Spring is just around the corner

A fortnight of unending storm weather not withstanding, spring should be just about on you.  Hopefully a good number of ewes will have lambed, cows will have calved and there will be plenty of calves in the sale yards for those who want to start rearing.

Ewes with twins and triplets will need extra attention to make sure all lambs are getting a good feed each day.

Lactating mothers should get first priority of any saved pasture and good quality supplements. 

Ewes with twins and triplets will need extra attention to make sure all lambs are getting a good feed each day. Do a nursery check late afternoon/early evening before they settle for the night and feed any lamb with a hollow tummy.

Watch ewes that are still a way off lambing are not overfed as this could lead to problems like metabolic diseases or bearings.

Be generous with the iodine on newborn lambs’ navels, especially as lambing progresses and favourite lambing spots get dirty.

If you did not vaccinate the ewes, check with your vet what vaccines you should give the lambs. 

Milking ewes need plenty of good clean water.  Make sure they have good trough access but make sure they are lamb proof. Lambs like all young animals are extremely curious and more than one has been lost to drowning in a trough.

Keep a close check on all cows suckling calves for sore teats and mastitis. If the cows are multiple suckling, then all calves have equal access to the milk. 

Make sure you have a safe facility for the vet to be able to treat a cow and  have a good solid race to allow access to a safe head bale to restrain the cow if required.

Give them your best hay and silage to supplement their pasture diet.  Hay is a good supplement to aid digestion and avoid bloat.

If you are going to rear calves, be wary of advice and regimes that cut out milk too early.  Make sure they get plenty of milk, well supplemented with good hay, meal and clean water.

Dehorn and castrate calves before 6 weeks, and use an anaesthetic for dehorning using a hot cauterising iron and not caustic paste.  The best idea is to ask your vet for help. 

Spring pasture is precious so make sure it isn’t wasted. It’s easy to feed the pasture saved from autumn over winter but regrowth for the “second round” may be slow especially given the climate challenges we have had to face in the past six months.

If you run into serious feed shortages, and cannot afford to buy supplements which are expensive right now, then you will have to sell stock and accept this could be at a loss. 

Weeds (eg thistles) will be starting to grow so make sure you can identify them and you know when to treat them and what to use.  Plan to deal to them early – don’t wait until you see the flowers or seed heads floating around the paddocks.

Then if your lambs, calves, kids (four legged and two legged) give you a chance – take advantage of some spring sun and check out this month’s Rural Living.