[SavageU]

Hey,

So I have nervously set up a nursery for all the ewes and lambs. One ewe was hell bent on butting a little black lamb so we separated her and her massive ram lamb.

Everyone else has been cautious and on edge so in one big space, I have ended up with 4 pens where they can see/smell their neighbours. Two ewes with twins are sharing, but effectively the others ewes are in their own large pens with lambs. This seems to be allowing new arrivals to settle and the lambs all seem happy. They have all been penned post birth with their lambs for 5-7 days.

My question is...when do I remove those didviders and rip off the plaster as it were? I am scare that the initial ewe will actually hurt the lambs. I have seen other ewes gently butt/warn each other and their lambs, but this wasn't that, it was knocking the heck off it.

Tips and advice welcome.

I am keen to have no dividers really and set up a creep lamb area.

[twizzel]

As long as it’s big enough for everyone to find their own space, I just chuck them in and let them get on with it. Though you could just leave the more aggressive one on her own with her lamb until you turn them out in the field, if you’re worried.

[Bywaters]

Could you not put them out in the field now ?

We only keep ours in for 24 hours bonding, if they need it, otherwise, they are out and stay out (they lamb outdoors)

The difficult ones are those who decide to reject - they get haltered up in a pen.

[Twotwo]

Mine have an individual pen for 1-2 days depending on the weather .. then they go out in a very small paddock with part electric fence (they learn very quickly) for a couple of days with another family or two for 2-3 says, then in with the rest.

What I love is the new mums making the their lamb wait beside them while the ‘big ‘ lambs join in their lamb grand national- bit like new mums at play group 😊

[twizzel]

Could you not put them out in the field now ?

We only keep ours in for 24 hours bonding, if they need it, otherwise, they are out and stay out (they lamb outdoors)

The difficult ones are those who decide to reject - they get haltered up in a pen.

To be fair the weather is that horrendous I can see why they’re still in. Mine are too 

[Bywaters]

Tis grand here in Yorkshire !

Frosty overnight but +9 during the day.

6 weeks till our start though. Tups go in round bonfire night

[twizzel]

Everything is soaking here. Sheep came in a month before lambing and going to be in at least another fortnight yet. Plenty of grass but they’ll trash it quicker than it’ll recover; one of our fields you can’t even walk across without marking it.

[SavageU]

Could you not put them out in the field now ?

We only keep ours in for 24 hours bonding, if they need it, otherwise, they are out and stay out (they lamb outdoors)

The difficult ones are those who decide to reject - they get haltered up in a pen.

No, I am new to this so that would not work for my set up going forward until more confident. As an update I mixed everyone else on Thursday and have just released her...it's been fine. She's a lot less stressed, so my approach worked, thankfully.

[SavageU]

Mine have an individual pen for 1-2 days depending on the weather .. then they go out in a very small paddock with part electric fence (they learn very quickly) for a couple of days with another family or two for 2-3 says, then in with the rest.

What I love is the new mums making the their lamb wait beside them while the ‘big ‘ lambs join in their lamb grand national- bit like new mums at play group 😊

I'm taking it very steady for the field release, but can;t wait for this bit. They have all been such gorgeous mums.

I'm in the process of creating a nursery paddock within my field.

[SavageU]

Tis grand here in Yorkshire !

Frosty overnight but +9 during the day.

6 weeks till our start though. Tups go in round bonfire night

Tis grand in Yorkshire tbf I agree, but a newbie, so still got my go slow learning skates on. Next year I'll be lambing outside  NOT!

[SavageU]

Everything is soaking here. Sheep came in a month before lambing and going to be in at least another fortnight yet. Plenty of grass but they’ll trash it quicker than it’ll recover; one of our fields you can’t even walk across without marking it.

It was a state before they came in, and prior to them going in I thought it was a drier field then the one they had left.

It was basically a mudslide bringing them in.