- Late December/early January born lambs are now coming to the end of the Scanning/150 day weight bracket (between 121 – 180 days of age) and breeders should have these weights already loaded or in the next 6 -7 days.
- Late January/early February born lambs would currently be in the weaning/100 day weight bracket (between 66 – 120 days old) with some breeders coming towards the end of their 100 day weight bracket should get these weights recorded on their LambPlus accounts.
- Late February/early March born lambs are coming to the end of the 40 day weights bracket (between 20 – 65 days old), so LambPlus breeders with lambs of this age need to get their 40 day weights uploaded within the next few days in order to avoid missing out on gaining valuable DQI marks, click here to read more on the DQI and why it is important.
- Lambs born in late April are in the 40 day weights bracket (between 20 – 65 days old) and should consider getting these uploaded to their accounts in the coming weeks.
Using the LambPlus App to record weights makes recording more convenient with quick with information uploading to database straight away!
Note: All lambs DO NOT need to be weighed when they are exactly 40, 100 or 150 days of age. If lambs are weighed between the parameters outlined below in table 1, the Sheep Ireland database will be able to predict the weight of the animal at age.
| Weighing | Possible Age Range |
|---|---|
| 40 Day Weight | Between 20 - 65 days of age |
| Weaning weight (100 Day) | Between 66 - 120 days of age |
| Scanning Weight (150 Day) | Between 121 - 180 days of age |
This table can be references throughout the year to figure out when you should be weighing your lambs! Simply find the dates closest to your lambing date in the first column. The second, third and fourth columns are the very last day that your first lamb will leave the the relevant corresponding bracket. This means you can weight all your animals once for a particular bracket, ideally 2-3 weeks prior to the very last date in the bracket depending on when your last lamb was born. Very late lambs will more than likely not be old enough to be weighed within the same bracket as your first lambs born and that’s ok.
Important Weight dates
This table can be referenced by LambPlus breeders to work out the best time to weigh their lambs. The first column displays the lambing date of the first lamb. The dates displayed under each of the weight categories is the last date possible for this lamb to be weighed and still fit into this category.| Lambing Date | 40 Day Weight 20 - 65 days | Weaning Weight 66 - 120 days | Scanning Weight 121 - 180 days |
|---|---|---|---|
| 25th December | 28th February | 23rd April | 22nd June |
| 1st January | 6th March | 30th April | 29th June |
| 8th January | 13th March | 7th May | 6th July |
| 15th January | 20th March | 14th May | 13th July |
| 22nd January | 27th March | 21st May | 20th July |
| 29th January | 3rd April | 28th May | 27th July |
| 5th February | 10th April | 4th June | 3rd August |
| 12th February | 17th April | 11th June | 10th August |
| 19th February | 24th April | 18th June | 17th August |
| 26th February | 1st May | 25th June | 24th August |
| 4th March | 8th May | 2nd July | 31st August |
| 11th March | 15th May | 9th July | 7th September |
| 18th March | 22nd May | 16th July | 14th September |
| 25th March | 29th May | 23rd July | 21st September |
| 1st April | 5th June | 30th July | 28th September |
| 8th April | 12th June | 6th August | 5th October |
| 15th April | 19th June | 13th August | 12th October |
| 22nd April | 26th June | 20th August | 19th October |
| 29th April | 3rd July | 27th August | 26th October |
Contact Sheep Ireland on 023 882 0451 or [email protected] if you need help on when you should weight your lambs!