With lambs intended for the Easter market, Tom and Thomas Lowry, a Father and Son team from Carrowdore on the Ards peninsula have started to lamb their first batch of 350 ewes from a 450 ewe flock. The Lowry family work 340 acres, within mixed farming parameters. Alongside the sheep enterprise, 30 suck cows are run and in autumn store cattle are bought in, which are finished out of the house. Spring and winter barley is also grown either side of stubble turnip within a continuous rotation. The stubble turnip is then used for the turnout of spring lambs. It is also practice to reseed 12 to 15 acres each year.

It has been a buoyant year for Thomas and his father with returns from the sheep and arable enterprises both ‘holding their own’, nevertheless nothing goes to waste.

Breeding

The ewes are Suffolk Cheviot X and Texel Mule X. The introduction of Texel and Suffolk Rams to the ewes takes place in mid August for 6 weeks and again in mid October for those lambing from the 17th March. Lambs are killed out at 20kg through the meat plant gaining both U and R grading and therefore achieving the bonus payments. Heavier lambs are sold live through the market. Only 50 replacements are kept each year, with further replacements bought in as required in March and April. This year the scanning percentage was 185% with lambing percentage usually around 180%.

Feeding the ewes

From a daily requirement of 12 -18 Megajoules (MJ) of ME in late pregnancy, the energy demands of the ewe will increase to 20-30MJ in peak lactation. It is therefore essential that the correct nutritional parameters are set in place. The housing and dosing of ewes for fluke and worms 8 weeks pre-lambing presents an opportunity for ewes to be batched according to their scanning percentage. Twins and triplets will then be fed 0.25kg’s of an 18% Protein ration which incorporates home grown barley and a vitamin and mineral pack. This is gradually stepped up to 1kg 2 weeks pre-lambing to accommodate the needs of the developing foetus, the reduction in rumen size, which leads to restricted intakes. Singles are fed good quality 1st cut silage along with 0.5kg’s of concentrate, two weeks prior to lambing. Extra Vitamin E in all rations ensures the production of high quality colostrum and the maximum survival rate of newly born lambs.

Post lambing

Ewes and lambs are put to grass at around 6 to 10 days after lambing; they also have access to stubble turnips. From 4 weeks of age lambs are creep fed Premier Lamb Pellets ad lib. This allows the majority of early lambs to be finished from 12 weeks for the Easter market. Ewes are routinely dosed and lambs are treated for Decox from 4 weeks of age. The ewes are then dried off in early May and restricted on grazing and the remaining grazing ground is closed off and sown for a cut of silage to be taken in Early June.

Ewe and lamb performance is critical to the profitability of the sheep enterprise at the Lowry farm. Year in year out Thompson rations are recognised as being central to this high level of performance.

For further information on how to improve the profitability of your flock contact your local Thompsons representative or Thompsons on; 028 9035 1321