[Buffy the eggs layer]

My lambs were 5 weeks old yesterday and I weighed them to find out how they are developing. The largest weighed 3 stones and the the other 3 weighed a pound or so less than that. I had planned to weigh them again at 10 weeks but I dont think I will be able to pick them up to stand on the scales!
Do any of you Ryeland experts know what the weights should be at 5 and 10 weeks for lambs that are developing well?
 

[Rosemary]

I weighed mine at birth and am determined to weigh them at 30 days. Only one that old yet and she was 16.5kg, whatever that is in imperial. She was 5kg at birth, so 383g weight gain per day on average.

No idea if this is good or not though 

I have three to weigh tomorrow, a single tup and a pair of tups.

[wellies]

oooh, so glad you have raised this question as I was searching for answers on the internet this evening. We have just weighed ours for worming, they range in ages from 5 to 10 weeks old. The heaviest is 27.8kg (9 weeks) and the smallest 12.3kg. The twins seem to be lighter than the singles at the moment.

[Buffy the eggs layer]

Hi you two,
 
    ok so the metric would mean that my 3 stone boy was 19.0509kg at 5 weeks and was 6lb (2.72155 kilos) at birth. So should my lambs increase at the same rate or do things like peaking of milk production, weaning, introduction of creep etc cause different weight gains?
Wellies your 27.8kg 9weeker is 4.3777 stones so am I right in thinking that my lambs should double their current weight by 10 weeks
 

[Rosemary]

OK, today we weighed Lucy's single tup - born at 6kg, now 18.25kg. He's 32 days, so 383g/day liveweight gain

Pixie's twin tups, 4kg and 3.8kg, now 12.75 and 11.5kg respectively at 32 days, so 273g/day and 241g/day

Niamh's twin ewes, 4kg and 3.6kg, now a whopping 13.5 and 11.5kg at 30 days, so 317g/day and 263g/day.

I'm keeping Niamh's two ewe lambs, although they are not well marked.

Daily weight gain will be affected by a number of factors - in the first 30 days or so, it will mainly be the ewe's mothering ability and milk production, unless you are creep feeding, but even then, I think it's mainly maternal factors that influence the weight gain. Obviously breed and generics also has a huge influence, but within a breed.

I hope someone comes on who knows about this (I'm going back to my degree course which wasn't yesterday) but I'm pretty sure that DLWG decreases with time and young animals are more effective converters of food into weight than older ones.

[wellies]

Rosemary, thank you for the info. Yes I think you're right younger animals do convert food to energy (growth) more efficiently and this will tail off as they mature.

[VSS]

I'm pretty sure that DLWG decreases with time and young animals are more effective converters of food into weight than older ones.

Correct.

[Buffy the eggs layer]

Ok thanks,
   they are certainly big beefy lambs and enjoying lots of milk, fresh grass and ad-lib creep. I think they will be a bit too big to lift by 10 weeks.
Just out of interest as you 3 are at the other points of the compas from me in east yorkshire, what age will you wan them?
 

[Rosemary]

I usually wean mine at the end of August, so between 18-20 weeks. Gives the ewes 2 months to recover before the tups go in.

[wellies]

Mine will be weaned at about 16 -18 weeks to give the ewes a rest