The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Livestock => Sheep => Topic started by: patrickr on January 29, 2023, 06:10:09 am
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Hi all
First time lambers, we plan to lamb our 10 Shetlands outside in April / May. We want to choose a nearby field and will have a building / structure to deal with any problems. My main concern is foxes. We have a few prowlers. Any advice on deterring them - aside from shooting? The area will probably be too big for electric netting. How long before the lambs are "safe" (or safer?)
Thanks!
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How big an area? if sheep netting, could you not try running a couple of strands of electric fence above the netting?
while so far we haven't had any lambs taken, last year we brought them into a closed field shelter in a small field for a few days after lambing.
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Shetland lambs with their mothers are pretty safe once they're up and suckling. The moments of risk are if second lamb comes quickly before firstborn is up and fed; first time mother either not bonding with any of her lambs or not being good at keeping both lambs close; sickly lamb.
Lambing outdoors you'll be checking frequently, and staying handy once a ewe starts labour, so the only real worry would be a ewe lambing in the night. In my experience, they rarely lamb in the dark - but there are often very newborn lambs when you do your first check in the morning. So - if staying in a caravan in the field isn't an option - make that first check really a first light check.
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Shetland ewes tupped by a Shetland tup (or simialr smaller rare breed) will normally do fine outside - I have never in the last few years lost a lamb to the fox despite lambing outside in mid-April usually. Their normal time is either at first oight (or just before) or early evening. So I normally have a first run out at 5am, at which point I normally just scoop up any ewes & lambs that have just lambed and pen for a couple of days in the field. If they leave the placenta I will take it away and put onto my muck heap (well away from the lambing field). Crows are actually more of a problem for that one.
If a ewe looks like starting on my last check at last light, I will stay and watch and preferably pen her in a smaller enclosure (no fun chasing a ewe that needs assistance at 3am across the field). In my experience the ones lamb outdoors in the night are going to be problematic.
I also normally pen up my ewes and lambs in the first few weeks in a smaller enclosure overnight, so lambs cannot wander off/fall asleep somewhere far away from the ewe. As I feed a small amount of concentrates at that time I do that twice a day so they all come in. As a bonus lambs also learn to eat from the trough and then find their dam again quickly.
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Have you ever heard of livestock guardian dogs, they live with the sheep and chase off any predators, used a lot abroad think they should be use in England a lot more, would probably decrease dogs attacks aswell
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Where are you located Parrick?
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Have you ever heard of livestock guardian dogs, they live with the sheep and chase off any predators, used a lot abroad think they should be use in England a lot more, would probably decrease dogs attacks aswell
I looked into this when i was farming in Cumbria. We had gazillions of public rights of way, and a heap of Access Land, so dogs which would chase off anything or anyone they didn't know was a total non-starter.