[Bionic]

You get a set of bathroom scales, cover them in cling film (so they don't get dirty) and you try to persuade a sheep to stand on them  . If that doesn't work you chase said sheep around stable yard until one of you runs out of puff (OH) then you make a grab for it and try standing on the bathroom scales, clinging onto sheep tightly  .
This worked for the lambs but the ewes were a bigger problem. We ended up getting one of them to stand with front feet on scales and weighing that bit and then did the same with the back feet. Added front and back together and we think we have a rough idea of how much they weigh.
Pity OH is camera shy 

[Foobar]

... getting one of them to stand with front feet on scales ...

Get a second set of scales for the back feet .

[Foobar]

...you could then also do ... you and OH each grab each end of one sheep and lift it up, and then step onto your individual scales.  Then add them up and deduct your weights.  Probably more successful than trying to coordinate the sheep to put her front feet on one scale and the back feet on the other ... lol.


In fact I wonder why I didn't think of that sooner .... hmprh.

[SallyintNorth]

• sling, rope, spring balance scale
• vet's dog scale
• sheep weigh crate

If you can do the two bathroom scales trick then I am in awe of your sheep-handling skills!

[Dans]

Think Sally's methods may give you a more accurate weight, although you're not the first person that's told me they held the sheep and weighed them and the sheep. Is this for treatment?

Dans

[Dogwalker]

Problem with holding big lambs while standing on scales you need a second person to read the display.

[Bionic]

Problem with holding big lambs while standing on scales you need a second person to read the display.

I was the second person. OH was holding the lambs.
 
Dans,
We were trying to get an idea of the weight for fluke and worming drenches
 

[Dans]

If you can get hold of weight crate that would be your best bet (though make sure they are calibrated first - you can give yourself a weigh).   

At least you were doing something to try and get an idea of weight. We were weight sheep yesterday and kept guessing by eye if they'd be heavier or lighter than the previous, wrong so many times. Estimation just leads to underdosing.

Not sure I'd trust the weigh the front then weigh the back.

Possibly a stupid suggestion but can you sit them on the scales, like for shearing? Or set up two scales and a board, though no idea how you'd get them to stand?

Dans

[firther]

I got my sheep weigh crate off ebay, a 2nd hand 1 shouldn't be too much money and there as been plenty around.

[Daisys Mum]

I can never find any on eBay close enough to pick up.

[SallyintNorth]

Sally, you can use a rule-of-thumb and just check the odd one to confirm.

I use:

2 years old and older - breed standard for the mature adult weight for that breed.
Shearling pre-tupping - 90% of the mature adult weight.
Well-grown lamb at 6 months - 65% of the mature adult weight.

Any significant differences are likely to be in the lambs, due differing growth rates, dates of birth, etc.  And it's easier to check one or two of them using your bathroom scales or whatever 

Incidentally, I've always believed that they used to weigh pigs by getting them to stand on a broad plank balanced on a rock (like a seesaw) and balancing the pig's weight using stones.  Then guess the weight of the stones  .  But seriously, if you could set something like that up, you could then weigh whatever you used as a balance weight - a lamb is likely to be round about 2 licky buckets, an adult three.

[Foobar]

2 years old and older - breed standard for the mature adult weight for that breed.

Hmm, I wouldn't trust that, from my own experience, two sheep can look the same but can be a good 5kg different.
Weigh the thinest and the largest and judge all the ones in the middle?


If you can't afford a weigh crate (or a vets platform scales) then two bathroom scales and three people must be the cheapest option! (two people to pick up the sheep and another to read the two scales)

[Bionic]

Well we only have 8 sheep so a sheep weigh crate isn't really in the plan, although I will keep my eyes open on ebay just in case.
We have 2 lambs (twins) so OH was able to pick one up and weigh on the scales. He was also able to do the same with the smallest of the ewes. The largest was the front legs and back legs method and the weight we came up with seems about right considering the others. The others are somewhere in between so I think we can judge reasonably well to be able to drench them. 
I might think about getting a second second of bathroom scales and a plank though to see how that goes

[Yeoman]

Well until Galileo came along you could drop one from a tower and time how long it took to fall  .
Mind you this method did have some drawbacks - one of which was that long wools produced inaccurate results due to the increased air resistance.

Things have become much more sensible since Newton so using one of the more sensible suggestions from this post may be a better idea!

[SallyintNorth]

2 years old and older - breed standard for the mature adult weight for that breed.

Hmm, I wouldn't trust that, from my own experience, two sheep can look the same but can be a good 5kg different.

Oh definitely - but (farmer  talking here ) on adult sheep weighing 60kgs or more for larger breeds, dosing a 55kgs animal for 60kgs isn't going to kill it .  You just need to do something to confirm to yourself that you aren't underdosing.

5kgs difference makes a more significant difference in lambs weighing around 35kgs - but even there, as a farmer dosing batches of 30-40 or more, I'd generally dose for the heaviest and rarely moderate my squirt, only if the lamb in front of me is very significantly smaller than the others.  Sure we 'waste' a little meds this way, but it's a far bigger waste to underdose