Drainage pipes can be converted to handy water troughs for lambing pens
ADVERTISEMENT
Tiredness and fatigue go hand in hand with lambing big numbers of ewes. The constant walking, feeding, checking and double-checking can be exhausting.
Anything that can ease the workload for the shepherd should be considered because it may mean a better overall lambing performance, with more time spent looking after the sheep and newborn lambs rather than carrying out more labour-intensive jobs.
One job that can be very labour intensive for larger flocks is feeding water to individual freshly lambed ewes in pens.
ADVERTISEMENT
Some farmers use drainage pipes that run the length of the individual penning to cut out manual water feeding. One end of the drainage pipe holds the ball cock for monitoring the level of the water and the other end of the pipe is sealed off. Slots are cut at the top of the pipe to allow the ewe access to drink water in each individual pen.
The benefits are that the ewe has access to fresh water at all times – there is no need to fill and carry buckets to individual pens, taking up valuable time and effort, and you don’t have to go to the cost of buying a lot of individual water troughs for each pen.
In terms of safety, the farmer is not using up excess energy carrying buckets and has more time to rest and concentrate on minding the flock.
Register for free to read this story and our free stories.
This content is available to digital subscribers and loyalty code users only. Sign in to your account, use the code or subscribe to get unlimited access.
The reader loyalty code gives you full access to the site from when you enter it until the following Wednesday at 9pm. Find your unique code on the back page of Irish Country Living every week.
CODE ACCEPTED
You have full access to the site until next Wednesday at 9pm.
CODE NOT VALID
Please try again or contact support.
Tiredness and fatigue go hand in hand with lambing big numbers of ewes. The constant walking, feeding, checking and double-checking can be exhausting.
Anything that can ease the workload for the shepherd should be considered because it may mean a better overall lambing performance, with more time spent looking after the sheep and newborn lambs rather than carrying out more labour-intensive jobs.
One job that can be very labour intensive for larger flocks is feeding water to individual freshly lambed ewes in pens.
Some farmers use drainage pipes that run the length of the individual penning to cut out manual water feeding. One end of the drainage pipe holds the ball cock for monitoring the level of the water and the other end of the pipe is sealed off. Slots are cut at the top of the pipe to allow the ewe access to drink water in each individual pen.
The benefits are that the ewe has access to fresh water at all times – there is no need to fill and carry buckets to individual pens, taking up valuable time and effort, and you don’t have to go to the cost of buying a lot of individual water troughs for each pen.
In terms of safety, the farmer is not using up excess energy carrying buckets and has more time to rest and concentrate on minding the flock.
If you would like to speak to a member of our team, please call us on 01-4199525.
Link sent to your email address
We have sent an email to your address. Please click on the link in this email to reset your password. If you can't find it in your inbox, please check your spam folder. If you can't find the email, please call us on 01-4199525.
ENTER YOUR LOYALTY CODE:
The reader loyalty code gives you full access to the site from when you enter it until the following Wednesday at 9pm. Find your unique code on the back page of Irish Country Living every week.
SHARING OPTIONS