Lambing update..

[kato]

Talk about jumping in at the deep end! Holy Smoke! By the end of the first week, he should know everything there is to know about lambing, because he will have seen it all.

[Bez]

We run a fair number of sheep and will shear at any time of the year. The thing to remember is the animals need to be inside if shearing in Nov - through May.

Timing for shearing can always be adjusted to assist with lambing ease. Scoring through fleece is simple once you get the hang of it - just takes a bit of practise.

Personally we never tip a sheep over for any reason - especially for shearing - if she is within 6 weeks of lambing.

[WestwardHO]

I think I know of the fellow with all the "new sheep" and he knows it all, and has someone else to do the work

[Bez]

1600 sheep - all sources - lambing as a beginner? Wow! We have been here for a couple of years or so but I would not even consider this unless I had a lot of help - and some serious knowledge - plus an excellent management plan. I wish him all the best.

[grassfarmer]

He does have someone with large flock experience
employed otherwise it would have been too much of a
learning curve. Personally I'd be happy up to 4-500
ewes if that was all I had to do at lambing time. If you
are calving cows, feeding cattle, seeding crops as well
you need to reduce your numbers accordingly.

[kato]

Update.. all done lambing. The last one lambed today. Eleven lambed in 15 days, then there was almost two weeks until this one. They were all first timers, so I'm thinking this one wasn't cycling when the ram went out.

The score is 13 lambs from 12 ewes. Six rams lambs, and seven ewe lambs. Next year I'm expecting more multiples, but seeing how hard the one with twins is working this year, it's probably just as well they mainly had one each for the first round.

I'm happy with my flock. Cows could take some lessons from them. LOL

[freewheat]

Finally I can also update. Thanks for the update, kato.

Two days ago we had our first young animal born on this farm in 24 years... It
was emotional for me, and exciting.

The ewe lamb I thought until last week was not bred, had a single little lady.
Dangit lambs are cute!!! My wife helped pull, as mama was struggling for some
time.

And today we got a single male from one who I thought was carrying twins at
least. Healthy little singles are better than nothing!

Seeding and lambing is quite a thrill.

Anyway, 5 more to go. Should pop out fast and furious, they are all bagged up
well, and our ram was prolific as heck.

[oldwest]

HI everyone I hope lambing has gone well for everyone,as for us we only have five to go out of sixty.We had thirteen sets of twins so far and out of those we had to give two lambs away because their mothers only wanted one but overall its gone quite good.I WAS curious about what breeds you guys all have and why you chose them as I am still trying to find the best combination of traits that suit our situation yet try and be as profitable as we can ;any input appreciated,thanks and good luck.

[kato]

Half of mine are Canadian Arcott. I must admit I chose them because I liked the way the flock they came from operated. I figured it was best to start with something that had come from a flock where culling was a priority to remove problem sheep. Their mothers had to earn their keep, and it turns out they follow suit.

The other half are polled Dorset. They came from a flock of the most uniform sheep I saw all last year. In fact, there are four out of the six that I still have trouble telling apart from each other.

I guess my idea starting out was leaning more toward getting good sheep, than worrying about what breed to get. So far it seems to have worked. The Arcotts are a prolific breed, and fast growers. The Dorsets are a bit bigger, and I am loving the lambs they produced with the Arcott ram. I will post pictures when I get a chance. They're growing like weeds, and have changed a lot since the first pictures.