[Closed] Lambing Live, STW style

You mentioned a lamb that wouldn't suck, is tongue tie an issue with lambs which is sometimes found in babies?

Andyl - have you thought about using a castrated teaser tup? I have a couple of Welsh teasers I use and they also keep the other rams company (making loading into a box easier for some reason when I bring them home!).

I always find different people's opinions on fostering lambs (and lambing techniques in general) fascinating. Not originally coming from farming stock myself, but now loving it, every day is a learning opportunity.

A neighbour of ours lambs over 1000 cross-bred ewes and mules, every triplet/quad is fostered either onto a single or a ewe who has lost her lamb/s. They hand strip colostrum and tube every lamb to ensure the intake.

I try and save a bit of after-birth to rub on any fostered lambs (as well as the skin), it seems to help confuse the ewe into thinking it's her lamb if she can lick it off a bit, I've had success with fostering lambs up to 2 weeks old with this.

When do you castrate/dock tails Welshfarmer? Talking to one old boy down the market last year, he leaves them completely intact, joking that even tails must weigh something!

mikewsmith - Member

Name and shame the posh bastards, (Northumberland farmers son here) most of my annual cash was from 12-14hr lambing days, anyway most people were always late....
These days I remember how much hard work it all was (Easter hols were never relaxing) and how 2 weeks lambing is really a month

Whereabouts in Northumberland? I have an Aunt and Uncle who were farmers near Stamfordham, loved going up there during lambing...

Lambs seem a little late this year? Normally see plenty by the end of Feb, weather been mild too

Lambs seem a little late this year? Normally see plenty by the end of Feb, weather been mild too

Not sure the mild weather has much to do with lambing time? Or has it?

Don't know, they're like plants aren't they? ;0)

How long can you keep the colostrum? in cows if I remember rightly not long at all.

If not then I will have to skin him and make a coat for one of the other bottle lambs

If you can put the skin of a dead lamb onto an orphan or a lamb that's from a large litter (do sheep have litters? you know what i mean) then the ewe that lost the lamb can sometimes be fooled into thinking it's hers, and will take it on as her own.

(Not a farmer, I learned that from All Creatures Great and Small)

@jekly common technique to get the mother of the dead lamb to accept another. One of the harsh realities of farming.

Yep. Very common, a bit distasteful, but very effective. Mum and adoption are very happy together. The skin-coat will be removed in 2-4 days, by which time it is so high it can almost walk out the shed on its' own 🙂

@ pigface. Colostrum keeps very well in the freezer. We have several tubs of it in there still from last year though we have already used a fair bit. It will get replaced by fresh supplies from this year when some of the big singles start lambing and have more than they need.

Since we started individually marking and tagging our lambs we have realised just how unsuccessful the adoption of a triplet onto a single ewe really seems to be (so you get 2 sheep with 2 lambs each). We have had really well bonded lambs leave the shed, only to find them starving (or worse) 3 days later in the field. I suspect on many really large flocks who "successfully" adopt lots of lambs, the mortality/fox take of the adopted lambs is much higher than is realised. I would rather the extra work of rearing a lamb in a group of orphans and keeping them all alive, than send them down the field never to be seen again.

@ dockstar. Never heard of tongue tied in babies, let alone lambs. We just assume they are a bit simple 🙂 Often there can be nerve damage from a difficult birth, but this often heals pretty quickly over a couple of days if you can keep the lamb alive. Our poor sucker is now drinking much better and should soon be able to work out how the auto-feeder functions so she can feed herself.

@ Houns. Lambs will be born 142 days or so after conception so birth date depends on when you introduce the rams. However, the time a ewe comes into season is strongly linked to day-length and most UK breeds are only in season from the end of September till late November. The lowland breeds are generally several weeks earlier than the hill breeds. This "autumnal" rutting session ensures lambs are born in the spring as the new grass is starting to grow and survival is best assured.

@neilc.. we dock tails & castrate no later than 24 hours. We do not castrate many of the males at the mo. It is something we are still experimenting with. Once we castrated everything and then for years we castrated nothing. Last year we castrated only the males of twins and left singles whole. Theory being that singles grow faster so will be sold earlier before they become a PITA and need to be separated from the girls. To be honest we have had few problems leaving males entire and they sell just as easily. And of course they are "2 stones" heavier 🙂

I've arrived at the same conclusion as you regarding the castration. Leave docking until 2-3 days (when it's still possible to catch them in the field without too much running!) Some say that docking earlier can affect colostrum intake but it's hard to imagine this being anything other than anecdotal evidence.

