The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Livestock => Sheep => Topic started by: OhLaLa on January 23, 2012, 12:04:22 pm
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I've heard mixed views - are the plastic lamb jackets (usually in packets of 25) worth getting?
:sheep:
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We had a few free samples a few years ago and used them on Jacob lambs in wet weather, just for a few days. You can't put them on until the lamb is clean, dry and the couple bonded. I would say that if you have only a few ewes then it is more economical to make your own out of a thick plastic bag - oblong, four holes towards the corners, put it on over the lambs back with a leg in each hole.
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I use them with great success, if the ewe gets a bit spooked by the red ones, I have clear ones which she can see her offspring through. I do find that they only stay on the average lamb 3-4 days as they literally burst out of them! they are excellent for small lambs to keep the chill wind and rain off their little bodies.
Here's Bryony with her twins all togged up....
(http://i198.photobucket.com/albums/aa43/crazysheep-795/P1190884.jpg)
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toooooo cute! :love: :sheep: :sheep: :sheep:
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Oh what a sweet picture ;D
Depends where you live how useful lamb jackets are. They protect against wind and rain, so if you live at 1000ft in Cumbria, as I do, they are lifesavers! If you lived in Kent maybe less necessary?
One packet won't cost much and of course they don't eat anything and you can use them next year too. Or use bread bags, though your photo won't look as cute then ;)
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We use them routinely in wet / cold weather; as others have said, they burst off in a few days. You can get large and standard sizes; some of our large singles need the large but the standard really seem to be big enough for almost all. Some very tiny lambs need a much smaller one - not sure if you can get them; our local agri merchant doesn't have them.
We now only use the clear ones, having had a handful of cases of very aggressive rejection of a lamb wearing an orange one. I would be concerned about the same reaction to a home-made-from-carrier-bag solution, although I applaud the idea. ;D One of the very aggressive ewes beat up (and really beat up) another ewe's lamb wearing an orange mac, which was the point at which we abandoned using them, since carefully ensuring that mum is happy with orange-macced baby was not, apparently, protection for it from being beaten up.
We do get the odd ma who won't accept her baby in a clear one, but so far haven't had a ewe trying to kill someone else's lamb wearing one.
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We use them and don't get any problems. we like the red ones cause when they rip off or mum removes them we can find them easily in the field and pick up the bits.
We lambed some llanwenogs and found them a bit big so trimmed them up. Our first year we used large sandwich bags and cut leg holes in them, my friends thought it very funny and called them boil- in- the- bag- lamb.
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Thanks for posting the pic. There are no words to describe how cute they look!
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I use them with great success, if the ewe gets a bit spooked by the red ones, I have clear ones which she can see her offspring through. I do find that they only stay on the average lamb 3-4 days as they literally burst out of them! they are excellent for small lambs to keep the chill wind and rain off their little bodies.
Here's Bryony with her twins all togged up....
(http://i198.photobucket.com/albums/aa43/crazysheep-795/P1190884.jpg)
Are you sure they aren't toy lambs, look like a 'teddy bear' type of toy to me ;D
(have to keep having another look they look so cute)
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that's Greyface Dartmoors, they are very cute! It's a shame their ears droop when I tag them but they soon pop up again.
Here's another one in his cold weather gear...
(http://i198.photobucket.com/albums/aa43/crazysheep-795/P2022643.jpg)
and one without a jacket....
(http://i198.photobucket.com/albums/aa43/crazysheep-795/P3123632.jpg)
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They are just beyond cute!
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I can't take anymore cuteness, I will explode!!
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I sooo want one! ;D
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They look absolutley lovely :sheep: :love: What is the fleece like, hardiness, lambing etc?
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The fleece is lustre longwool, coarse and used for carpets mainly. The sheep are very docile, and withstand the great British weather without batting an eyelid. They do take a lot of feeding, but my lot lamb by themselves and do their lambs very well!
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How big are the adults?
They are soooo lovely ;D
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Adult rams can weigh 80-100kg, ewes generally 60kg. They are a bit of a lump to turn over, but are pretty sedate once tipped up. :sheep:
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Used the jackets a few times in poor weather, very handy if the weather is wet. The bright colours are handy for spotting lambs that are in the wrong place. The thing to remember is the ewe is colour blind so it matters not a jot about the colour of the jacket. I often tuck the tail of the jacket up and under it'self to leave the lambs tail and bum exposed so the ewe can still smell the lamb. If you have twins make sure you put the jacket on both lambs to stop the ewe rejecting the jacketed lamb.
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I'm still convinced they are cuddly toys ;D, pity (in a way) they don't stay so small and cute :)
But seriously, do you know of any living in the pennines? at over 1000 feet it can get a bit rough up here.
This year I was hoping to pick a couple of orphan or third lambs up cheap to use the goats milk up, I think it was Victorian farm it showed some Dartmoor and I liked the look and description of them there.
As to the plastic coats, I've only see them once round here, (yorkshire farmers too tight to spend money on fancy ideas?) but I still have a cutting from a farmers paper from when they were first introduced MANY years ago, thought it was a good idea even back then.
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Those on Victorian farm were Whiteface Dartmoors, the Greyface is a lot more docile. There are flocks upcountry, i'll have to look into it!