[HappyHippy]

Do you have a cunning method of getting them in the bag? I'm sure they don't just deposit themselves there willingly??
 
.....my oh my, the things we have to do for our animals 

The small ones we pick up and put in    We've all become very proficent at piglet catching - get 'em in a corner and block them with a board (all done while mum is eating/out having a leg stretch) 
The bigger one's - we put one side of the bag on the floor with a handful of pignuts in it and one of us at each side to lift the front once the pig walks in. To be honest we spend most of the time pushing pigs back OUT the bag, cos they all want in for pig nuts - especially if you do it just before their evening feed (or delay it by half an hour) 
HTH
Karen

[Ladygrey]

Thanks for all your (amusing) replies!

I did think about a net hammock but then If the sheep panicked and wiggled around im pretty sure its legs/head/ear tags may get stuck/come off...

Also yes with piglets and lambs I can just pop them into a sack and weigh that but these are large lambs and I am not very big and strong, I can tip sheep/shear sheep all fine but I just cant lift them up! I was thinking about using to weigh my kk pigs aswel, as I always have to guess thier weights for injections. And they dont weigh as much as bigger pigs (the smaller ones) so I could use the weighing/gallows for the piggies aswell

Yes the idea was to scoop the sheep up into the groundsheet/canvas that has metal rings at each corner and hang it on the weight spring. However I clearly remember as a child tying one up in a tree and sitting in the middle, and not long after falling through it and hitting the ground! (with brother and sister landing on top!) so I dont trust the strength of the canvas to be able to pick up 40-50 kilos of live wriggling lamb!

I cannot use a weigh crate as I simply cannot afford one and then cannot afford the hurdles/race to go with it

I will attempt to create a harness/net/something and see how it goes! I will keep you all posted

[SallyintNorth]

Ladygrey, one of your local farmers will have a used dumpy bag s/he can let you have.  They'll comfortably - and safely -  hold half a tonne and have strong handles at each corner 

[jaykay]

Oh, they would work, wouldn't they  Deep enough for most things not to jump out of too, but can be collapsed on the floor to walk them in. Nice one Sally 

[Ladygrey]

thats a great idea! thanks! I have accsess to nitrogen half ton bags so could clean one out and use it!

My boyfriend and his brother are keen on making one, they have alot of the materials already so will be interesting to see how it goes!

[Castle Farm]

I have a bathroom scales.
I pick up a lamb. and stand on the scales.
Job done.

[Ladygrey]

great!

can you please come to mine and pick up my 35-40 kilo ish, full of life and extremely wriggly large chunky lambs and stand with them on the bathroom scale for 10 seconds whilst it calculates the lambs weight without dropping it/getting head butted/hoofed in the face 

[Small Farmer]

LG has a point. 
I can hold a lamb while OH reads the scales but our combined weight now exceeds the maximum reading.  At only 55kg OH for some reason feels unable to lift or even hold 40kg.  So the big bag route is a great idea.

[SallyintNorth]

Oh, they would work, wouldn't they  Deep enough for most things not to jump out of too, but can be collapsed on the floor to walk them in. Nice one Sally 

:takes bow: - but I can't take the credit; I am only restating what Karen suggested earlier on 

[Castle Farm]

Sorry I didn't realise you were handleing lambs that big.


http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_nkw=+scales&_sacat=11752&_odkw=lamb+scales&_osacat=11752&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEFSRCHX%3ASRCH
 

[Ladygrey]

lol its fine yup big lambs not little ones, I used to use the stand on scale method but stopped when I could no longer pick up a lamb 

Small Farmer I also weigh around 55 kilo and I struggle to pick up a lamb weighing 35-40 kilos...  well its more than I struggle, I simply cant!

[Small Farmer]

That's just what OH says too!  You're just not determined enough.


To be honest - and I'm 100kg - its too much for me too these days, what with the wriggle multiplier.  I can tell the difference between 20kg and 25kg feed bags too.  Years ago I remember seeing the groundsman at school carry a hundredweight bag of fertiliser on each shoulder for 200 yards - and then come back for another couple.

[jaykay]

There's an old picture of my grandad with a hundred weight sack of coal on each shoulder 

I can tell the difference between 25kg and 20kg sacks of feed too. I can still get the 25kg sack up onto my shoulder for now - but the 20kg ones are definitely easier  And yes, they don't wriggle!

[Ladygrey]

Haha, yes I can pick up a 25 kilo sack of sugar beet just fine  (not quite on my shoulder...) but not sure about two of them...

I could probly pick up a 30-35 ish sack of feed, but when its wriggly and has foor legs with a hoof at each end and a large rock hard head... If I have to move the sheep it gets flipped onto its back side and shifted along backwards by its front legs (sounds complicated but im sure everyone does it) or walked along with a bucket/chest rubs (depending on the sheep)

[SallyintNorth]

Another way to move 'em, particularly 'ornery hill sheep, is to take the chin in your hand and walk it backwards.  They think they're getting away from you and can go quite fast!     You get good at steering using your body position and their chin...