Getting ewes and lambs out to grass

Before ewes and lambs can be turned out to grass it is important to have adequate covers so as to avoid feeding high levels of concentrates.

Grassland management goes back to the previous autumn when paddocks should have been closed in good time and in rotation from late October onwards, as the late closing has a significant bearing on the amount of grass available in spring. Ideally fields should be closed to allow a rest period of approximately 120 days over the winter. Nitrogen should have been spread from early to mid-February at a rate of 23 units per acre and increasing depending on stocking rate and weather. The aim should be to have the average farm cover of 5 – 6 cm when you start to turn out sheep after lambing.

If a farmer has inadequate grass this spring, they must review grassland management and make changes so it does’nt happen the following year. Review factors such as resting the ground in time the previous autumn, fertiliser application and soil sample analysis.

Teagasc research suggests that farmers should target to have 20% of the ground grazed by mid-march, 40% grazed by the end of march, and the remaining 60% will be grazed during the first 2 weeks of April when demand from ewes and lambs are increasing rapidly in line with peak milk yields. Graze paddocks tightly to 3.5 – 4 cm and have a minimum of 5 permanent grazing divisions per group of sheep.

Once the grass situation is being managed, it is important to develop the bond between the ewes and lambs pre-turnout. Ideally ewes should be allowed to lamb in the group pens and once lambed the ewe and her lambs should be removed to an individual lambing pen for mothering up. Most ewes will be able to identify their lambs after 2- 4 hours whereas lambs generally need at least 12 hours to be able to identify their dams. Supervise ewe and lamb performance in individual and group pens to identify lambs not sucking. Identify problem ewes that are mis-mothering, not producing enough milk or are sick after lambing. Mark lambs and ewes with numbers for ease of identification.

When confident that ewes and lambs are bonded and feeding properly, health issues are resolved and weather is favourable, turnout to a sheltered field. The optimum time for turnout is 48 hours post birth once a strong mother/offspring bond has been formed and lambs are suckling properly.

If grass height is 5 cm plus, reduce supplementation as grass intake increases. Continue to supervise ewes and lambs on grass and watch out for poor milk yield i.e. lambs continually sucking, empty looking lambs, ewes with sore teats that won’t stand for lambs and mastitis. Signs of mis-mothering such as abandoned lambs is caused by too short a period in individual pens, lack of supervision and too large a group size. Unsuitable weather post turn-out can result in hypothermic lambs.

If extreme weather/heavy snow is forecast like March 2018, then rehousing may be the only option to reduce mortality in young lambs.

Focus on good grassland management and allow sufficient time for a bond to develop between ewes and lambs pre–turnout.