The main breeding window is upon us. Farmers who intend on lambing ewes from the beginning of March will this week turn out rams with ewes. Lambing date is generally dictated by land type, sheep breeds, facilities available and target market.

Where facilities are poor, with little housing available, some farmers may opt to split the lambing period with an early group and a later lambing flock. In doing this, the farmer can reduce the pressure for lambing pens or adequate housing, reducing the risk of a disease build up by overcrowding or a failure to adequately clean and disinfect lambing pens between ewes.

Splitting the lambing in two is a common practice among farmers who lamb down ewe lambs. Ewe lambs are generally slower to begin cycling in the year anyways, so lambing these at a later date will allow a farmer to feed additional concentrates pre- and post-lambing, as well as having ample lambing facilities to allow ewe lambs adequate time to bond with their newborn lambs.

Burn out

The real danger with split lambing is farmer burn out. One lambing period consisting of late nights, early mornings and nighttime checks rolling straight in to lambing another batch of sheep can affect a farmer’s physical and mental health.

A rest period in between to catch up on sleep, even if it's only a week, can be of great ease. Leaving adequate time in between batches of ewes will also allow for lambing facilities to be properly cleaned out and disinfected before the second batch begins.