The start of the year is always a busy time for sheep farmers and particularly for those lambing ewes.  Just ask William McCracken who farms 175 acres in the hills just outside Castlewellan.

William runs a self-contained flock of 430 Texel and Suffolk cross ewes, with 100 ewe lambs kept as replacements – all ewes older than 5 are culled off fat.  He uses only Suffolk and Texel rams on his flock and eases the burden of work by lambing the replacement hoggetts in December and the main flock from January onwards.

The young lambs are creep fed with intensive lamb pellets.  Normally the ewes and lambs are kept indoors for 1 week before going out to grass.  William has been making big bale silage since 1984.  To feed this successfully, involves making sure the grass is leafy, normally 6 weeks growth and 6 ply wrap is used for the bales to ensure no waste.  Sheep are very sensitive to silage quality and farmers need to be aware that  poor quality silage  should not be fed to  sheep.

William’s policy is that with good quality big bale silage and the proper ration then no other supplements are needed.  He has fed Thompsons sheep rations for over 20 years.  “I want a ration that is palatable, and ensures the ewes milk well and also maintain their condition.  Thompsons Super Hi-Lamb Ewe nuts or Ewelac nuts produce the results I require.”

All lambs are sold through Strangford Down Lamb Group which gives the sheep farmer both negotiating strength and time saved pricing around..  Grading is good and the lambs are all sold by late July.

For further information on how to maximise the performance of your flock

Talk to Thompsons on; 028 9035 1321 or your local representative.