Well the last couple of days have been pretty tough. Almost all triplets and twins. Still not had our first single lamb yet. Quite a few still born lambs coming out of the triplets. One poor girl had 3 dead lambs 🙁 But she was very happy with her adoption. Currently have 8 in the creche with another 1 to lift this afternoon. It breaks me up to do so but it really is kindest in the long run. The weather at the moment is also not helping. Very wet since the weekend with snow and sleet. The first lambs are out in the meadow trying to survive. I have given them a trailer and some pallets to get under for a bit of protection from the worst of it. Here is a pic of them taken a couple of minutes ago. Right, better go and feed them. It never stops 🙂

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Interesting read.. I'm an ag student currently doing some lambing thursday-Sunday, to give the farmer a chance to get some sleep. 🙂
Manic night last night, they just kept on lambing throughout the night, hoping for a much quieter night tonight 🙄

Me too! In the thick of it now. Managed to pop to town this evening (25 mile round trip!) for some supplies. Was seriously low on coffee and Creme Eggs. All good now for another week. Had a very depressing case this afternoon. One of those you know isn't going to end well. Single lamb coming backwards, which is always risky.... as soon as I felt his feet I just knew I was in trouble. This lamb was huge. I said to Mrs WF I thought I should take her in for a Ceserean Section. However, the last one of those we had ended up with 2 dead lambs and a dead ewe! So I risked it and pulled the lamb out, needless to say it got stuck at exactly the wrong moment and had drowned before I could get it the last bit. This thing was huge. Biggest lamb so far. But dead despite a good session of mouth to mouth. Ah well, shit happens. I skinned him and stuck a big triplet in the skin and mum was happy with my amazing miracle working.

At least the sun is shining and the lambs can go straight out into the field. Got to keep an eye on Mr. Fox who is lurking around the edges all night, but the lambs are all pretty fit so shouldn't be an issue.

Couple of pics from today

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Got this little girl on the bottle. All she wants to do is ride her bicycle 🙂

😀

Really, really miss not living in the countryside at this time of year, all the new life popping up everywhere etc. Used to help out on my local farm when I was a teenager and this is bringing back a few memories 🙂

Got to keep an eye on Mr. Fox who is lurking around the edges all night, but the lambs are all pretty fit so shouldn't be an issue.

Farm where I help out has a bit of a fox issue. Last year he watched two foxes team up on a ewe with twins. One approached head on and drew the ewe from the lambs as another one sneaked in behind her and grabbed the smaller of the two. Fortunately he was able to chase it and the lamb was dropped.

I took three out of his lambing field with the .243. Lambing starts on 1 April for John, so this week will be spent getting ready for a night or two plotting up overlooking the lambing field. They usually come up to the field from a gulley and show themselves crossing a ridge about 100 yards below it, with loads of good backstop. He always lamps them from his quad, which means they are lamp shy. I've got an IR scope for this year, so a few nights in early should pay dividends.

Gorgeous pedalling lamb 🙂

Is is worth investing in a couple of alpaca? They make great guard animals, that will chase off a fox.

Thanks @welsh, how far through are you ?

@scape nice work

Will try and get out and see lambs around Hampshire / South Downs this week

Bob and Betty slopped out nice and easily yesterday evening.

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Both are doing well this AM.

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There are a couple of foxes around and they've more than likely got Cubs on meat now (they generally appear the same time as the bluebells). It will be a serious black mark on my Gamekeepership if one of our own lambs gets eaten 😆

Hmm, well despite best efforts Charlie got the better of me the other night. Was a big lamb too. May well have had his head stuck in the fence when he was taken as I doubt the fox could have caught him otherwise. Anyway, he won't be taking any more (you can just make out the fox behind the lamb).

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Other than that we are just about finished. another 13 left to lamb and that is it. Generally a kind year for the sheep, very good weather after the snow of day 1 and 2. I will go and get some film of the lambs cavorting and gambolling in the meadow one of these day.

So cute and mum is a gorgeous colour. Do hope those nasty foxes stay away for you.

