The current spell of weather is very hard on sheep and is raising numerous challenges, one of which is presenting lambs in satisfactory condition for slaughter.

The greatest challenge for factories is dealing with sheep that are both wet and dirty, with these animals at the greatest risk of falling into category C of the clean livestock policy and being rejected for slaughter.

Where ground conditions are poor, lambs are wet and the belly area is heavily soiled with clay.

Presenting lambs in satisfactory condition is not a straightforward exercise given the recent high rainfall levels and difficult grazing conditions.

In the worst cases, where ground conditions are poor, lambs are wet and the belly area is heavily soiled with clay, there is likely to be little option but to house lambs to allow their wool to dry out. Achieving this goal will be helped where lambs can be housed in a relatively dry manner as sheep housed with very wet wool will take several days to start to dry out.

Moving lambs to drier ground in advance of housing and keeping feeding troughs moved to clean ground, if possible, will also help. A deep bed of straw should be used if housing on straw bedding, while it is also important to get good airflow through the shed.

Where utilisation is poor, grass will only serve as a roughage source.

The performance of finishing lambs at grass has also dipped in line with poor grass utilisation, with many farmers weighing lambs over the Christmas period disappointed with recent performance. Where utilisation is poor, grass will only serve as a roughage source, with maintenance requirements also higher in difficult weather.

As such, feeding levels will need to be stepped up accordingly, with lambs supplemented outdoors requiring upwards of 0.8kg to 1kg concentrate supplementation to achieve any level of positive performance.

Where grass reserves are depleted, it is important to feed hay/silage as a roughage source. If ground conditions are particularly difficult, then housing lambs for finishing, if possible, will deliver significant benefits in raising performance.

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