Weaning lambs and flushing ewes
Posted: Sunday 12 September, 2010
We weaned the two tup lambs last week and put them in with Buddy, Leo and Dickie in the wee paddock behind the West range. One lamb's five months and he's getting a bit frisky, so it probably was good timing. However, there's not much grass in there now and I don't want a) the tups to lose condition and b) the lambs to stop growing, so I decided that they could go into Five Acre Field this weekend.
I've never managed to flush the ewes before, so haven't had great lamb crops, so I'm determined to do better this year. Flushing means causing the ewes to produce lots of eggs and therefore, lots of lambs. You do this but putting them on to poor grazing at weaning (this also helps their milk supply to dry up), then a couple of weeks before the tup goes in, you either put them on to good grass or give them concentrates - this makes them think that conditions are good for lambs, and so they produce more eggs. The problem, if it is a problem, is that we've never had poor grazing - we're usually awash with grass, for the number of sheep we have.
With only a few sheep, grouping them can get a wee bit complicated. We have three ewes and three gimmers going to Leo this year; we have one ewe lamb that isn't, but she can't be kept on her own. This is where Dickie comes into his own! As nursemaid and companion.
Yesterday, we moved the four tups and Dickie into Five Acre Field. Actually, Dickie got as far as the gate then we persuaded him to hang a left into Sheepfold, to join the girls. There he greeted his mother by head-butting her.
The four boys look a bit lost in a five-acre field - generous stocking densities here. Tony, Rebecca, Sam and Jamie came round for a cup of tea. Being a nice day, we sat outside the caravan, which is in Five Acre Field, and the boys joined us. Leo makes a pretty fabulous table - I wonder if we could train him to take round the snacks!
Today we moved the girls and Dickie back into the wee paddock that the boys were in; shortly, Dickie and Nellie, the ewe lamb, will go back into Sheepfold, with the ponies. Poor Dickie will be dizzy. The wee paddock, as I said before, is pretty bare, at least compared to anywhere else on the holding - and the girls are less than chuffed. Now I have to identify somewhere to move them to in mid- October, to have them raring to go by Bonfire Night when they'll meet Leo for the first time.
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