[CornishFarmer]

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[ellisr]

How old are the lambs?

[ellisr]

It is that time when they are getting independant and also nice fresh grass, I wouldn't worry too much just keep an eye out for anything along the illness lines. To me they sound like normal kids leaving mum and branching out on there own.

They are all different I have one ewe that keeps her lambs close always and a very loving mother she even keeps last years lambs in eye shot but others that when the lambs are big enough they let them wander

[ellisr]

It really sounds like they are just growing up, I have lambs that wander off and lie down and can go into a very deep sleep allowing me to get very close.

I really don't think there is anything to worry about as they sound healthy, but do keep an eye out especially for strike if they have messy backends.

[feldar]

If you catch them again it may be worth taking their temperatures this is usually the first thing to indicate illness.

[Corrie Dhu]

Are they vaccinated?

[SallyintNorth]

I agree with ellisr, they are probably getting old enough to leave mum (she may be drying up - or may be coming down with mastitis, have you checked her?) and are full on all this grass.  They won't have the experience to know they shouldn't overeat, so probably have done so!  But you say they are not bloated, so they just need to digest what they've eaten.

The only other thing to say is, you say there's no ragwort as you pull it.  Do you mean this pasture does have ragwort but you have pulled up all the plants?  If so, there could (and probably is) still be young plants at the 'rosette' stage, where the basal leaves are flush with the ground and you (and the sheep) can't see them as different to grass yet.

Ragwort poisoning probably won't be the problem, though - as I understand it, it's a cumulative thing and unless they've been on infested pasture all along they won't have had time to eat enough to affect their kidneys yet.

[SteveHants]

The thing that would worry me here is that you could catch one of them. Otherwise, I find its easier to tell sick animal when it is on its feet, it will carry itself differently, not look alert, head down and so on. If you suspect flies, look for them around the sheep, it will also attempt to lick or bite at the affected area, often shaking its tail. If I see any of this, I usually get them in for a look.

Like anything with livestock, its a delicate balance. Getting sheep in stresses them and stressed animals are more prone to disease. I once had a conversation with a feller from Natural England round here and he seemed to agree - it was always the new and enthusiastic graziers on his patch that ended up with disease problems, and they seemed to be getting their flock in much more often than the old hands. 

[SallyintNorth]

it was always the new and enthusiastic graziers on his patch that ended up with disease problems, and they seemed to be getting their flock in much more often than the old hands. 

The old saying is, "A sheep's worst enemy is another sheep."  If there is a bit of a germ about, bringing them together in close confinement, hot and bothered from the gather and drive into the pens, is a really good way to spread it and help it take a hold.

BH is a very old hand (you know what I mean) and he :

• keeps the sheep in small batches (we've 270 breeding ewes, we very rarely have any single group with as many as 40 ewes in it)
• gathers them at a steady pace
• drives them back to the farm at a steady pace
• lets them relax in the paddock for a little while before shovelling them round to the pens
• keeps them in the pens as short a time as possible (if there are some feet to do, we try to shed out the lame ones and let the others out to the paddock while we do the pedicures)
• gives them a dose of whatever's next on the agenda if they're in unless there really is no justification for it - it may mean they get, for instance, wormed a week earlier than strictly necessary - but it could save a gather and drive next week
• lets them dawdle back to their field at their own pace (traffic willing...  )