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The ewe flock is now being flushed ahead of the breeding season.
Flushing Mule ewes on grass like this is something I dreamed of as a child ???? ewes will be let in here at the weekend, rams out on the 21st October.. Grass + Mules = lamb explosion (hopefully) ?? #TullamoreFarm @FJSheep @ajwwoods pic.twitter.com/oQ14uBY0C2
— Shaun Diver (@diver_shaun) September 12, 2019
Breeding will start on 21 October, with a mid-March target date for lambing.
Thankfully, there are good covers of grass on the farm at present for flushing.
As part of the autumn grazing plan, the objective has been to build the average farm cover up to 1,100kg DM/ha by mid-September.
Now there’s a flock of mules in fine form, if I do say so myself ?? going through the flock now, any of the "original" flock that have not received enzovax in their life will receive it this year due to last years enzootic outbreak.. stitch in time @FJSheep @tommythevet @ajwwoods pic.twitter.com/r114drL7Gu
— Shaun Diver (@diver_shaun) September 18, 2019
This would be adequate to provide enough grass for our current stocking rate of 2.1LU/ha and to provide an ample grass supply for the ewes pre-breeding and once the rams go out.
Our Texel ram from Tullamore Farm is proving to be very amenable to selfies.....@diver_shaun must have spent the week training him in? #ThisIsFarming #Ploughing2019 @FJBeef pic.twitter.com/JJDWcS3TSH
— FJ Sheep (@FJSheep) September 18, 2019
There are currently 30 of this year’s lambs left, 10 of which will be slaughtered next week.
Weaning
Weaning in the suckers has commenced this week, with all of the cull cows and empty cows separated from their calves.
The calves are now back out with their respective main groups of bull and heifer calves.
Cows were getting straw in the shed for a few days and have since been turned out on to a bare paddock.
There have been no instances of mastitis.
Once dry, cows will start on 2.5kg/head/day of ration, building up to around 6kg to 7kg/head/day.
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