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Sheep / Re: Lamb illness

« Last post by KHSDoc on Today at 10:01:18 am »

Bit late to the topic but have you considered frothy bloat as the problem? Dentenox ?simeticone colic drops in the milk helps disperse the bubbles. The stomach is less distended and the lamb a) feels hungry again and b) doesn't have a balloon pressing up against its diaphragm allowing it to breathe easier.

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Announcements / New diary post: Bronte / Leeks / New pen

« Last post by TAS Bot on Today at 09:48:40 am »

A new TAS diary entry has been posted: Bronte / Leeks / New pen

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Sheep / Re: Stocking rates

« Last post by twizzel on May 19, 2024, 09:46:52 pm »

Other than electric fencing, the only other thing you could do is stock fence the field perimeter and then internal paddocks… but that would be incredibly costly. Personally I’d get some stakes and poly wire, and a decent fencer and give it a go.

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Sheep / Re: Stocking rates

« Last post by SavageU on May 19, 2024, 09:20:50 pm »

No horned. Just 2 mules with tiny stubs if anything.

If we were more remote, I’d be more tempted to do electric fencing. But we put up horse steps and had to blinking nail them down.

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Sheep / Re: Stocking rates

« Last post by Bywaters on May 19, 2024, 01:35:39 pm »

I'm not a fan of electric netting for horned sheep. Stock fencing is bad enough for some of mine

Not sure what breed you have

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Sheep / Re: Stocking rates

« Last post by shep53 on May 19, 2024, 01:26:38 pm »

As twizzel says now is the most expensive time to buy sheep and the autumn is the cheapest ,  don't know how much work you are willing to put in / can put in  or if you even have the tools but you could buy the sheep stock fence  and a few posts  ready to make a full fence in the future and use it now to make smaller areas for your sheep  , just unroll your net / nets  and pop a post in every 10 yds /mts  and staple not fully driven home ,  bingo- smaller grazing areas and the material for a permanent fence at some point

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Sheep / Re: Stocking rates

« Last post by SavageU on May 19, 2024, 08:27:51 am »

Too steep for hay in the main and I’ve additional grass elsewhere that we cut and it’s a whole other post.

This is what they graze mostly as up until this year we only had this field that was livestock proof.

I’ve a few contacts and might be able to get some for not silly prices.

I keep getting differing views on keeping wethers.

Op 1:great lawnmowers…sell them when you’re done.
Op2: make the flock fussy, pain to manage.

Currently got 3 and would get more as not looking to increase my ewe numbers massively. Do people keep minimal numbers and Mart the rest?

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Sheep / Re: Dilemma

« Last post by Richmond on May 19, 2024, 08:03:44 am »

Thanks. She's actually looking more settled now and her sisters and their lambs have spent quite a lot of time just the other side of the fence so I think I'll just leave things as they are. I'm really hoping she'll lamb in a day or two, but then I've been saying that for about a fortnight!!

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Sheep / Re: Stocking rates

« Last post by twizzel on May 19, 2024, 07:41:08 am »

I’d love electric fencing but just no clue where to start and added theft factor to consider for us.

They’ve all done well off a 4 acre field but I am leaning more towards creating paddocks for this reason as last year we had nearly half the field with long lush grass and it just felt massively wasted. Even though come winter they still had plenty with bale access on top.

Had a good walk round it and they’ve made a dent in it but there’s still plenty lush grass to be had and it’s growing. I need to buy more sheep, fatten them and sell for Autumn.

Like sally says you could shut half of it off and cut for hay, but shut it off very soon to give it time to grow. Buying sheep is another option but you’re buying them at the most expensive time and probably selling when the price is easier, plus risking disease and biosecurity bringing in new stock. 


Electric fence wise, 2 strands of poly wire round the boundaries and 3 strands through the middle of fields, but it can be costly, esp if you buy a lot at once. We’ve just added to our collection over time.

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Sheep / Re: Stocking rates

« Last post by SallyintNorth on May 19, 2024, 01:48:17 am »

With those numbers on that acreage, you can probably take a hay crop as well?  Yes it'll be less grass than if it weren't grazed, but I bet it'll be enough to be worth mowing.