The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Livestock => Sheep => Topic started by: Jamie12 on October 17, 2014, 07:27:36 pm
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Apologies for all the questions, still new to this sheep carry on. I feel it might be beneficial for my girls to have some feed over the winter period but unsure what is best. They have access to two fields and a paddock, although the grass is very poor quality in one due to not being reseeded (there is 35 acres good grass but its got gypsy horses dumped on it!). I almost 600 small square bales to use. They are having a tiny amount of normal sheep mix from the local agri shop but I feel they made need something of more substance soon? They are due to be tupped in November, and I'm not flushing them as they are ewe lambs.
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Have you read Tim Tyne's book? What breed, how old, any particular reason why you're putting the tup in with ewe lambs? How good is the grazing? Have they been wormed and/or fluked? Had their Ovivac P Plus jabs? What condition score? How good is the hay? Is it being stored correctly?
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And more importantly, how many of them are there?
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All I can say that if you tupping a good few ewe lambs be prepared for awkward new mums , some are great and it comes natural, some are very time consuming , which you just have to get on with it, a big ask for a new shepherd. But if you got a small group and an old hand to help out, you ll be ok. We started our time here with 30 odd old hands. a Valuable experience.
We don't tup ewe lambs here as a rule, have had some but not many. Some say to keep them with a start to finish as they're still growing themselves. Like I said we d rather have awkward ones the folling year than still growing lambs.
Split your singles from twins before lambing as they will have different needs. Keep buckets, high energy with them. We use lifeline as our ewe care bucket also
Rams going in in the next few days here, no ewe lambs picked, even though there's a few monsters.
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I wouldnt say i am completely inexperienced, i do work with a small folk of sheep andi work with cattle daily. Though these are my first sheep. There are 30 February born Suffolk crosses, all up to date with wormers/fluke and vaccines. Field is split in three, two have good grass and one is long and not the best, hay is all in storage in an agricultural shed at my friends farm. I do intend to buy some older ewes inlamb over the next few months. No particular reason for using ewe lamb, although most farmers round here lamb a lot of ewe lambs and I have lambed a few, fully expecting "issues" with lambing, although I have a fur few experienced shepherds on standby.