Lambing Season with ICM
Lambing season is a very busy time on sheep farms, and with the arrival of lambs comes the arrival of pet lambs also, as not all ewes will manage to rear all of the lambs delivered.
However, pet lambs can be time-consuming where facilities are not in place to simplify the rearing process.
There are a range of automated rearing systems from low budget to higher budget set-ups available for farmers to rear pet lambs, and these greatly reduce the amount of time needed to rear a batch of pet lambs.
Sheep farming in Killeigh, Co. Offaly, father and son duo Ken and Richard Mathews have used this technology to their advantage and have adapted a sheep system targeting a high litter size.
Their system involves crossing a Belcare ram to a Suffolk-type ewe, with the female progeny of these forming the basis of their breeding ewe flock.
The flock generally has a high scan rate of over 200% and surplus lambs are reared on an automated feeder. Ewes generally go to grass with no more than two lambs at foot.
This year, the farm expects to have approximately 60 of their home-bred lambs reared on the feeder.
Commenting on the automated pet lamb feeder, Richard said: "It's a great bit of kit. We have had it for eight years now.
"It was recommended by a fellow sheep farmer; he couldn't give it enough praise so we went over to see it in action and we went from there.
"It definitely has more than paid for itself at this stage."
The particular automated milk-feeding system on the Mathews farm has a recommended maximum number of 180 lambs according to Richard, but he added that it can manage up to 200 lambs.
He explained that the machine holds approximately 35kg of milk powder. It mixes the powder and heats the water itself and the feed then travels via tubes to teats located in each of the lamb pens.
Pet lambs are also offered creep feed, which Richard said lambs are offered a cooked crunch mixed with the breakfast cereal Frosties.
He said the breakfast flakes are more appealing to lambs and that it helps to get them started eating solid feed.
As lambs get older, the milk temperature drops off. The pet lambs are then weaned off milk and finished off on a concentrate diet.