Sheep Management: weather woes, lambing and TAMS deadline

Feeding rates: Torrential rainfall over the last week has witnessed a significant deterioration in ground conditions in many areas.

Farmers lambing have faced challenges in turning ewes and young lambs outdoors with some faced with retaining sheep indoors for longer than anticipated.

There is a more positive forecast ahead, but it may take a few days for this to deliver any great improvement in conditions.

Where ewes and lambs are being retained indoors for short periods of time, then supplementation rates will not need to be drastically increased from pre-lambing supplementation rates.

However, where ewes are being retained indoors for a significant period of time, then supplementation of concentrates will have to rise substantially.

Twin-suckling ewes in good body condition and offered ad lib access to moderate or average-quality silage (68-70+DMD) will require 1.2-1.5kg concentrate supplementation daily.

Supplementation levels should be increased to 1.5-1.7kg where forage quality is very poor or ewes lacking significant flesh cover.

Single-suckling ewes in good body condition will require 0.6-0.8kg concentrates with this again rising to 1kg or higher where forage quality is poor or for ewes in poor body condition.

Feeding levels should be gradually increased, avoiding sharp increases in the immediate period post-lambing.

Demand for protein is high in early lactation, but at such feeding levels, ewes will consume sufficient protein if concentrates fed in the final weeks of gestation (protein content of 18% to 20% depending on ewe prolificacy) continue to be offered in early lactation.

It is important to note that once ewes are transferred on to such a high level of feeding that straw bedding requirements will also increase significantly.

Where ewes and lambs are turned outdoors and ground conditions are particularly tricky or grass is scarce (less than 3.5cm) then supplementation will need to be continued.

The general recommendations in such a scenario is feeding rates of 0.7-1kg for twin-suckling ewes in good body condition, rising to 1-1.2kg for ewes lacking condition. An allocation of 0.3-0.5kg will typically suffice for single-suckling ewes in good condition and 0.5-0.7kg for ewes lacking condition.

Lambing aids: Some practical lambing aids were covered on last week’s sheep page. A farm group meeting in the last week highlighted the benefit of erecting a white board or corriboard/PVC signs in the lambing shed to record details and numbering group/individual pens. This is particularly useful where there is more than one person lambing.

Cable tying corriboard to the front of individual lambing pens will also allow lambing details to be quickly recorded. Information on ewe mothering ability, milk yield etc is particularly beneficial in retaining homebred replacements.

While keeping a track of mortality and the causes of such will allow this information to be reviewed post-lambing to see if there are any trends that need addressing.

TAMS deadline: Closing date for applications to tranche six of the Targeted Agricultural Modernisation Scheme (TAMS III) is Friday 7 March. Note that the portal for applications closes at 5pm on deadline day for TAMS compared to midnight for many other schemes. I know a few farmers who got caught out with last-minute decisions before the last deadline.