Tupping season fallen stock collection is something most sheep farmers would rather not think about, but October and November bring a predictable rise in losses among rams and breeding ewes. Rams are working harder than at any other time of year, ewes are being gathered, flushed and handled, and the weather in the North West can turn from mild to wet and cold in a week. Martlands is a family-run, DEFRA approved business based in Burscough, providing fallen stock and ABP collection to lowland and hill flocks across Lancashire, Cumbria, Cheshire and North Wales.
This guide covers why sheep die around tupping, how a dead tup or ewe has to be handled under the animal by-product rules, what to record, and how to keep a carcass safe until it is collected.
Why tupping season fallen stock collection gets busier when the tups go in
Across the North West, tupping is staggered by system. Lowland flocks on the Fylde, in West Lancashire and in Cheshire often put rams in from late September or October for lambing in February and March. Hill flocks on the Lakeland fells, the Howgills and the Pennines usually wait until November so that Swaledale, Herdwick and Rough Fell ewes lamb in April when there is grass on the hill. Either way, the weeks either side of tupping put rams and ewes under real pressure, and a few deaths are a fact of life in most flocks. Having a farm and fallen stock collection arrangement in place before the rams go in saves time when it matters. The official guidance on fallen stock and safe disposal of dead animals sets out the legal duties in full.
Common causes of ram deaths at tupping
Rams are the most valuable individual animals in most flocks, and they die in ways that are often avoidable. Fighting is a classic cause when rams are mixed or re-grouped, and head-butting injuries to the neck and skull can kill outright. Experienced shepherds pen rams tightly together for a day or two before turning them out so they cannot build up a run at each other.
Workload is the other big factor. A ram can lose a significant amount of body condition over the tupping period, and one that went in lame, thin or with poor teeth will struggle. Foot problems such as scald and footrot stop a ram covering ewes and can lead to rapid decline. Heat and exhaustion catch rams out in a warm spell early in the season, particularly heavy-fleeced rams on lowland grass. Rams that go on their back and become cast can die within hours, and autumn pneumonia, clostridial disease in unvaccinated stock and acute fluke all take a share too. A pre-tupping check of teeth, toes, testicles and condition, carried out well before rams go in, is the best insurance there is.
Ewe losses during flushing and handling
Ewes are gathered, sorted, dosed and moved more at this time of year than almost any other. Losses come from handling injuries, ewes getting cast in dips and furrows, sudden changes onto rich grass or forage crops, and disease that has been building quietly through the summer. In wetter parts of Cumbria and Lancashire, acute fluke can cause sudden deaths in autumn, and an unexplained death in a group of ewes should always prompt a conversation with your vet about whether a post-mortem examination is worthwhile. Once a carcass has been collected, that chance is gone, so make the decision before you book. The government also publishes detailed guidance on animal by-product categories and disposal.
Raddle checks help here. Changing raddle colour every cycle, roughly every 16 or 17 days, shows which ewes have been served and which rams are working. A ram whose ewes keep returning, or who is not marking at all, may be ill or injured long before he is found dead.
SRM rules and how a dead tup is categorised
Sheep over 12 months old, or with a permanent incisor erupted, contain specified risk material. That means almost every adult ram and breeding ewe lost at tupping is handled as Category 1 animal by-product, collected through our Category 1 ABP collection route. Ewe lambs being tupped for the first time, or ram lambs used on a few ewes, may be younger and without a permanent incisor, in which case they are generally Category 2 and go through our Category 2 ABP collection service. If one load mixes both, the whole consignment is treated as Category 1.
Burying or burning a carcass on farm has been illegal since 2003, apart from very limited derogations for remote areas. A dead tup on a fellside still has to be brought down and collected, which our collection service is built to handle, from in-bye land in the Lune valley to holdings high in the Eden valley. Our Cumbria fallen stock collection page covers the upland side in more detail.
Records, insurance and the paperwork trail
A dead ram is a high-value loss, and recording it properly matters. Note the date, the ear tag or electronic identification number, the cause if known, and any treatment the ram had. Record the death in your holding register, keep vet reports, and if the ram was insured or recently bought, tell the insurer or seller promptly. Many policies expect evidence of the death and its disposal.
Every collection from Martlands comes with a Commercial Document and a Waste Transfer Notice, and the job is booked through the KoLeCt system. Keep those documents with your flock records. They prove the carcass went to a licensed premises, which is exactly what assurance inspectors want to see. Our guide to fallen stock record keeping sets out what a tidy paper trail looks like, and our wider article on fallen stock collection for sheep farmers covers the rest of the shepherding year.
Storing the carcass until collection
Keepers have a duty of care to arrange collection promptly, ideally within 24 hours of discovery, and same-day collection is available from Martlands. Until the vehicle arrives, move the carcass away from the rest of the flock, ideally onto hard standing near the farm entrance where the lorry can reach it without crossing fields where sheep are grazing. Keep it well away from ditches, becks and drains. Cover it, and make sure dogs, foxes and corvids cannot get at it, because scavengers spread disease and drag material across land. If a death looks unusual or several animals die together, speak to your vet, and if notifiable disease is suspected report it to APHA immediately and do not move the carcass until told to.
Booking tupping season fallen stock collection
If you lose a ram or ewe this autumn, call Martlands on 01704 776977 with the number of animals, their approximate age and how to reach them. We are members of the National Fallen Stock Company and hold Animal By-Products Licence APB/CCN21/373/8002, Waste Carrier Licence CB/QE5406MT and Site Licence EAWML/100236. You can also reach us through our contact us page to set up an account before the rams go in.
