Sheep management: feeding early lambing ewes and sheep census

Early lambing ewes

Early lambing ewes retained indoors for any significant period of time, need to be adequately supplemented to ensure milk yield is not compromised. Twin-suckling ewes in good body condition and offered ad-lib access to moderate-quality silage (68-70+DMD) will require 1.2kg to 1.5kg concentrate supplementation daily. Where any ewes are lacking condition then supplementation levels should be increased to 1.5kg to 1.7kg.

Single-suckling ewes in good body condition will require 0.6kg to 0.8kg concentrates along with access to top-quality silage with this again rising to 1kg or higher where forage quality is poor or for ewes lacking condition. The feeding levels described above can typically be reduced by 0.2kg to 0.3kg where ewes and lambs are retained indoors for a short period post-lambing.

It is advisable to build feeding levels gradually avoiding any sharp increases. Where ewes are on such high levels of feed then straw usage will also need to be increased significantly to maintain high levels of hygiene and limit the chance of a build-up of bacteria and disease establishing.

Sheep census

The portal is now open to submit the 2024 sheep census return online. This can be accessed through a farmer’s agfood.ie account of the sheep Animal Identification and Movements app. Where accessing through the agfood.ie account, select the heading ‘animal identification and movements’ followed by selecting ‘sheep keeper’. This will be the only option for farms which do not have cattle.

The next step is selecting ‘census’ and ‘create’ in the top left of the screen. Previous census returns can be viewed under the ‘view’ option while the portal can also be used to order dispatch booklets and view movements. Completion of the annual census is also a good time to ensure your flock register is up to date. Under the terms and conditions of the National Sheep Identification System, lambs must be tagged by nine months of age or on leaving the holding of birth.

Winter shearing

With housing and pregnancy scanning ramping up many flocks will now be looking at winter shearing. The benefits of winter shearing are well documented, with Teagasc research showing that winter shearing can increase lamb birth weight by 0.6kg without increasing lambing difficulty and improving weaning weights by up to 1.9kg.

Management benefits are also numerous, allowing 15% more ewes to be housed in a given space (provided feed space is adequate), easier monitoring of body condition and scope for better hygiene. Shearing should only be carried out where there is at least eight weeks wool regrowth and ewes are being turned outdoors from March onwards. There is also merit where not shearing in crutching ewes, with this helping greatly in improving hygiene and aiding lambs to suckler easier.

Grazing ACRES cover crops: The grazing of cover crops sown under the Agri-Climate Rural Environment Scheme (ACRES) is permitted from 1 January 2025.

It is important to adhere to new rules regarding grazing – ie a minimum of 30% of the grazing area must be provided as a lie-back. Grassland or stubble ground is acceptable as a lie-back provided the animals can access the lie back at all times, there is sufficient green cover established in the lie back to comply with stubble management requirements of the nitrates regulations and repeated poaching of the lie-back or catch crop area does not take place.