Introduction and sheep industry Flashcards
Name 6 key features/principles in managing infectious/parasitic diseases?
- Biosecurity
- Hygiene
- Ventilation
- Stocking rates
- Testing/culling
- Drug treatments
Give 5 ways an animals resistance be improved in the management of infectious/parasitic disease?
- Vaccination
- Improve nutrition
- Reduce stress
- Reduce concurrent disease
- Through breeding
Name some diagnostic tools used when approaching diagnosis in sheep
- Clinical exam
- Biochemistry/haematology/ serology
- Microbiology
- Ultrasonography/ radiology
- Postmortem/ pathology
When do the following occur in the sheep year:
1. Tupping?
2. Lambing?
3. Weaning?
- Autumn
- Spring
- Early summer
How long do the following periods last in the sheep year:
1. Pregnancy
2. Lactation
3. Dry
- 5 months
- 4 months
- 3 months
Name some common diseases/problems associated with inefficiency on the farm
- Ewe mortality
- Lamb mortality
- Chronic wasting diseases
- Poor nutrition
- Parasites (internal and external)
- Lameness
- Mastitis
- Abortion
Describe some features of low land flock systems
- Ewes often cross-bred (can be pure e.g Llyn Romney)
- Mated with terminal sire
- Produce fat lambs for eating
- Lamb February to April
Name 2 hill breeds and describe their characteristics
- Black welsh mountain
- Cheviot
-Hardy, thrive in harsh conditions
- Good mothering
- One lamb per ewe
- Male offspring –> meat production
Name 2 upland farm breeds and describe their characteristics
- Border Leicester
- Blue faced Leicester
- Bigger carcass
- Fast growth
- Female hill sheep crossed with male Long Wool Breed
- Females sold to lowland farms as ewe replacements
- Males sold for meat
Name 3 terminal sire breeds
Texel
Suffolk
Charolais
Name 3 improvements that will occur when lowland farms cross their sheep with terminal sire breeds
- Growth rates
- Carcass conformation
- Hardiness
- All lambs for meat
What are estimated breeding values?
- A value which expresses the difference (+ or -) between an individual animal and the herd or breed benchmark to which the animal is being compared
- EBVs are reported in terms of actual recorded traits e.g. days, kg of weight or mm of fat depth, etc.
- Baseline of zero relates to average breeding value of lambs born in the year the analysis was first produced.
Why are breeding indexes generated?
To help sheep producers identify genetically superior rams and ewes
- Traits that are easily measured and highly heritable
Name some examples of estimated breeding values for sheep
- Litter size (total number of lambs born)
- Maternal ability (milk production) lamb growth to 8 weeks
- Scan weight lamb (21 weeks)
- Carcass composition and conformation (muscle fat)
- Mature size (ewe live weight at first mating)
- Breeding Values for Worm Resistance Traits
At the 21 week weight describe what it means when an animal has an EBV of +6.
That animal is estimated to have a genetic potential to be 6Kg heavier at 21 weeks compared to the baseline, so its offspring should be 3Kg heavier at 21 weeks - as they get 50% of the animals genes
