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Lambing preparations: Manufacturers and providers of sheep handling equipment, lambing hurdles, feed barriers etc report demand running above normal and in some cases a few weeks of a waiting list. It is important to take note of this if you are hoping to carry out any remedial works in preparation for lambing, increase feed space availability etc.
As a rule of thumb, a flock with a medium litter size will require about one lambing pen to every seven to eight ewes. This ratio can be reduced to one lambing pen to five to six ewes for high-prolificacy flocks scanning in excess of two lambs per ewe or where there is a high number of yearling hoggets lambing down with the main flock and having a greater requirement to spend a longer time in individual lambing pens.
Alternative bedding: Last week’s note on assessing straw supplies stimulated a few questions on alternative bedding options for sheep.
Most research on these has been carried out in the UK, with advantages and disadvantages to each.
Looking at woodchip first, it can be used as a bedding material but is best suited to a low stocking rate and high dry matter diet. Sheep are not strong enough to bring about any mixing in bedding and therefore regular attention is required to keep sheep clean. Woodchip must also have a moisture content of below 30% and ideally closer to 20%.
Sawdust has good absorbent properties but it and woodchip are harder to source given the lower volumes of timber being handled and high relative value for further processing or burning.
Like sawdust, peat which has been well-dried is a good bedding option. It was briefly used on Tullamore Farm a couple of years back and seemed to work OK. Again, like wood chip, it requires some work to turn a fresh layer up at intervals.
Neither peat nor sawdust are ideal for lambing on, but they can be used as an absorbent layer under straw.
There are more farmers also becoming interested in exploring the option of housing sheep on a raised floor with plastic or mesh slats. This could become a more common occurrence if higher volumes of straw are ploughed into the ground. While representing a significant initial outlay, they are capable of quickly covering their costs, particularly in areas of low straw supply and high purchase costs.
Examples of shed alterations can be found online at www.farmersjournal.ie.
Teagasc sheep conference: The Teagasc sheep conference will take place over two sessions on Tuesday 26 and Thursday 28 January. The topics in Tuesday’s conference include an update on the INZAC flocks in Teagasc Athenry looking at the performance of high-genetic-merit Texel and Suffolk sheep versus low-genetic-merit animals along with how these compare to New Zealand genetics. The second presentation will discuss New Zealand feeding guidelines for growing lambs to achieve target liveweights on a herbage diet.
Thursday’s conference will examine how genetics and breeding can reduce labour at lambing through improving lamb vigour and ewe mothering ability.
The conference will also look at Laryngeal chrondritis, a disease of the upper respiratory tract of sheep resulting in the airflow and breathing ability being restricted.
Both events run from 8pm to 9pm. Register online at www.teagasc.ie/sheepcon21.
SHARING OPTIONS: