Agri Vehicles Insurance from Greenlands

Author Topic: Dead stock  (Read 14083 times)

Thyme

  • Joined Apr 2013
  • Machynlleth, Powys
Re: Dead stock
« Reply #15 on: April 22, 2015, 04:38:19 pm »
I think they record them lost.  I can't imagine the farmers who are running hundreds of sheep on the mountain are able to track down every last one.  Maybe once all the ear tags have GPS transmitters...
Shetland sheep, Copper Marans chickens, Miniature Silver Appleyard ducks, and ginger cats.

mowhaugh

  • Joined Jul 2013
  • Scottish Borders
    • Facebook
Re: Dead stock
« Reply #16 on: April 22, 2015, 05:00:58 pm »
This really bugs me.  We run a lot of sheep, on pretty remote and steep ground, and make every effort to bring everything dead back in if at all possible and have it collected properly, paying the fee each time, so I don't see why other people can't too.

Re the record keeping, as you do sometimes get either something in a ravine or similar that you either can't get to without endangering yourself or don't find for ages, or we also getting badgers chewing off ears complete with tags, I run two separate lists, an unkown deaths list,  which records anything spotted dead somewhere where it is not safe it get to, or with the tags gone, and an 'AWOL' list, which is a list of tag numbers of sheep which have not appeared when I would expect them to, i.e. have not come in to be divided in to groups for tupping, have not come into the shed for lambing etc.  These two lists are then cross referenced after the sheep has had another chance or two to reappear, and recorded in the flock register as 'black loss' which is perfectly acceptable to inspectors as long as the numbers you are recording in this way seem reasonable for your situation.

shygirl

  • Joined May 2013
Re: Dead stock
« Reply #17 on: April 22, 2015, 05:18:58 pm »
it would decompose pretty quickly with this weather. I expect its covered to protect it from birds and nosy neighbours etc rather than being left to rot. I remember once coming home to find our ram had died of natural causes and the birds had disembowelled him pretty quickly in a short space of time.
I also remember working on a farm as a young girl and dead sheep would be piled high and stinking whilst waiting for collection.
our neighbours lost sheep during the lambing a few years back and the towny neighbours were going frantic as the bodies hadn't been moved fast enough.

keep your neighbours on side as you will need them one day. maybe offer assistance?


Anke

  • Joined Dec 2009
  • St Boswells, Scottish Borders
Re: Dead stock
« Reply #18 on: April 22, 2015, 06:21:50 pm »
Maybe once all the ear tags have GPS transmitters...

Please don't give DEFRA (or the EU for that matter) any ideas.... :o

Creagan

  • Joined Jun 2013
Re: Dead stock
« Reply #19 on: April 22, 2015, 08:05:53 pm »
Well I suppose I will not bother saying anything, just wanted to judge how big an offence this was and as has been pointed out, it is worth getting on with the neighbours.
There is no way this carcass ended up where it is accidentally, nor is it awaiting collection. Plenty of sun-bleached bones lying around the field to attest to how my neighbour treats fallen stock.

Womble

  • Joined Mar 2009
  • Stirlingshire, Central Scotland
Re: Dead stock
« Reply #20 on: April 22, 2015, 08:19:23 pm »
These two lists are then cross referenced after the sheep has had another chance or two to reappear, and recorded in the flock register as 'black loss' which is perfectly acceptable to inspectors as long as the numbers you are recording in this way seem reasonable for your situation.

Yes, that makes perfect sense, and frankly what more could you be expected to do?  I was just wondering about those who leave dead 'uns around all over the place, and would thus have a far greater percentage unaccounted for.

My latest wondering is whether I can get away with recording names in my medicine record instead of tag numbers, as it would make my life easier. Different world eh?  ;D
"All fungi are edible. Some fungi are only edible once." -Terry Pratchett

Coximus

  • Joined Aug 2014
Re: Dead stock
« Reply #21 on: April 22, 2015, 09:24:59 pm »
I've had a ewe die in hot weather like we have now - She died sometime between a 7am check and 5pm....
She was well known as she was friendly and had split eyelids...
When I found her at 5pm, she was disembowled, mossing most organs, one leg gone and never seen again.

Knakerman took 4 days to arrive for just one sheep.... by that time their was head fleece and some bones... the birds had taken most everything else...

In hot weather you'd be surprised how fast one can go - even worse if you have to wait for a knakerman - I now normally cover with an old buidlersbag in - situ and weight it down with a pallet... stops the crows and foxed getting it, That said - they make a bloody good go of it....

You often have to wait a couple of days for collection, and worse still you may not find the body for a couple of days (lost a sheep aswell before - after a week of wondering where the bones and not much else were found in woods nextdoor - assuming a dog or fox took her and ate everything) - so knakerman collected bones and some fleece again.

OVerall under a tin sheet - sounds like something Id do... cover it up until you can move it....
Also - I HATe and avoid moving the carcase, especially in a batterd state, bits falling everywhere - best off left in situ, throw some LIME on it to stop things eating it and stop disease spreading.

mowhaugh

  • Joined Jul 2013
  • Scottish Borders
    • Facebook
Re: Dead stock
« Reply #22 on: April 22, 2015, 09:45:14 pm »


My latest wondering is whether I can get away with recording names in my medicine record instead of tag numbers, as it would make my life easier. Different world eh?  ;D

If you keep a list in the front which shows corresponding names and tag numbers, I don't see why not!

devonlad

  • Joined Nov 2012
  • Nr Crediton in Devon
Re: Dead stock
« Reply #23 on: April 23, 2015, 10:05:39 am »
Our neighbouring sheep farmer seems to get away with ignoring fallen stock on a reasonably regular basis. As others have said its never a great idea to fall out with neighbours but he offers lots of opportunities to do this. When we bought our land it emerged that he had rented it from previous owner for many years. The local kids had hours of fun playing find the skull. There was no shortage of sheep remains littering the land. One of those occasions where farming gets a bad name  lazy thoughtless sod

Jukes Mum

  • Joined Apr 2014
  • North Yorkshire
Re: Dead stock
« Reply #24 on: April 23, 2015, 12:31:40 pm »


My latest wondering is whether I can get away with recording names in my medicine record instead of tag numbers, as it would make my life easier. Different world eh?  ;D

If you keep a list in the front which shows corresponding names and tag numbers, I don't see why not!

I do this! On my spreadsheet, I have  list of which number is which name and then throughout the rest of the record, they are referred to by "Name".
Don’t Monkey With Another Monkey’s Monkey

Bramblecot

  • Joined Jul 2008
Re: Dead stock
« Reply #25 on: April 24, 2015, 09:13:09 pm »

'Knakerman took 4 days to arrive for just one sheep.... by that time their was head fleece and some bones... the birds had taken most everything else...'

Makes me realise how fortunate we are to have the fallen stock company just up the road.  Anything that dies here is popped into the trailer or Landie, and gone within hours.  The staff are always helpful, and the cost minimal.

Coximus

  • Joined Aug 2014
Re: Dead stock
« Reply #26 on: April 25, 2015, 10:56:15 am »
its harder if its not the case like that - its exacerbated with low staff levels at weekends sadly!
Biggest problem is probabbly finding the fallen stock before its eaten, dead sheep seem to find overgrown ditches and nieghbours woods, somehow half way through a hedge etc, or that corner of the wet field you never really go into often.....
As long as you do it legit when you do find one, its all ok.

Marches Farmer

  • Joined Dec 2012
  • Herefordshire
Re: Dead stock
« Reply #27 on: April 25, 2015, 03:06:08 pm »
We had a ewe die of old age, in hot and humid weather, and the knackerman got to us four days later. We 'd wrapped her in a double layer of feed sacks tied up very tight with binder twine and left her in a wheelbarrow in a cool shed with the door shut.  When he came to collect her the sacks were buzzing with blowfiles .....  The lime pit seems a far more sensible solution in some instances.

Hevxxx99

  • Joined Sep 2012
Re: Dead stock
« Reply #28 on: April 25, 2015, 05:39:12 pm »
My old next door farmer was one of those that left rotting sheep in the fields.  The trading standards were called and he got a mild ticking off and probably a stern warning, but at least did clean up his act.

I know there are heaps of dead lambs and sheep around at present: always is at lambing time.  The deadstock collectors can't get round fast enough!

babysham

  • Joined Jun 2014
  • Lancashire/Yorkshire Border
Re: Dead stock
« Reply #29 on: April 28, 2015, 09:20:15 am »
Some of our local farmers move the ewe down near to an easier access point on their lanes and cover to await Northern Fallen Stock man to collect. This is always within two days. Depending on the weather and wild animals they can look a mess quick. If you think this is not the case then contact your local council for the correct people to report to in your area of the UK. I have a ewe died Sunday and she is covered and in my barn for collection today. I personally couldn't leave her away from the farm so putting up with the stink. I get a receipt and place it in my files and also record as died in my movement book.

 

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