@ welshfarmer - how are yours doing now?

PS Bob and Betty look like bonny little lambs. I doubt mum will let any harm come to them.

Good work, it is such a relief when it is all done.

How many do you think get predated by Reynard.

Well there is the one caught in the act. PLus I am missing at least 1 other, possibly 2. It gets very difficult to see who is missing after a certain number go out though so we won't really know the damage until the first time they come in to be wormed and i get to scan their tags again.

The ones we lost I don't think were down to foxes but any excuse for the boss to get his guns out, what are prices like at the moment?

Prices are pretty flat and well down on where they would normally be expected at this time of year. It appears that the seasonality to lamb pricing has flattened off in recent years as people are lambing earlier in bigger numbers. The highs and lows of pricing seems to reflect this. Good for some of us. Less so for those hoping to catch the traditional spike in prices around now. It just isn't there anymore, though the costs of getting lambs ready to sell over winter are still much higher.

I knew someone who used to sponge about 40 ewes to have lamb for Christmas, he did well out of it for a few years but was very labour intensive, got a good price, this was a long time ago now.

Was up around Pengenffordd area today and heard a load of shotguns being discharged, guessing the foxes were being hunted down!

Loads of baby lambs belting round the fields, if only they'd quickly learn that staring me down on the trail isn't the best idea 😆

Unlikely.... probably pigeon shooting on the Spring crops.

Poor Betty isn't doing as well as we'd initially thought so is having more colostrum piped in as we speak. She was apparently suckling but seemed to be going backwards so we decided to rev her up a bit.
She has definitely improved this afternoon so see what the morning brings.

check mum doesn't have mastitis in one side

Good shout Welshfarmer- thank you!
Sally had checked though and all seems ok at the moment.

Pengenffordd isn't really a cropping area, winter fodder at best.

Hunt were in the valley at work about a fortnight ago, about 300 lambs next door so far in that period, crap hits the fan this week when pretty much everything is due, so about 600 more this week until the remainder saunter in. They've cadged one of our woodsmen for shed duties.

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Couple of Cotswold lambs from my girlfriend's flock, about a week old at a guess. Nothing makes me feel more townie watching her and her dad reaching in to fish out any troublesome ones, I don't think livestock farming is for me!

Well we only have two more still but one was a bonus twin. Betty is doing great now.
The others are called Bongo and Banana 🙂

Fox cubs are on the surface too! It is true- they seem to pop up from below from below ground the same week as the Bluebells.

Question for the farmers: do buzzards ever take very newborn lambs? I noticed a buzzard monitoring a sheep field pretty closely yesterday but reckoned the lambs would be too big. Perhaps they scavenge afterbirth etc?

Wow, those Cotswold lambkins are so cute!

@Welshfarmer - have you reached the end of the lambing season? How are yours all doing?

4 left to go CG (soon to be 3 I think). Today was not a good day. Started with an awkward birth (they are fine), then a set of twins with one being weak and poorly. Tried to save him but died about 2 hours later. Then we have one from yesterday who has an abscess under her skull. I think she is going to be brain damaged and may need to be put to sleep. Another seems to have joint ill, which is a bacterial infection of the leg joints. He should recover now he has been treated. And finally after a trip round the field to check the ewes ad lambs we found a lamb with a really bad eye infection so have just bought them home and treated him with AntiBiotics. Was a bit full on today, and none of it pleasant. Plus although dry the wind is cutting here at the moment.

WRT buzzards, I have never know a Buzzard take a healthy lamb. They might scavenge a dead one or even a very weak one, but unlike eagles, they could not really carry a lamb very far so would have to eat it in situ. Likewise the Red kites only eat dead stuff too. Afterbirth is a delicacy and just about any good meat eater would relish some of it for breakfast if they can find it 🙂

Gosh, do hope the poorly ones recover although putting one to sleep must be tough. Is that normal to have several with infections and are the odds good for them to recover? Will you need to bring them inside as the temperature has dropped?

I'd add to the Kite thing that they do take small live prey. They mop up every Leverette and pheasant chick here at silage time but they don't touch a healthy pheasant poult (7weeks old). We get up to 70 wheeling over the cut grass.

