Lambing update..

[kato]

Well, fourteen days into lambing, and my great big flock of 12 is almost done. Only two left to go, and one looks like she's going to do it today. So far I have 11 lambs from 10 first time mommas. Had to pull three. One was backwards, and a pretty big boy, so we got him out asap. Two were coming with one front leg back. The first one wasn't too far along, so I pushed him back in and got the leg. The other one was late last night, and he was too far out to be pushed back in. He was out to the shoulder, so I just pulled him like that. Only took a minute, and within ten minutes he was up and walking.

I hope this works...

<a href="http://s17.photobucket.com/user/Kato1/media/IMG_1264.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b67/Kato1/IMG_1260.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo IMG_1260.jpg"/></a>

[kato]

Apologies for the size of the pictures...

[Bez]

Bravo!

Looks like nice digs for lambing.

We have the first group of 50 plus sheep and asscociasted lambs born in Feb and March out on pasture now and the second group of sheep is now underway with about 15 lambs on the ground.

It took me three days of hard slogging to get the barn cleaned - even with a skidsteer there was a lot of small area stuff to clean out by hand - not going to do that again.

Fortunately the cattle have completely finished calving so we are now resorting to sitting on the front deck and using the binos to check on most of the sheep.

Only 20 left in the barn to lamb so I have to walk there a few times a day.

All in all a pretty decent start to the year - now - if only we can get the price up!

You have the start to a very nice flock of sheep. Keep going and in about three years you can be a powerhouse with a few hundred on the ground making lambs every year! Your profitability will make you THE money maker in the house!

I laughed when my wife initially said that to me - now I realize it is true.

Take care

Bez

[kato]

Thanks. We took the calving barn, slapped up some sheep panels, and were good to go. I doubt if any lambs could have survived without that barn. Even starting at the end of April, we've had several good snows, and lots of cold windy nasty weather. It's been crazy.

I'm really happy with these sheep. The originals are Canadian Arcott, and then I got six Dorsets to add to them. There are some benefits to starting with pail fed lambs that I didn't think about at first. The best one is the quietness of them. If I want to move them, I just call and they follow. They'll make good leaders in the future. The Dorsets are not so co-operative. Actually quite flighty. But they follow the quiet ones, so it works.

[freewheat]

Awesome Kato! Nice looking setup, and I hear you on the pathetic
spring lambing weather. I have our barn geared up just in
case...Mine have about 2 weeks to go; today I really noticed the
lambs wiggling in their mamas. lol I think even the one ewe I
thought was open may have a lamb in there. Wiggle, wiggle, flip,
flip.

Can't wait, thanks for the update...

[grassfarmer]

One thing that mystifies me in this country is when
sheep keepers shear. I'd never consider shearing any
time other than June - just as it gets warm so it has
time to regrow for winter. Why to folks have them
heavy coated in the heat of summer then shear just
before or during winter?

[freewheat]

Grassfarmer, people who do not shear at some point in the spring are way off
base. I have never seen people NOT shear in spring. You see this frequently?

I have hair sheep, so for me, shearing is moot.

[grassfarmer]

Looks like these of Katos were shorn after the turn of
the year unless they don't grow much wool.

[kato]

They were sheared on April 7th. About three weeks before they were due to lamb. That's a three week growth of fleece on them. It's nice to see what's going on under all that wool. Makes it easier to monitor their body condition too, just in case someone was getting thin.

As a handspinner, one reason for shearing just before lambing is to avoid the "break" that can happen in the fleece under lambing stress. Any kind of stress, from sickness to lambing can cause a weak spot in the locks, and basically ruin the fleece. I've seen broken fleeces before, and they're only good for compost.

[grassfarmer]

You should learn to condition score them through the fleece kato, it'll help when you
come to judge condition on the finished lambs. Here is a simple introduction:
http://ir.library.oregonstate.edu/xmlui/bitstream/handle/1957/14303/?sequence=1

I know a fellow out here who just started in sheep - he has built a lamb feedlot but also
bought and is lambing out 1600 head of bred sheep sourced from all over. That'll be
quite the learning curve!

[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.