The Accidental Smallholder Forum

Livestock => Sheep => Topic started by: mrst064 on September 17, 2015, 10:38:09 pm

Title: Silly question - lambs and trailers
Post by: mrst064 on September 17, 2015, 10:38:09 pm

Silly question, I have some dorset lambs only days old and eventually I want to move them to another field across the village, only 1 mile. How old do they have to be before they can go in the trailer with their mothers? What is the best way to move them?

Title: Re: Silly question - lambs and trailers
Post by: Porterlauren on September 17, 2015, 10:42:00 pm

Small compartment in trailer for lambs, ewes in main part. Or ewes in trailer, lambs in back of truck. Small lambs in a bunch of ewes in trailer can get knocked about or stood on too much.

Title: Re: Silly question - lambs and trailers
Post by: mrst064 on September 17, 2015, 10:50:21 pm

That is what I thought. I'd rather not separate them so I think I'll construct a compartment in the trailer for the lambs. Ta ever so.

Title: Re: Silly question - lambs and trailers
Post by: princesslayer on September 17, 2015, 10:57:47 pm

I moved mine at 2 weeks, in a separate part of the trailer to their mums. One ram lamb managed to get through a surprisingly small gap through the partition to get back to her, before we'd even left, so watch out for that!  :fc:

Title: Re: Silly question - lambs and trailers
Post by: Marches Farmer on September 18, 2015, 01:16:03 pm

A month old.

Title: Re: Silly question - lambs and trailers
Post by: Hillview Farm on September 18, 2015, 09:32:54 pm

I'm sure it's a week old. Seen bottle lambs at market from a week old

Title: Re: Silly question - lambs and trailers
Post by: Buttermilk on September 18, 2015, 10:05:34 pm

Once the navel is dry.

Title: Re: Silly question - lambs and trailers
Post by: Herdygirl on September 18, 2015, 10:08:15 pm

Quote from: Porterlauren on September 17, 2015, 10:42:00 pm

Small compartment in trailer for lambs, ewes in main part. Or ewes in trailer, lambs in back of truck. Small lambs in a bunch of ewes in trailer can get knocked about or stood on too much.

I find this method the best, but no messing about, you need to be quick, mums and lambs get very stressed if apart at this age

Title: Re: Silly question - lambs and trailers
Post by: harmony on September 19, 2015, 08:53:56 am

These are the official guidelines


Fitness for travelIt’s illegal to transport an animal that’s considered unfit for travel. This includes:shorn sheep during cold weather - particularly November to March

• very young animals - eg lambs of less than one week - unless the journey is less than 100 kilometres

• new-born mammals where the navel has not completely healed

• heavily pregnant females - where more than 90 per cent of the expected gestation period has passed

• females who have given birth during the previous seven days

• sick or injured animals where moving them would cause additional suffering - unless instructed by a vet

• Download Defra’s guidance on whether animals are fit to travel from the ADLibwebsite (PDF, 247KB).

Title: Re: Silly question - lambs and trailers
Post by: waterbuffalofarmer on September 19, 2015, 12:38:18 pm

Quote from: Hillview Farm on September 18, 2015, 09:32:54 pm

I'm sure it's a week old. Seen bottle lambs at market from a week old

I assume you mean being sold with their mothers? I would of thought that as being risky though, because they're so young they could pick up diseases.

Title: Re: Silly question - lambs and trailers
Post by: harmony on September 19, 2015, 02:35:48 pm

WBF - I think Hillview means cade lambs so no, not lambs at foot.