[andywalt]

I have 10 ewes and a tup in the near field and they will lamb march/april, while I have brought in 10 ewes from the field that will lamb over the next 4 weeks, my first one has lambed with twins.....


Please can you give your comments id like to know next weekend I suppose I really should put the ewe in the field with the lambs, is it ok for them to run with the other 10 ewes and tup I have that will lamb end of March/April?

I am thinking about her rations? she should should be on approx 1kg a day of 18% as she is feeding her lambs, when the other later lambers will be only on 100 grms a day....I should really put the other 10 in another field but she will be on her own? not good I think, or should I keep her in for another week then there will be another ewe lambed and they can go out togther?

does that make sence?

Another question is foxes, we have alot of foxes in our fields, whenare the lambs out of danger from being snatched? a week?  a few days? a few weeks?

appreciated any answers

thanks










Andy

[ellisr]

We have foxes hunting in packs and they took a 3 month old so it is all down to nature. As for the field I let all of mine mix but I only ever lamb when the grass grows as it is better milk food. As the weather is still very British I would probably put up a shelter that the lamb can use to get out of the wet and maybe think about feeding the ewe and lamb seperately in a pen then let them out to run around with the flock

[Anke]

I would bring them in at night time (re foxes), if you have the space in a pen for them. If they follow the  bucket you should be able to get them in for feeding inside (and away from the other ewes). After all there is not much grass to eat right now and the ewe will need a good amount of concentrates.

[charlie]

Hi Andy sometime what you can get is ewes that haven't had there lambs try to steal the lambs. If you have the room stick here in another field be fine

[woollyval]

Worm ewe, do her feet, trim her bum if necc, add some spot on. ( like a service on a car )Tail lambs and castrate if you are going to and then number them and turn out into new clean field. This means the ground is clean and ewe wormed whilst she is in so they will not take anything untoward with them.
Lots of problems can be avoided like this, I always always move from flock to lambing pen - lambing pen to clean ground, using the 24 hours or so penned up to do routine stock tasks.

[andywalt]

good advice   thanks very much, trouble is clean field is not really possable, but i will trim her and feet and worm.

andy

[Daisy-at-the-dairy]

We are in the same quandary with ours.  We bought them in-lamb and the dates turned out to be widely separated and blinking inconvenient! First to lamb was happy on her own with her babies for a week, then started to whinge, so have brought in the next (still two weeks away) to keep her company. 

Terrified of foxes so bringing them all in at night - now they have the idea we just open the gate and they trot into their night quarters so we assume they approve   The two later lambers are still out with the wethers but feeding them separately hasn't been too much of a prob in our case - the wethers are greedy enough to be lured into a pen to munch on chaff and then we give the ewes theirs.

It has all been a bit of a juggling act (pause to form a mental pic of juggling sheep  ).  We have had to put up temporary pens in the orchard for the newly turned-out ewes/lambs to give them clean grass where we could keep a close eye.

Next year a) NO January lambs and b) a closer lambing pattern.  All a learning curve isn't it?

[andywalt]

yup, ive been saying exactly that !!!

[pikilily]

Ref the foxes.
 I have been told that foxes seem to be repulsed by the little plastic lambie jackets that you can get from agri-suppliers. I have used them every time, and even made some of my own very servicable ones out of plastic tesco/coop bags. so far i have not lost a lamb to foxes, and there are plenty round here! The ewes really dont seem to bother what I dress their babes in.....i do however keep them in for 24hrs for the aforementioned reasons and for a bit of bonding etc etc. the other bonus is that the lambs are easily spotted when dressed in red.

 Downside is -remembering to let any number marking dry before putting jackets on...LOL.... otherwise the lambs are marked 'big-green-smudge-looks-like-a-one' and 'big-green-smudge-sort-of-looks-like-a two...or is it three...'etc etc

Emma T

[faith0504]

i wonder what it is about plastic bags that foxes don't like?? got me thinking if there would be a way to use them as a deterrent for chickens

[pikilily]

i had wondered too Faith!

somewhere the is the theory that either its the smell or the rustling !?

... maybe pinning up lots of bags all around the door to the coop, or run would do it. I cant see my girls being happy about wearing the jackets!  Have you tried male urine (human) sprayed about the run and coop?

Sorry, straying off topic...
Emma T

[faith0504]

its definitely worth looking into the carrier bag theory, i send my OH at night for his ritual wee wee  , touch wood i have not lost any hens to a fox yet, but the more deterrents the better