scoffcruddle
Well-Known Member
No specific sheep thread on here so it’s about time.
Nice shed.
Nice shed.
All thing Wooly!
- Thread starter scoffcruddle
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scoffcruddle
Well-Known Member
I could do with some form of portable slat system,sit a raised pen down in the silage barn then hook it out the way for the rest of the year,there isn’t enough money in sheep to be building slatted tanks for such a short housing period.
Paw
Well-Known Member
You could use some of those raised up on concrete sleepers.
eire23
Well-Known Member
A neighbour put in a raised plastic slat system in a dry shed and he's sorry he didn't put in a tank now. He reckons its hassle and it is I suppose.
Ya could do a 3/4 foot deep bock/poured tank with a sump for adjatating at reasonable money especially if you could do the work yourself
Neighbour who is one of the " teagasc better sheep farmers program " has them plastic slats in a good while .i seen them jan 15 and came from " jetwash ltd " in carrigallen.do alot of pig work and have office in England.
He says that unless it's precision chop silage forget it and unless the pens fairly full they are dirty.
He lifted cattle slats and put these in for the sheep
He says that unless it's precision chop silage forget it and unless the pens fairly full they are dirty.
He lifted cattle slats and put these in for the sheep
eire23
Well-Known Member
It's a tricky one getting the feed right on slats. I'm feeding all bales, I sweep each pen once a day, probably no need to but I do it anyways. Have one pen of cheviot x ewes, now they would bed themselves with silage they pull that much in. Why it's just that pen I don't know. The lleyn and suffolk x ewes and other pens of cheviots would pull hardly any in. Made a ladder thingy out of re-bar to put down on their silage and it stops them pulling it in. Can only pull at small bits.
The biggest problem I find is if feeding real high dmd silage, 75 dmd or that. Their dung be's like glue and it will block the slats be it plastic or timber. Used to cut the silage here in may and it was great silage surely but your heart would be broke. If you didn't wash the pens they would be in pure sh1t. I let it grow on now till the first week or June, dmd would a bit lower and be a bit higher in fibre so their dung does be like currants. Feed a higher protein nut to make the difference.
Precision chop silage would be the job but it doesn't suit here unfortunately.
Used to have our own sheep but I didnt have a great love for them when I was a cub.in the earlier years there was money it them .lambed dec time and lambs all gone end of April early may so tightened up the ewes then.
It was grand as meal n fertilizer were cheaper then and a few cheques from the factory went along way.
Mostly brockey faced ewes we kept but always kept texel or beltex ram and they were nice lambs.
Final straw for them was a massive dog attack as we are very close to the town.just set the grass for the winter now to other sheep men.
We had alot of the fencing done before we got sheep because we needed to keep 3 neighbours sheep out.
Wouldnt definitely say that I never have some of our own again
It was grand as meal n fertilizer were cheaper then and a few cheques from the factory went along way.
Mostly brockey faced ewes we kept but always kept texel or beltex ram and they were nice lambs.
Final straw for them was a massive dog attack as we are very close to the town.just set the grass for the winter now to other sheep men.
We had alot of the fencing done before we got sheep because we needed to keep 3 neighbours sheep out.
Wouldnt definitely say that I never have some of our own again
scoffcruddle
Well-Known Member
I was thinking of using box type crash barrier and welded them together and lifting in one.
Dunbia slaughter house down the road from me has a raised shed and they clean out using a bobcat,the mucks fairly dry.
If I built say a 20’x16’ section with built in penning I could lift it out way for mucking out etc
Could even leave the lambs in the pen.😂
AYF
Well-Known Member
I know a man with outdoor slats for sheep. Keeps them on there untill they need to come inside to lamb on straw.
Silage is a problem on any slatted system. The key is keeping them seriously tight.
What we should of course be doing is trying our hardest to not need to bring them in till the last minute. Or at all. Something I intend to explore a bit better tbh!
This year has proven that sheep can thrive even in muddy conditions. Our stubble turnips looked a mess, but ewes have come off in excellent shape. With only a few bales and no straw!
Silage is a problem on any slatted system. The key is keeping them seriously tight.
What we should of course be doing is trying our hardest to not need to bring them in till the last minute. Or at all. Something I intend to explore a bit better tbh!
This year has proven that sheep can thrive even in muddy conditions. Our stubble turnips looked a mess, but ewes have come off in excellent shape. With only a few bales and no straw!
AYF
Well-Known Member
Well it has begun!😂
Set of triplets this morning. Tbh she is early going on her scanning mark, but all three are alive and doing ok!
She has done well, during rambing she got stuck on her back and the seagulls stuck a beak in her stomach. We stitched her up and wern't expecting much but she obviously wanted to live!! (Makes a change!)
How are everyone's sheep behaving?
Lost very few so far this year. Appart from CODD they are in very good form!
Danube
Well-Known Member
Brought in the singles today, they were the last of the ewes left outside. I would like to have waited until the ground was dry but it doesn't look like there will be any let up in the foreseable future and I want to give them all a shot of heptavac P before they lamb. But my God I have never seen the land as wet. I was marking it walking on it and almost lost my welly on more than one occasion.
AYF
Well-Known Member
Cracking looking lambs.
Charolais?
I see you double tag the lambs. Are you recording anything with them?
AYF
Well-Known Member
They aren't cheap!
eire23
Well-Known Member
A standard bay with a 15ft wide tank is working out at rougly 1k, that's with the fibreglass runners. For the same bay timber is around 300.
Paw
Well-Known Member
Lambs nor calves like being cold and wet. Charollais just have a reputation for being thinner skinned than natives.
scoffcruddle
Well-Known Member
What size are your slatted pens?
How many ewes per pen?
eire23
Well-Known Member
There's 25 there in that pen, standard bay, 15ft tank and another half a foot of concrete at the barrier. Have other pens then over 18ft deep and have had 33 ewes in each bay.
If I sheared them I get more in, thought about doing it this year but didn't. Might chance a couple pens next year.
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eire23
Well-Known Member
Their lleyns. No texels here, not a fan!