago, just been to check and saw tongue and one foot so quickly caught her and found one leg back.

Despite being a ewe lamb and the lamb being a fair size there was plenty room to fish up the other leg and out it popped. Nice ewe lamb that will be tagged to keep I should think.

so hopefully that is finally the end.

She’s plenty milk and just been on average grass most of the winter. No energy blocks even. Just a mineral bolus back in August.

 

[Aspiring Peasants]

Here’s a question for the outside lambers :-
We lamb one bunch early inside, mainly to save / rest ground
Moor ewes are brought in for lambing and a group from away ground brought nearer home.
I struggle to catch and mark up / ring the outside ones , if I go round with quad or buggy I end up with a mob following me thinking they are getting fed
I’ve a 26 acre piece that’s got a steep front but a flatish top and does afford a dry lye and rushy bits for shelter , so … how do you folk do it ?

Number them before lambing and make sure lambs are ringed and numbered within 24 hours. If miss any they have usually got to be gathered up

 

[Aspiring Peasants]

Dry and sunny but bitterly cold wind, 4 hoggs lambed inside when I went out this morning, and 4 live lambs. Outside, 3 lambed all in an exposed part of the field , one set of twins up and suckling, another set one had sucked but the other hadn’t and was starting to go backwards, fetched in and tubed with mother’s colostrum and now up and sucking. Another set of twins , one dead and one weak, fetched in and tubed but not got going, 50:50 whether it makes it.

 

[Northeastfarmer]

I prefer the round buckets for that reason. Littler bit taller too I think?

I use steel rings for water buckets and set them halfway up the hurdles so no lambs can plop into them