Buzzards will attempt larger prey but I think a 100% healthy lamb would be a rare one. I saw one actively hunting a fully grown cock pheasant two years ago- something I'd swear didn't happen previously. It's second stoop drew feathers at which point discretion was the better part of valour and the pheasant retreated.

Sorry to hear about your day Welshfarmer- livestock husbandry is an up and down pursuit that's for sure!
It is often a snowball effect too and even a sunny spring or summer day seems mightily short when you are running around over thousands of acres, trouble shooting and seemingly getting nowhere!!

CG, infection is quite common when you have lots of little ones with immature immune systems in close proximity (a bit like every kid catching a cold in the first week back at school). As a percentage of all lambs born though it is only about 1% suffering any sort of illness/infection so not too serious. Just all seemed to come on the same day! The good thing is that sheep respond really well to antibiotics so most common infections can be sorted quickly and effectively with a small injection. Many farms will actually inject all lambs shortly after birth with a shot of ABs prophylactically to kick start their immunity but I don't agree with this approach as it will eventually lead to AB resistance and a restriction in the use of them when we really need them. Better to practice good hygiene, make sure lambs get enough colostrum (first milk) and treat individual cases as and when they arise.

In a few years when my wife's obsession has grown from 6 to 200 Herdwicks (I can see it coming- mark my words lol) perhaps our new addition 'Ginny' might actually earn her keep 😆

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🙂 all round

Ginny looks a smasher. WANT. Reminds me of my Bron who passed a year or so ago. Fantastic dog that I still miss.

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Sadly lost a huge single ewe lamb today. Sally's beating herself up about it but it happened in the intervening 3hrs between checks so one of those things unfortunately. It was backwards and so big it was a struggle to get it out as it was.
It just feels out of proportion when you only have a small flock I guess.
(Certainly not in any way implying that big farmers don't care about their losses!)

🙁 sorry to hear that. Big and backwards are 2 words I hate during lambing. The only lamb I birthed this year that died of the process was big and backwards. I felt terrible, especially since I knew it would die. The second I felt its feet and realised a. it was backwards and b. it was HUGE, I knew it was doomed. I said at the time that she needed a caeserian but pulled it anyway (The last caeserian we had done we lost both lambs and the ewe had to be put to sleep too so we were not that keen to risk it again). One of those things where hindsight is a wonderful thing. Luckily we had so many spare lambs it was easy to foster a new one on to her. Doesn't make the pain of a wrong call and the knowledge you just killed something through your own actions any easier.

Ah well, in more positive news we had 2 singles this morning meaning there is now ONLY 1 left to lamb and she is due around Thursday 🙂

PS a couple of things for future regarding backwards lambs. So long as only the tips of the back feet are showing the lamb is safe. The problem comes when it's body hangs in the birth canal since the umbical cod gets compressed which fools the lamb into thinking it is now on its' own and it begins to breath while still in the fluid of the womb and hence it drowns. When you start pulling on the feet you will have no more than about 10-15 seconds to get the lamb out to give it a realistic chance of survival. So first of all get some good rope loops over the feet to give maximum grip, and then squirt as much lube as you can up inside to give yourself a fighting chance. Seep breath and pull. Once you start there is no stopping or going back. The lamb comes out quick or it dies. It is amazing how hard you can pull, you can even push against the ewes backside if needed, just get the lamb out. Worth noting that if the lamb sticks you might be able to rotate it through 90 degrees and pull in a different direction. If you are lucky it will pop like a cork and start breathing. Don't be afraid to give Mouth to Nose if necessary and a bit of heart massage. However, do not be surprised if it dies too. Backwards is always a problem with large singles.

Well done all. I always struggle later in the lambing season with singles. I tend to lamb later due to work commitments and by now the grass is getting ahead of them and the singles are piling on the pounds! I've lost 2 that way this year, but fostered pet lambs on so all ends well.

Regarding bad days - I've never worked out why they all happen at the same time. Last week I started the morning with a fox taking a triplet, then a dead single, twin ewe with mastitis (now recovered thankfully), then to top it all the quad decided to pack up!

welshfarmer (and others), don't know how you do it, makes my work problems all look rather trivial. This thread is awesome.

So that is it for another year. Last set of twins safely delivered by mum. Time to get back to normality. Goodnight folks.... zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

We once had hextuplets.

Thats a big enough event for the fife herald to come round and do a piece.