[patrickr]

Hi all

First time lambers, we plan to lamb our 10 Shetlands outside in April / May.  We want to choose a nearby field and will have a building / structure to deal with any problems.  My main concern is foxes.  We have a few prowlers.  Any advice on deterring them - aside from shooting?  The area will probably be too big for electric netting.  How long before the lambs are "safe" (or safer?)

Thanks!

[Penninehillbilly]

How big an area? if sheep netting, could you not try running a couple of strands of electric fence above the netting?
while so far we haven't had any lambs taken, last year we brought them into a closed field shelter in a small field for a few days after lambing.

[SallyintNorth]

Shetland lambs with their mothers are pretty safe once they're up and suckling.  The moments of risk are if second lamb comes quickly before firstborn is up and fed; first time mother either not bonding with any of her lambs or not being good at keeping both lambs close; sickly lamb. 

Lambing outdoors you'll be checking frequently, and staying handy once a ewe starts labour, so the only real worry would be a ewe lambing in the night.  In my experience, they rarely lamb in the dark - but there are often very newborn lambs when you do your first check in the morning.  So - if staying in a caravan in the field isn't an option - make that first check really a first light check.
 

[Anke]

Shetland ewes tupped by a Shetland tup (or simialr smaller rare breed) will normally do fine outside - I have never in the last few years lost a lamb to the fox despite lambing outside in mid-April usually. Their normal time is either at first oight (or just before) or early evening. So I normally have a first run out at 5am, at which point I normally just scoop up any ewes & lambs that have just lambed and pen for a couple of days in the field. If they leave the placenta I will take it away and put onto my muck heap (well away from the lambing field). Crows are actually more of a problem for that one.


If a ewe looks like starting on my last check at last light, I will stay and watch and preferably pen her in a smaller enclosure (no fun chasing a ewe that needs assistance at 3am across the field). In my experience the ones lamb outdoors in the night are going to be problematic.


I also normally pen up my ewes and lambs in the first few weeks in a smaller enclosure overnight, so lambs cannot wander off/fall asleep somewhere far away from the ewe. As I feed a small amount of concentrates at that time I do that twice a day so they all come in. As a bonus lambs also learn to eat from the trough and then find their dam again quickly.

[HampshireGardener]

Have you ever heard of livestock guardian dogs, they live with the sheep and chase off any predators, used a lot abroad think they should be use in England a lot more, would probably decrease dogs attacks aswell

[BenBhoy]

Where are you located Parrick?

[SallyintNorth]

Have you ever heard of livestock guardian dogs, they live with the sheep and chase off any predators, used a lot abroad think they should be use in England a lot more, would probably decrease dogs attacks aswell

I looked into this when i was farming in Cumbria.  We had gazillions of public rights of way, and a heap of Access Land, so dogs which would chase off anything or anyone they didn't know was a total non-starter.