The Accidental Smallholder Forum

Livestock => Sheep => Topic started by: Jon Feather on April 20, 2017, 05:46:59 pm

Title: Can I put the tup back in??
Post by: Jon Feather on April 20, 2017, 05:46:59 pm
Afternoon peeps.
On our second years lambing now and all is going well. :fc:
Last year we left the tup in with the ewes while they lambed and the tup killer a couple of the lambs as soon as they were born.  Rare I know but we saw him do it.
To be on the safe side this year, we removed the tup (not the same one), and a wether for company, to another small field while the ewes lambed.  Well we now have 13 lambs and all is going well.  We should be finished lambing in a couple of days when the last 3 lamb.

Question is, we go on holiday for 10 days on the 6th May and can't leave the tup and wether in the small field because there isn't enough grass for them.  So do you think it would be safe to put the tup back in the field with the ewes and lambs?

An experienced farmer will drop by every now and then but can't be here all the time.
Title: Re: Can I put the tup back in??
Post by: Daisys Mum on April 20, 2017, 05:52:07 pm
Personally I wouldn't I would rather put hay or haylage out for them and leave them where they are for the 10 days. When you come back and can be there try them then.
Title: Re: Can I put the tup back in??
Post by: Jon Feather on April 20, 2017, 06:01:10 pm
Thanks for the suggestion but I can't do that.  They have eaten the grass down to the ground and we are feeding with cake and hay every day. The field they are in is only about 15x20 metres.  I wouldn't feel happy leaving them with just hay for that length of time.
Title: Re: Can I put the tup back in??
Post by: shep53 on April 20, 2017, 08:23:23 pm
Not sure what you want us to say , you can't leave in the small area but are worried about putting them with the lambs ? has to be your decision ! but it reads like you are going to put them with the lambs , should be ok but you never can tell
Title: Re: Can I put the tup back in??
Post by: heyhay1984 on April 20, 2017, 09:05:11 pm
If you're going to put them back in there must be a "sweet spot" couple of days where the last lambs are quick(ish) on their feet but several days before you go away, then if there's any problems you'll have to put them back in the small field til you return. But at least you'll know for certain and have time to sort it out.
Title: Re: Can I put the tup back in??
Post by: Jon Feather on April 20, 2017, 09:31:30 pm
No, I hadn't already made up my mind to put him back in with the lambs.  Quite the opposite.  I just didn't know if was an absolute big no no.  Like I said, it's only our second lambing and we are still on a massive learning curve.
Sounds like it should be okay with a bit if care and a few days.  If there is a problem, or someone else strongly advises against it I'll have to find another solution.
Title: Re: Can I put the tup back in??
Post by: heyhay1984 on April 20, 2017, 09:40:26 pm
To be fair my ram has been in with the flock throughout but they are primitives and the flock they come from leaves all the males in as guardians during lambing so that instinct seems to have been retained. I do shut the ewes and lambs in at night for the first week as well though, until the lambs get too clever and fast for me to catch easily, as we have foxes and badgers all over the place!

Just hope your stragglers lamb a bit quicker than mine are, several pairs of crossed legs here...
Title: Re: Can I put the tup back in??
Post by: landroverroy on April 20, 2017, 09:51:11 pm
I always leave my tup in with the ewes and lambs till shearing and I've never had a problem. Hopefully yours was just a once off problem.
To be honest, if I were going away for 10 days in May and only had someone popping in every now and then, I'd be more worried about the possibility of maggots. 
Title: Re: Can I put the tup back in??
Post by: SallyintNorth on April 21, 2017, 12:05:28 am
I'm guessing the experienced farmer will be checking daily, and will spot any fly issues at a hundred paces. 

If I remember correctly, you're in West Cumbria, with Shetlands?  Not impossible to be getting flystrike in early May, but a lot less likely than further south.

My Shetland ram and wethers stayed with the flock year round, and never any problem with the tup and lambs at all.  Silly, giddy, wether hoggs sometimes ::) but not the tup.  They had plenty of space though - stocking was nearly an acre per lambing ewe, and lots of varied terrain, woodland and riverbank as well as pasture and meadow. 

My initial reaction was to say that plenty of sheep eat nothing but hay all winter, what's the problem with the tup and companion getting nothing but hay for 10 more days?  But maybe you're bothered about escape tunnels and how far a Shetland tup could get in 24 hours..  Or embarrassed to ask your farmer friend to dispense the hay and water? 
Title: Re: Can I put the tup back in??
Post by: Marches Farmer on April 21, 2017, 09:26:43 am
If I had a tup that had killed his own lambs he would've been in the cull pen at market the next week, although we keep our tups entirely separate from the rest of the flock other than at tupping.  Is there no other land locally that wants a lawnmower?
Title: Re: Can I put the tup back in??
Post by: bj_cardiff on April 21, 2017, 10:38:54 am
With my ewes and Rams I'd do it without a second thought, and have already done so this year. Given your experience I'd probably be hesitant but if you've changed the ram then go for it.

The only time I've seen a lamb attacked was when I had a black lamb and the ewes all attacked it when housed. I put them outdoors and there was enough space for them to keep out each others way
Title: Re: Can I put the tup back in??
Post by: Jon Feather on April 21, 2017, 05:26:15 pm
If I had a tup that had killed his own lambs he would've been in the cull pen at market the next week, although we keep our tups entirely separate from the rest of the flock other than at tupping.  Is there no other land locally that wants a lawnmower?

This isn't the same tup.  The one that killed the lambs last year went to the freezer.  This is a new, young tup.
Title: Re: Can I put the tup back in??
Post by: farmers wife on April 21, 2017, 10:25:09 pm
Our tups go back in.  Never an issue.