Lambing in containment a success
- tullingawhitedorpe
- Jul 16
- 2 min read
BY BRETT TINDAL
A trial forced by drought in 2018 to establish containment pens and a lot of
learning has proven a winner for a Condobolin based sheep farming family
in successfully lambing Dorper ewes down in small containment paddocks.
Pete Colless, “Fountaindale”, Condobolin, runs their19,000 acre mixed farming enterprise with his wife Frances, daughter Mandy and son Will and his partner Emma, cropping 8000 acres of wheat, barley, canola and lupins and running 2500 Dorper Ewes lambing throughout the year.
In 2018 the Colless’s chose to build containment pens as the season deteriorated rapidly. It
proved hugely successful in maintaining the health and numbers of their flock, however a small trial to lamb in the pens was not so. Fast forward to 2026 where they once again lambed in containment – this time in a larger area of approximately 15 acre paddocks, using a 50 metre Shepherd Feeder. Mr Colless said they lambed down 400 ewes in containment and although the percentage of lambs marked was slightly down on those that lambed on what paddock feed we had, we could see the advantages and with a few improvements will be better.
It was a late decision to lamb in containment, so everything was rushed, the ewes were not
given a proper induction and when lambing did actually start, we were hit with a week of temperature around 45 degrees celsius. The scanned in lamb ewes were
fed barley at around 1300 grams/head/day as well as at lib barley straw along with salt and lime. “We were happy with the result considering the bad start they had coupled with the extreme heat”.
As a result the Colless’s have purchased two more Shepherd feeders which will give them the ability to both lamb and join in containment paddocks, therefore limiting overgrazing
and hopefully maintaining cover in this time of extreme dry.
The reason the Colless’s chose Shepherd Feeders was to control the animals intake “If you put a Dorper ewe on a gorge feeder, she will sit there and eat all day”. The next stage sees the Colless’s lambing another 450 ewes in containment – this time though with a 3 1⁄2 to 4 week induction period.
The other two feeders will see them join 1000 ewes. Because of the feeder’s ability to keep the ewes in 3 to 4 score condition, they believe their scanning percentage will be at least 20% better than if joined in the paddocks which are currently extremely dry and bare as well as the water becoming an issue.
Going forward and hopefully conditions improve, we would much prefer to lamb on greener
pastures - although you do have the added competition of foxes, pigs and eagles – which
are almost zero in containment - however joining in containment may become common place.
The process of feeding ewes in containment is no different to the principles we use in our feedlot – get the basics right, keep the water clean and don’t get too complacent.
