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Know How / Lambing

Compare different systems such as indoor and outdoor lambing and get advice on ewe management, including nutrition, body condition scoring and winter housing. See how to avoid problems such as ewe vaginal prolapse and abortion, how to increase lamb survival rate and prevent lambing diseases.

Advice and tips

LAMBING

Advice on planning for triplet lambs and options for rearing

Sheep farmers considering increasing the prolificacy of their flocks have the potential to increase sales by €15 (£12.80) a ewe for every 0.1 additional lamb reared successfully, according to Teagasc…

LAMBING

Lambing shed communication - why and how to improve it

Keeping lines of communication open to track vital lambing shed jobs can help higher-output flocks keep standards high. Sheep vet Emily Gascoigne of Synergy Farm Health believes verbal and non-verbal…

LAMBING

Tips for managing ewe mastitis during lambing

Mastitis in ewes costs the UK sheep industry more than £120m a year in direct and indirect costs, according to AHDB. It is a primary cause of premature culling, loss…

SHEEP

3 ways to reduce use of antibiotics at lambing

Use of oral antibiotics in neonatal lambs has almost halved since 2016. How can the industry capitalise on that progress? The sheep industry’s use of antibiotics is relatively low compared…

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Case studies

SHEEP

How cobalt deficiency tests led to higher lamb weights

A split trial on a Dorset farm highlighted a 3.52kg uplift in weight gain and reduced susceptibility to worms in lambs supplemented for cobalt deficiency. The result of the trial,…

LAMBING

How colostrum and new shed helped cut lamb mortality

Meticulous colostrum feeding and a new lambing shed have helped cut mortality and eradicate cases of watery mouth in an organic March-lambing flock. Mortality has fallen from 26% to 17%…

LAMBING

Purpose-built hut reduces lambing intervention on mixed farm

A purpose-built hut set on a raised platform in the centre of the lambing shed is proving the ideal solution for a father and son to keep a careful eye…

LIVESTOCK

How feeding maize silage has cut ration cost by £10 a ewe

Switching the winter housing ration from conserved grass to maize silage was an unplanned change at Wern Ddu near Newtown in Montgomeryshire. Ten years on, and its financial and health…

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Community

COMMUNITY

Farmers Weekly lambing gallery: Best snaps of 2024

For many, the busy 2024 lambing season is well under way – and hundreds of farmers have taken the time to send their photos to the Farmers Weekly lambing gallery. …

YOUNG FARMERS

Video: A day's lambing with FW's Young Farmer of the Year

Lambing 2019 has been a relatively straightforward affair for Farmers Weekly's reigning Young Farmer of the Year, Jacob Anthony – a welcome relief after tough and bitterly cold season last year. The…

11 things you don’t miss when lambing season is over

With most people now finishing up lambing for the year, and with the ewes and lambs turned out, there are some things sheep farmers and lambing assistants will not miss. 1.…

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Insights

LIVESTOCK

4 sheep recording methods compared: which one is best?

Carmarthenshire sheep farmer and Aberystwyth University graduate Huw Williams completed a HCC scholarship in 2015 looking at how extensive systems in New Zealand and Australia were recording parentage. Talking about…

SHEEP

Research shows value of monitoring ewe body condition

New research has shown just how valuable it is to record and monitor body condition in commercial ewe flocks and keep it consistent year-round.   Independent sheep consultant Lesley Stubbings…

LAMBING

How sheep colostrum trials are helping to reduce antibiotics

Trials are comparing two lamb blood tests in a bid to reduce antibiotics use on farms through optimising ewe nutrition and health.  A series of farm studies has compared refractometer tests…

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News

SHEEP

Steps to improve labour efficiency laid out by sheep adviser

Sheep farmers have been challenged to limit their annual labour input to two hours a ewe by advisers who have noted huge variation in farm labour efficiency. This would mean…

SCHMALLENBERG

Schmallenberg outbreak hits early lambing flocks

Growing numbers of flocks are being struck by the deadly Schmallenberg virus in the south of England, Midlands and Wales. Vets are urging farmers with deformed lambs to send them…

COMMUNITY

NSA Lambing List 'go to' place to find student lambing help

The National Sheep Association (NSA) has recently opened the portal to its Lambing List, a system that operates annually to partner up farmers with willing agricultural and veterinary students to…

CRIME

Shropshire farmer discovers sheep butchered in field

Livestock farmers in Shropshire are being warned to be extra vigilant following reports of sheep being found illegally butchered in fields. West Mercia Police says it has received reports of…

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Test and reviews

FEED AND NUTRITION

Video: Buyers guide to ad-lib lamb feeders

As lambing approaches and labour is harder to find than ever before, it could be time to invest in an artificial lamb feeder to lighten the workload. With a variety…

LIVESTOCK

Buyers guide to lamb adopters

Lambing time is fast approaching, and anything that makes life a bit easier is welcome on sheep farms. Emily Padfield looks at five different lamb adopters. It’s usually about now…

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Video

SHEEP

How farmer lambs 1,000 ewes inside without oral antibiotics

Diligence around lambing shed hygiene and ewe body condition scoring have allowed a Wiltshire flock to get through four lambings without a single dose of oral antibiotics. Martin Tobutt and…

LAMBING

Video: How to successfully wet-adopt a lamb

Smell is the most important factor in the successful adoption of a lamb. This makes wet adoption, where the ewe’s birth fluid is rubbed on the lamb to be adopted,…

YOUNG FARMERS

Video: A day's lambing with FW's Young Farmer of the Year

Lambing 2019 has been a relatively straightforward affair for Farmers Weekly's reigning Young Farmer of the Year, Jacob Anthony – a welcome relief after tough and bitterly cold season last year. The…

FEED AND NUTRITION

Video: Buyers guide to ad-lib lamb feeders

As lambing approaches and labour is harder to find than ever before, it could be time to invest in an artificial lamb feeder to lighten the workload. With a variety…

See all