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Thread ID: 119889	2011-08-15 07:22:00	Cold Sheep	mzee (3324)	PC World Chat

Post ID	Timestamp	Content	User
1223431	2011-08-15 10:37:00	Apparently a clipped sheep will look for shelter, a sheep with a full fleece might not do it early enough probably ties in with lambing as well. They also use snow combs which is a bit like using a number four when cutting hair. A sheep will double the thickness of its skin within about 24 to 48 hours when this is done in cooler weather which makes feeding them well at that time as important as shelter.	mikebartnz (21)
1223432	2011-08-15 11:07:00	Farmers want lambs to be born in time to grow big enough to get a premium price in the the lucrative Christmas market. Therefore they lamb somewhat earlier than they would 'naturally', risking loss of lambs to exposure. If the ewe is carrying a full fleece, it is less likely to seek shelter, thereby leaving the lambs exposed to the winter weather. If the ewe herself is cold, she is more likely to seek the lee of a shelter belt, shed etc to keep herself warm and the lamb will go with her. That is the theory anyway... Unfortunately, a lot of shelter belts seem to have been cut down compared with how many there were when I was a kid on the farm, and there is little other shelter on modern farms. Correct. Lambing is earlier in the North Island than in the South Island because of the balmy weather. :rolleyes: Shearing normally takes place in late summer/autumn, not in winter, for precisely the reasons you'd expect. Death. Because we are in the southern hemisphere we have supplied lamb to the European markets in their off season which coincides with their Winter = lovely roasts. Plus the Christmas market for lamb is strong so it makes sense to have animals ready for it. Shelter belts can be a trap. Sheep huddle in the mud and drop their lambs in the mob with the result they often do not survive. Plus disease spreads like wildfire. In nature a ewe would find a gorse bush for herself and all would be well. Nevertheless I deplore the loss of shelter belts. When I were a lad, lambing in Southland happened in August - always chancy. These days it is September and the weather = survival is much better. High country lambing is a different regime. The stock are different (merinos) and they have a much larger range of country to find sheltered spots in. Plus they lamb later to avoid the snows.	Winston001 (3612)
1223433	2011-08-15 20:27:00	Shearing - scheduling. Nothing to do with shelter. most farms don't have any. Lambs - money. So they can be roasts early.	pctek (84)
1223434	2011-08-15 21:25:00	I was raised on a farm in the 50s and 60s and our sheep were never shorn until November/December. Lambs were born in July this was in the Central Hawkes Bay region. :)	Trev (427)
1223435	2011-08-15 21:29:00	I used to visit my cousin's farm in the Wairarapa for the August school holidays (late August back then) when I was a kid and help out with lambing (and mustering and frog hunting). Shearing was definitely over before the Xmas school holidays. But that was 35+ years ago...	johcar (6283)
1223436	2011-08-15 22:05:00	Another reason for it, is if the sheep are cold they typically seek out more food than if they are warmer. If they have just lambed or are drawing close to lambing time is rather essential that they are eating a lot of food otherwise their milk production goes down and the lambs are left hungry.	Bozo (8540)
1223437	2011-08-15 23:52:00	Shearing - scheduling. Nothing to do with shelter. most farms don't have any. Lambs - money. So they can be roasts early. While they may not have shelter in the form of trees etc. there are always warmer places in a paddock. I learnt from Pat Borthwick of the freezing work fame that when choosing a situation to build a house always study where the sheep camps are as they will be the warmest areas.	mikebartnz (21)
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