Elite UK ram breeders opt for Mayo ‘All Guard’ Ewe Bolus Pre-Lambing

The flock consists of 1,700 breeding females producing top quality butcher’s lambs and over 500 breeding rams every year.

The rams are sold to commercial flocks; either privately or through their exclusive production sales. The Slaters follow a strict culling policy; if any breeding stock doesn’t meet their standards, then they are culled.

“I’m a firm believer in that you get out what you put in with stock, so with returning customers year on year and a selective breeding programme going back over 20 years it is imperative that our breeding stock are in the best condition possible and are ready to perform,” says Paul.

Lambing is split into two batches; 700 ewes are lambed from February 26th until 25th March followed by 300 ewe lambs and the remainder of the shearlings are then lambed from April until Mid-May.

“We are generally very happy with the performance of the flock but we have been having issues with good, strong new-born lambs from the ewe lambs taking their first breath and then subsequently dying. We weren’t sure what was causing the issue but after lots of testing, our vets confirmed it was an Iodine deficiency that was causing these losses.

“We looked at different options on how to address the issue and a fellow ram breeder from Scotland recommended the Mayo All Guard Ewe 4in1 bolus. Not only does the bolus have high levels of all the key trace elements, it’s also nice and small making it very easy to administer which is particularly important with the likes of Beltex ewes.

“We gave them a go and found them a doddle to administer, and we have been delighted with the results. The boluses have completely rectified the problems that we were experiencing, lambs have great vigour at birth and the ewes have looked really well throughout lactation. The boluses will now be a firm part of our pre-lambing flock health plan going forward,” concludes Paul.