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There are over 220,000 extra ewes on sheep farms in the last two years, with another increase expected in the current sheep census.
It is worth reviewing your lambing facilities if ewe numbers or the flock’s prolificacy levels have significantly changed or if ewes are lambing in a tighter window.
The general recommendation for average-prolificacy flocks (scanning 1.7 to 1.8 lambs) with a normal lambing pattern is one lambing pen to every six to seven ewes, rising to one lambing pen for every five to six ewes where the prolificacy level is high and there will be extra pressure on facilities from triplet-bearing ewes requiring longer in individual pens.
The range of lambing equipment and feeding aids such as hay baskets has improved greatly and is worth considering to cut down on labour.
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