[feldar]

One of our dorset ewes got stuck on her back at the weekend so we picked her up and took her back to the barn. She couldn't get up but we suspected a touch of twin lamb brought on by the stress of being over for a long time ( she was found early morning, so happened in the night)
She's been on painkillers and a drench (for twin lamb) but this morning i saw a foot poking out and pulled two dead lambs from her, quite easy births but they were a bit smelly and had been dead for a few days.
Now she looks a lot better, bless her and is eating well.
So this was our first Dorset to lamb and i hoping for a better result from now on or we may regret buying these!!!
All our Hampshires lambed well this season and we had very few problems, we have lambs ready to go and an order for some for the abbattoir on Monday.
I'm keeping    for the rest of my Dorsets. I rather like them, they are very quiet. We had some Lleyns in for a friend for a while and they were just mental! i didn't know sheep could fly one of them cleared my shoulder easily

[ZaktheLad]

Hope my Hampshire X lambs arrive safely this year - really looking forward  to it all but also dreading encountering the problems that some have had this year with their sheep.  My first is due on 4th April and then up until 18th. 

[Tala Orchard]

Sorry to hear you are having trouble with you Dorsets, we have a Dorset ram and 2 Honed Dorset ewes both ewes lambed for the first time this year, the first had twins unfortunately the first born got stood on when she was pacing and pawing the ground prior to her second, who is doing well, our other girl needed a hand after over an hour with toes protruding we decided to help and she had a single lamb and what a whopper it is and both are doing well.

Our ram also serviced our other girls so altogether from six girls we had 9 live lambs 150% not bad at all.

So hopefully the rest of your lambing goes well and you are pleased with your lot.

Tala

[SallyintNorth]

We had some Lleyns in for a friend for a while and they were just mental! i didn't know sheep could fly one of them cleared my shoulder easily

lol, that's hill sheep for you!    Quite a different proposition to your Down breeds.     We soon learned to be very quiet and steady with our Swaledales in the pens, or you might get one (complete with horns) flying into your face, or through your arm as you operated the gate in the race 

  the rest of your Dorsets lamb well. Everyone always says you get all your problems at the beginning and/or the end - which isn't much comfort when you only have a handful!

[feldar]

You are right Sally!
 I am used to my quiet lumbering Hamps and the Horned Dorsets are just as quiet except at feeding time when a set of horns is deployed with great accuracy into the back of my knee
But other than that they are lovely
We have got some Llanwenogs too which we cross with the Hamps and they are a little wild, so i will keep to my lowland sheep I am getting too old to chase the hill sheep about, it's that or i need to get myself a good dog. Mine sits and laughs at me as i chase the sheep and she lies down!

[Me]

Its what you are used to too a bit, I get on well with the Lleyn but bought in a few Beulahs and have to say they are the craziest most stupid creatures I have ever had the misfortune to shepherd (caught a Glasgow kiss from one earlier today). Apart from that they're great! I bet there are people on here who get on well with Beulahs......

[Me]

......... no maybe not 

[feldar]

Well hubby just phoned to say we have had w twin of ram lambs born to a Llanwenog. They are only an hour old and he can't catch them for love nor money   so he's leaving them be in a corner with mum and they just wont have their navels sprayed. Joy

[SallyintNorth]

We don't spray navels of outdoor-born lambs.  They really shouldn't be finding things to get infected by outdoors in the short time before the open wound heals over; it's indoors where other ewes have lambed before 'em they pick up infections through their umbilical cords.

[SteveHants]

Unless I am performance recording potential replacements, I dont do anything to outdoor born lambs - If I am recording, I tag them and thats about it.


I find if a lleyn or a woolshedder is more than 48h old on open downland they are nigh on impossible to catch, I was thinking about asking the rest of my Rugby team up into my lambing fields this year. I think some of our forwards could do with the fitness....

[Hellybee]

We mostly lleyn here, aww theyre not too bad yes, granted some tend to be excellent jumpers but on the whole they're bold and intelligent and stay put hehe x

[Mammyshaz]

Sorry your first borns were a disaster. Hopefully that's the bad start over and the rest will come leaping and bounding.
My only experience of farming sheep was last year with hill sheep. I didnt realise how bad ( or how far ) a ewe could butt  until I flew!!   
Still loved 'em and my work experience lambing. glad the owners were so understanding (  )

[feldar]

We don't spray navels of outdoor-born lambs.  They really shouldn't be finding things to get infected by outdoors in the short time before the open wound heals over; it's indoors where other ewes have lambed before 'em they pick up infections through their umbilical cords.

If we can catch, which we usually can with our field born lambs we do spray navels. Just habit i surpose, we do it routinely in the shed and while i have lamby in my hands i tag, spray, check over etc but yes there wouldn't be much to catch infection wise outside it's just a routine we've got into

[SallyintNorth]

If it's running about it's too late to be spraying   By the time it's up and suckled, nature's done its thing and the cord is dry and sealed.

In fact we've been commenting while watching Lambing Live that if it were us, cameras or no cameras, we'd be putting iodine on the newborns' navels as they drop.  You can feel us both squirm uncomfortably with every new lamb to see them not putting iodine on, and dragging the lamb about in the dirty straw or draping it across it's mum's dirty back.    Even though we know they do the iodine once the cameras move away, to us that's created a risk.  (And we can't really fathom why they don't apply iodine as soon as the lamb is born.)