Pat Nutall farms between 800ft and 1,100ft above sea level in Co Wicklow in a system that presents plenty of natural challenges. The aim is to get as much grass into the diet as possible, but farming at this altitude means a certain amount of concentrates are necessary.

The flock is predominately Wicklow Cheviot-cross but Suffolk, Vendeen and Belclare genetics are also present within the flock. The ewes produce an average litter size of 1.85 lambs per ewe, which Pat is more than happy with, as he feels higher levels would only lead to management issues.

Cattle and sheep graze together in a mixed grazing system which Pat believes works well.

“It works better for me and leaves paddocks cleaner. It allows me to get better performance from grass and also grow more grass,” said Pat.

Natural constraints

The farm is located on marginal land with only 3in to 4in of soil, which makes normal management practices difficult. Lambing started on 22 March with the lambing date in a normal year coinciding with grass growth commencing.

Pat explains how he has to suit the system to the land he has: “I have to keep a low stocking rate just to survive. You hear dairy farmers talking about growing 14t/ha of grass per year, but that’s just not possible at this height. So you have to work with what you have.”

The land is deficient in some minerals. To counteract this, ewes receive an extra copper mineral mix, via concentrate feeding, with concentrates prior to lambing. This approach is working well and achieving satisfactory results.

Lambing

Ewes are generally housed in December and offered ad-lib precision-chopped silage.

Ewes are scanned eight weeks prior to lambing, with twin- and triplet-bearing ewes receiving approximately 2lb (0.9kg) of whole oats per day for five weeks. For the final three weeks of pregnancy, this is changed to a 21% protein ration. Any empty ewes found at scanning get sent for slaughter.

Lambing usually lasts about four weeks and the starting date is not only based on grass growth, but on the availability of students to help with the busy lambing season.

One-hundred-and-thirty students have passed through Pat’s farm as part of their work experience requirement for their course.

“I had two students helping out this year and they were brilliant. They are eager to learn and are a great help at such a busy time,” he said.

Lambs will usually stay indoors for four to five days after birth so they can be observed to ensure they are healthy and strong before being put to grass. Ewes don’t receive any extra feeding once they go out with grass making up the entire diet.

Flock health

“One of the advantages of farming at this height is that the cold weather helps prevent some diseases. Ewes are kept on expanded metal slats prior to lambing, which aids disease prevention. Disease doesn’t grow as well on the cold metal as it would on the straw,” said Pat.

Pat shears his flock in winter and administers a pour-on after shearing (lice). Four weeks prior to lambing, ewes are vaccinated for clostridial diseases, with lambs receiving a vaccination for orf as they go out of the shed.

Faecal samples are taken from lambs in mid-May to establish the faecal egg count, which is an indication of the worm burden.

In recent years, samples have been taken again two weeks post-dosing to determine if the dosing strategy is effective.

“I change the dose every year to reduce the risk of resistance building up within the flocks and also take faecal egg samples to see if and when I need to dose, with a follow-up sample taken to ensure the dose still works,” Pat said.

To read the full Sheep handling focus, click here.