The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Livestock => Sheep => Topic started by: Backinwellies on March 24, 2018, 06:43:31 am
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I just wondered what others thought about frequency of checking ewes during the lambing period, especially if they are expecting multiples.
I lamb about 15 to 25 ewes and know exactly when they are tupped. I tend to check every 2 hours from about an hour before sun up till 11pm. (if nothing is happening at 11 then generally they are Ok till 5.30am but in the 3 or 4 peak days I will check about 2am) .
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I checked mine every couple of hours in the day, last evening check about 11, then 2 and 5am. I had 4 lamb between 1.30 and 4.30am this year out of 12.
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I checked mine every couple of hours in the day, last evening check about 11, then 2 and 5am. I had 4 lamb between 1.30 and 4.30am this year out of 12.
Unlucky. :( I keep a note of lambing times of each ewe every year .... (having been told by a shepherd that she bred out night lambing .... an interesting discussion point!) . I've only lost 1lamb in 5 years due to early hours lambing by a first timer who obviously had no idea that 'thing' came from her or needed mothering!
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We have 10 due and I have done similar to above, check around every 2-3 hours from about 6am to 10-11pm, if no signs at 11pm then I leave them until the morning check at 6am. Luckily for us nothing last year lambed in the night and so far this year the girls are hanging on and we've not had any lamb yet !!
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I checked mine every couple of hours in the day, last evening check about 11, then 2 and 5am. I had 4 lamb between 1.30 and 4.30am this year out of 12.
Unlucky. :( I keep a note of lambing times of each ewe every year .... (having been told by a shepherd that she bred out night lambing .... an interesting discussion point!) . I've only lost 1lamb in 5 years due to early hours lambing by a first timer who obviously had no idea that 'thing' came from her or needed mothering!
Not unlucky as I was there for every one ;) generally they start lambing a couple of hours before lambs arrive and I got quite good at noting their flanks going in too so managed to either catch her lambing the 2nd or saw both twins being born. If one was actively lambing I’d check every hour. I think the rest of my ewes lambed from midday till about 4pm, a couple from 5-8pm.
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I have done similarly, aided by CCTV for a last minute and first minute look at either end of the night watch. Also allows me to know when to get dressed quickly. When they have appeared on their own early am so far have all been healthy and I suspect quick births.
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10pm, 2am and 6am plus every couple of hours during the day. Usually Dan does 10pm and I go to be early, then I do 2am and 6am.
After the first couple fo nights, I can get up, into welies and waterproofs, check the sheep and go back to bed without wakening up. ;D
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6am, and then I'm around most of the day so check on them every couple of hours. I check them at 6pm, 8pm and just before bed, 10pm, then I get up at 2am and check them, then again at 6am!
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As with so much in life, it's all about effective communication. We therefore ensure that our ewes are left in no doubt as to what is acceptable behaviour, and what isn't:
(https://anoutdoorlife.files.wordpress.com/2017/02/lambingsign.jpg?w=768)
Well, I can dream, can't I? ;D
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Well I guess my sheep are badly neglected.
I now lamb only 25 ewes, all of whom have lambed before.
I only check 2 or 3 times a day, unless a ewe looks imminent , in which case I will keep checking as necessary.
Many years ago an old shepherd told me that his days of night time lambing were over, so he only lambed 2 crop ewes or older, which are many times less likely to have problems than a first timer. This certainly works. In addition, I now lamb my ewes outside which keeps them a lot fitter and less likely to have problems, and I do not feed them concentrates till they have lambed. They have good hay and a high energy/protein feed block ad lib and a ewe/lamb bucket (whose name I forget.)
My ewes are fit but not fat and have plenty of milk. The lambs are good sized, but not massive and since moving to this regime about 5 years ago I have rarely had to help a ewe - usually just the odd leg back which probably would have managed on it's own if I hadn't been there. Some years I haven't touched them at all. I lamb middle April to early May at which time there is plenty of fresh grass to bring the milk on, and get most of my lambs away August Sept, fat off grass.
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It's horses for courses I guess. I couldn't lamb any later than beginning of March due to work commitments, likewise the weather can still be dicey down here well into March. This year I was lambing my sheep with drifting snow outside ::) Half of my sheep this year were first timers, half were 2nd crop ewes. With a small number of ewes being run commercially every lamb counts...
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Seems to depend on the weather to some extent - about half of ours lambed during the night this year, age immaterial. The Southdowns "drop" and get hollows in front of their pelvis about six hours before lambing, but this only works on that type of fleece. We do as Rosemary does, except alternate who does the 2.00 a.m. check. I think it would be hard to pick up via CCTV a ewe bleating because she can't deliver a large lamb that's backwards, or one that had given up pushing because of tangled twins.
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outdoor lambing = fit ewes that with the right management require less supervision and help
Hence mine get looked at twice a day over lambing & often that is just with binoculars
Helped 3 lamb last year
Indoor lambing means easier to observe and control but brings its own problems like disease buildup, less fit ewes etc
Horses for courses i guess - - - -
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Similar to others on the run up every 2-3 hours during the day and every four hours at night - then more frequently as lambing gets closer. We've just had our first lambs and of the five four were during the day and one in the wee hours of the morning.
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CCTV is no substitute for going out and looking and it does depend on how good it is and how much of the flock you can see. The ones in labour tend to hide at the back! But it is useful as an extra look in between, and actually we did spot one looking uncomfortable and turned out to be a double breach because you do have the advantage of watching unseen so can spot odd behaviour. So we often have a hot drink sitting in bed watching the lambing shed and also find it good if one of us goes out and needs help as a bit of arm waving can call in reinforcements if needed without having to take time to make a phone call or go back in.
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We use a two-way radio at lambing time.
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We use a two-way radio at lambing time.
You have trained your sheep well [member=27063]Marches Farmer[/member] ;)
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Yup, it requires a lot of persistence. Next thing is to train the chickens to pack the egg boxes themselves .....