4 May 2018
Following this winter’s trials and tribulations (I won’t mention the spring we haven’t had!), good management at weaning will be critical. As a result of persistently wet weather and cases of extreme weather, 2017/18 has been particularly hard on ewes, not to mention the impact on this season’s lambs. Snow at lambing, delayed turnout and an obvious shortage of grass are all contributing towards poorer lamb performance.
Lambs are normally weaned between 12-14 weeks of age. This year, weaning will depend on various factors, and will most likely not be the standard set date the majority of farmers operate on. It will be more dependent on:
- Grass availability - If grass is scarce, early weaning could be beneficial as lambs won’t have to compete with their mothers for grass.
- Ewe condition
- Lamb performance (growth rates) – how far away from finishing are they?
- Target market – which market are you targeting for this year’s lambs?
Ewe milk production peaks at 3-4 weeks after lambing, with 75% of milk produced in the first eight weeks of lactation (SRUC, 2016). After eight weeks, lambs will acquire most of their energy by grazing. This means that lambs are competing with their mothers for the best grass – which isn’t ideal, especially this year due to grass shortages and poorer quality grass available.
Although most farmers rely solely on their eyes when assessing ewe and lamb performance, regular weighing can prove very beneficial. Weighing lambs at 8 weeks of age can give you a good indication where your lambs are at and where they need to be. Assessing ewes’ condition during this time can also aid in the decision making process as to when you’re planning to wean.
Lambs up to the age of eight weeks should be gaining on average 250g/day. If this isn’t being achieved, there is most likely a reason why - a reason which you should be investigating and acting upon. Quick detection and treatment will ensure that lamb performance isn’t affected too much, and growth rates can make a quick recovery.
A successful weaning is all about minimising stress and a smooth transition for both ewe and lamb. To reduce any chances of suppressing the immune system during this critical time, routine drenching, tagging or vaccinating should be carried out in advance, and not the same time as weaning itself.
Removing the ewes from the field, and leaving lambs in the same environment is recommended. This ensures that stress is minimised for lambs, as they already know where feed troughs, water troughs etc. are located. If lambs are creep-fed, liveweight gains may not decline after eight weeks as lambs are already used to feeding themselves.
Once settled, lambs can be moved on to fresh pastures with low worm burdens or onto a forage crop such as rape. Faecal egg counting (FEC) can be a straight forward method of assessing the worm burden challenge and is most definitely recommended. Always remember – prevention is better than cure!
Ewes should be moved as far away as possible, removing all risk of noise and contact for the foreseeable future. They should be offered low quality forage until they dry up, as well as a clean, constant water supply. Cull ewes should be selected and sold as soon as possible.
Both ewes and lambs should be monitored closely following weaning. In particular, ewes should be monitored very closely for cases of mastitis.
Weaning triggers the start of the process to get ewes back into good body condition prior to the next mating season, which will come around quickly. After they’ve dried up, leaner ewes should be offered better quality forage so that body condition can improve. It can take between 6-8 weeks for ewes to gain one body condition score on un-restricted grazing, therefore improving body condition prior to mating is very much achievable if managed correctly.
This period also allows farmers to collect valuable data on lamb performance. It will allow you the opportunity to calculate your rearing percentage, comparing back to the scanning percentage and lambing percentage, allowing you to make justified management decision for the future.
Ask yourself – ‘are my lamb growth rates really good enough?’, ‘am I getting out what I put in?’, ‘can I do more?’ and if you need to…
MAKE A CHANGE AND MAKE A POSITIVE DIFFERENCE TO YOUR BUSINESS!
Visit the Farming Connect website to view how our Demonstration Network farmers are working to improve their ewe and lamb performance.
A series of events on getting the best results from growing lambs on forage will also be held in early June.