Handy tips to make sure you’re ready for lambing season
The flock has been sorted into various different bunches after scanning last week. Many people are afraid of lower scanning with all the wet weather we had but we saw no difference, and there was nothing unusual to note.
I noticed that the stronger, better-conditioned ewes were those carrying multiples of either twins or triplets, and some of the empties were old ewes that were probably past it and in poorer condition.
Ewes that were on the better ground did have a better scan than those on wetter and poorer ground.
We have housed some of the ewes and kept the twins and singles separate. They will be fed differently once feeding begins in February. They are getting silage. It’s not as dry as other years but it’s not too bad.
Sometimes in the past we let a ram in with those that scanned empty but decided against it this year and these ewes will be culled in a month’s time after some feeding. A few younger ewes will get a second chance next year but if they are dry again they will be culled.
All the ewes have been fluke dosed again, hopefully for the final time for this season.
I’m preparing the lambing sheds and getting lambing supplies. I’m also checking equipment from last year and making sure it is working and seeing where I could improve on things.
The lambing area was power-washed earlier on and disinfected and will be disinfected again now.
Keeping infection and disease levels as low as possible is important at lambing time. Having ewes in good and fit order is where it starts, keeping them and penning clean.
We make sure ewes are fed correctly with quality feed, so they produce enough good-quality colostrum.
I find that if the lambs are good weights born and are healthy and the ewes have milk, it cuts out on a lot of disease such as E coli watery mouth.
I spray a strong iodine on the navels — twice if possible — to dry them up quickly, as they are another potential entry point for infection.
The majority of the freshly lambed ewes get 24 hours inside or less and are shipped out to grass. Once the ewes go to grass there is no meal given to the majority of them; the only ones that get fed are perhaps old ewes with twins or any young ewe hoggets with twins.
The ewes that rear out on the hill have a few weeks with their lambs in fields and will go to the hill in May until they are brought down for shearing later in the summer.
I am hoping we get another dry spell, to allow us to spread some dung on land which could be useful for some spring grass.
There is a decent butt of grass in fields that were closed off in late autumn. This will be needed for ewes once they lamb down.
Since I started saving more ground in the autumn for ewes and lambs in the spring, I have reduced the amount of meal I have to feed to ewes, especially after lambing. This is one of the main advantages I see from housing ewes, along with ewes milking well on good grass.
We will have some pedigree Bluefaced Leicester ewes lambing in February and I want to make sure I am well prepared because once lambing begins, there won’t be as much time to get other odds and ends done.
I’m looking forward to lambing now but I might not be as enthusiastic about it towards the end of March.