Articles

As Scotland has been Officially Tuberculosis Free since 2009, a more flexible approach to testing was introduced in 2012 (and revised in 2017) for what are to be considered ‘lower risk’ herds.  Scottish herds that meet certain criteria can be exempt from routine herd testing for TB, meaning that they do not have to carry out the whole herd test every four years.

At a recent farm open day on ventilation one of the talks was held in a recently built mono-pitch shed completely open on one side where the cattle were fed, with a spaced roof and face boarding above the back wall.

For years every article on ventilation has carried the warning “but avoiding draughts at stock level”.  Is this true and if so is there any experimental work to prove it?

In a recent press article describing a successful finishing unit feeding a totally mixed ration (TMR) the article mentioned that at one point it was felt the TMR was too dry so 2 kg of water per head was added to the mix. 

It is vital that sheep have the trough space to ensure a high intake of their ration, reduced levels of competition and reduce the incidence of knocks or damage to the unborn lamb. 

With days beginning to lengthen the end of the winter feeding period is approaching.  This makes it an ideal time to check whether current feed supplies will be adequate.

Someone queried the loss of management keels and sprays when winter shearing.  Often sheep are batched pre winter shearing according to their scanning results and raddle marks.

Condition scoring is an essential tool to assess ewe’s body reserves and ensure your management and nutrition are adequate for their requirements throughout the breeding cycle. 

At this time of year it is all about being prepared for lambing.

Blood sampling ewes in late pregnancy is a well established tool that will help determine if the ration being supplied in late pregnancy is satisfying the ewes requirements.