Sheep Farming

Weaning can be considered a simple change from milk feeding to solid feeding but in truth it is a balancing act between maximising early feed efficiency and managing rumen development.

Managing the shedding of eggs from ewes in spring can be one way of minimising the worm larvae uptake by lambs later in the grazing season and thus reduce the need for subsequent treatments.

The rationale behind treating ewes is that it reduces the number of worm eggs a ewe puts onto pasture when her immune system relaxes around lambing – a term known as the spring rise.

In mid-season lambing flocks, the aim is to get lambs to 32 to 42kg as soon as possible, capitalising on early feed conversion efficiency (FCE). Investing in early nutrition to capitalise on this early growth potential will pay dividends.

With the fortnight of Eid celebrations commencing in mid-July, those who lambed early to mid-March need to get lambs finished quickly to ensure they don’t miss market opportunities.

We are all aware of the importance of ewe colostrum as the first feed and antibodies has always been the ‘buzz’ word, however, successful colostrum feeding is a considerably bigger picture.

For years we have seen demand for 5 and 10kg bags of lamb milk replacer. But if we take a closer look at how much powder it takes to rear a lamb…should we really be buying these small bags?

Hygiene is crucial during lambing to help reduce stock losses through infections such as; watery mouth, joint ill and scours, and mastitis and metritis in ewes.

Just like the weather, parasites can be just as unpredictable, striking stock at varying times with no two years the same.

This means that when it comes to parasite control, decisions around treatments should be based around the risk on the farm at that time, rather than what was done in the previous year.

When it comes to managing worms in sheep, it is no longer acceptable to use anthelmintics routinely. While wormers have their place, they need to be preserved for use at the right time to stop the development of anthelmintic resistance.

The preparation of lambs for weaning is a vital process to reduce the risk of a growth check during the transition from milk and to ensure lambs continue to thrive. It is therefore important to ensure lambs have access to clean and fresh water; high quality concentrates and a sufficient source of roughage alongside their milk supply. The type of roughage supplied can influence many factors, such as rumen development.

The treatment of your slurry lagoons is highly important for any farmer. Incorporating a good management plan to oversee this process is just as important for the farmer manager to keep up with to ensure slurry is managed safely. Within the Wynnstay Slurry guide, we look at the 3 steps for the treatment of a slurry lagoon.