[Milk Machine]

For a lot of different, valid reasons we decided to transition from raising cows to dairy sheep. We bought 6 East Friesian/Lacaune cross ewes & 3 Icelandic ewes in December. For the first few months I was very pleased with the change: the daily chores were much lighter work & took less time. As we approached lambing some of the ewes started having either foot rot or scald. I still don't know if it was foot rot that I just caught early or scald. It wasn't even really wet or muddy. Then 2 of my 5 bred ewes had intermittent prolapses. Then my first two ewes lambed fine. My next ewe (they are all yearling, first time ewe lambs bred to a Texel) lost her 14.5 lb ram lamb. He was too big for her & malpresented. The next ewe also needed a strong pull & stretching to have her twins. The last ewe also had a REALLY tough lambing with two 12.5lb lambs malpresented. The vet had to come out for her. She looked like she wouldn't make it after. She is fine now but I think she has mastitis but I've treated her with Spectramast & LA200 & the lambs are on her so I think she has gotten as much help as I can give. Now all my lambs have sore mouth & the moms are starting to get it on their udders too! Also, most of the lambs & 2 of the icelandic ewes have had pneumonia. Yes, we have had crazy weather but that is just what winter into spring/March means in MI. I'm new to sheep but I'm not unfamiliar with the basics of keeping livestock healthy & what I did for my cows always kept them healthy! It really has been exhausting and they are proving to be VERY high maintenance. I miss having my calves be virtually problem free. Maybe I would have to deal with coccidiosis but it was easy to spot & easy to treat. Calving also was much more uneventful. Many of my cows would have a hard time transitioning but once over that hump, it was smooth sailing. Are sheep always like this? Or am I just having a first year with a lot of "learning experiences". If they are just like this, they should come with a warning label!!!

[twizzel]

Sheep can be hard work, but some of it can be corrected by breeding and culling... texel ram on ewe lambs could have contributed to the hard lambing, but also what the sheep are fed before lambing is fundamental and will have a direct impact on birth weights, prolapses etc etc. So the ease of lambing could be affected by feeding and ram choice.


Cull anything that’s had a prolapse or mastitis. Those are 2 issues I give no second chances to.


Sore mouths sounds like orf- there is a vaccine available (scabivax) and rock salt in the fields helps dry the scabs on the mouths. Are your sheep vaccinated with heptavac ? If not that would help reduce pasturella pneumonia (note not all pneumonia is caused by pasturella though).


We have suckler cattle and my own small flock of sheep- this year our cattle have drained me presenting nearly every problem under the sun, yet the sheep have ticked over relatively well.

[Backinwellies]

I agree you have had a bad year …. lambing always presents challenges …. but you may have made things worse with Texel on first timers.  Even with my cows I have pure bred the first time then crossbred after that.
Generally I find with sheep they are all or nothing …. ie full on take up all time you have and more and other times no work at all.

My Llanwenog are VERY prone to foot problems …. bane of my life!  but otherwise fairly easy …  I do breed pure and this yr have a fabulous set of quads … born naturally all same size … stayed with mum with me topping up 3 or 4 times a day.

Definitely sounds like Orf …. you can catch this beware!

[Penninehillbilly]

Not sure what the weather has been like over there, but it's been very mild here, maybe that has contributed to the big lambs? Feeding as well as good grass?
I don't have many sheep but like a small tup for first timers, and depending on weather i keep feed down to nil or minimum until last 6/8 wk (hay always available)
Agree sounds like orf, highly contagious.

[shep53]

Steep learning curve but it will get better , as others have said Texel was  a bad choice for ewe lambs  and sounds like you have over fed them  and the orf was being carried by one or more or the adults when you bought them so nothing you could do . The pneumonia is puzzling ?? it will all get better when they start running around in the sun 

[Anke]

Breeding yearlings to texels is asking for trouble - the first lambing always best to a tup of the same breed or smaller (like breeding the friesians to an icelandic tup for example.).

The only time I had to help my Shetlands was when I used a texel tup (bought as a lamb) on them, and he turned out to grow into a very large headed adult.

[SallyintNorth]

Always use a small tup on first timers.  Personally I always use a Shetland tup on my first timers (as do several prominent Texel and Beltex breeders ), whatever their own breed, because the Shetland x lambs come out running, know what they want and where it is, and are persistent in getting it.  Exactly what you need with first time ewes   By the time they've reared the Shetland x lambs, they know their job.  And my #1 top piece of lambing equipment is a pair of binoculars.  I have never, ever had to pull a Shetland or Shetland x lamb.  (Of course, now I've said that...  )

I haven't had milk sheep but presumeably, as with dairy cows, you need to give some feed to "feed the bag", while trying to not make the lambs (or calves) so big they have trouble getting born.  If so, then Texel would be one of the last breeds of tup I would use, because you are very likely to get overlarge lambs if you feed the ewe.

Does your business model need your sheep to produce good meaty lambs in order to work?  If so, then look for something that will give a decent fat lamb without a difficult lambing.   If you can grow the lambs on until New Year you could try Cheviot; the lambs tend to be born very small but will make excellent butcher's lambs in the New Year.  Otherwise, if you need ones which will fatten in one season, you might do better with a Downs breed, although I have no personal experience of Downs sheep.  Personally I have found Charollais tups to be fantastic - easy lambing, very active lambs, grow fantastically well, better than Texels - but others on here have had reported bad lambings with Charollais tups.  (I always look for a tup with narrow shoulders, mind, which could be a factor.)

If your business model is more focussed on milk yield than fat lamb or store lamb revenue, then just find a tup that lets your ladies have an easy time lambing whilst letting you feed them up for lots of milk, and don't worry about how "good" the lambs are