SHEEEEEEP Flashcards
What is the main product of sheep?
- Meat
2. wool = 5% ewe value. Mainly for welfare: heat stress and fly strike
What is stratification?
How we use the breeds (huge in UK, not so much in New Z)
What is furcumnenty?
Litter size
What are the typical characteristics of hill and upland sheep
- Hill = mothering instincts, hardiness, single lamb
2. upland = larger frame (more meat), more likely to have twins
Low land sheep characteristics
- good mothering,
2. usually cross mother and a pure ram (Suffolk, charolais)
How to increase flock performance (more money per ewe to ram
1. Higher scanning% = more lambs born = more lambs reared 2. Higher lamb weights - live and carcass 3. Higher price 4. Less store lambs ( 5. Lower feed cost 6. Lower fixed and variable costs
Housing
a) ewe
b) ewe with lambs
c) weaned lamb
- 1.2 – 1.4 m2 = ewe
- 2.0 – 2.2 m2 = ewe with lambs
- 0.8 – 0.9 m2 = weaned lamb
What are legal requirements
- record all movements
- ID before 6/9 months old. Electronic ID = chip in ear tag
- Single EID if slaughter less than 12 mo
- full EID (electronic and plastic) if stay more than 12 mo - Record date of ID and death
- Annual sheep inventory
Growth rate of lamb first week: DLWG
- Daily live weight gain = 250-350 grams at peak
2. single lambs grown 80g/ day faster than twins
what do we need to provide for rumen to develop
- Forage
- Water
- concentrates
Growth rate of lamb first week: DLWG
- Daily live weight gain = 250-350 grams at peak
- single lambs grown 80g/ day faster than twins
- If weaned before 8 weeks = very poor growth
what do we need to provide for rumen to develop
- Forage
- Water
- concentrates
Aim for weaning?
- 12-14 weeks
What is creep feed
- providing concentrates so that only lambs can get to and no adults
Clinical issues with concentrtes at young age
- too young = rumen microflora not developed = CCN (gradually introduce), thysis (add salt)
- kidney stones
3.
What are short and medium keep lambs?
- Lambs 5-7 kg off target weight. Finished on rape, turnips, beet tops
- more than 5 kg off = keep for 2-3 months
What are short and medium keep lambs?
- Lambs 5-7 kg off target weight. Finished on rape, turnips, beet tops
- more than 5 kg off = keep for 2-3 months, grass/ stubble. Finished on root/ arable by-products
What is flushing?
- short extra feeding in run up to breeding to inc twin
What is important when tupping for the ewe
- nutrition must NOT decrease in first 6 weeks post tupping
2. may have ti put out supplementary forage if grass quality decreases
Energy requirements for ewe
- Maintenance = 3% body weight = 2.1 kg dry matter = 10MJ
- Last stage of pregnancy = 4 weeks pre partum = 15MJ
- Lambing 20MJ
Energy requirements for ewe
- Maintenance = 3% body weight = 2.1 kg dry matter = 10MJ
- Last stage of pregnancy = 4 weeks pre partum = 15MJ
- Lambing 20MJ - must be maintained while lactating. (inc if triplets)
- appetite reduces nearer lambing.
- Hay not enough so must have silage or concentrates
What is essential for the ewe?
- Correct nutrition and uptake
- body condition score: N
- Scan for foetal numbers: N
- Teeth: N
- Shelter
- Trough space
- Food during gatherings
Sheep terminology
- Shearling: between its 1st and 2nd shearing
- Hogget: (i) young sheep of either gender
slaughtered before permanent incisors have
erupted (‘old season lambs’).
• (ii) a sheep between weaning and its first
shearing - Gimmer: young female, between 1 to 2 years of
age, that has not born a lamb - Ram / ewe lamb: male / female young < 1 year old
- Wether: castrated male
Sheep terminology 2
- Draft ewe: ewe too old for rough grazing (such
as moorland), drafted out of the flock to move
to better grazing on another farm - 2-tooth: sheep with first pair of permanent
incisors erupted (followed by 4 / 6 / 8 – tooth) - Broken mouth: adult that has lost some or all of
its incisors (usually over 6 years old) - Hefting: combined instinct & copied behaviour
in some breeds to stay in small local area,
therefore no fencing needed. Useful for hill /
moorland areas. - Tup: uncastrated male, usually used for breeding
What is good practise with regards to BCS adn weaning?
Good practice: also assess 8 weeks after lambing –> if thin, wean lambs early.
ONE BCS = 10% body weight
What is preg toxaemia
- Long term under feeding
- Then very little food
- On paper things can look good so assess quality
When is peak lactation for sheep?
Dry matter intake
- 4 weeks after lamb
- ME requirement = min 20MJ
- DMI: single = 2.5 kg, twin = 3kg
What si hypocalcaemia
- occurs either before lambing or after as come up to peak lactation
- before = growth of fetus rapid in last few weeks. Calcium required to grow fetus
- Dairy = 24-48 hrs after calf!
- Sudden change in diet as rumen not adapted
- Stress
What is hypomagnesaemia
- Mainly lactating dam
- no Mg storage so unless daily intake, very quickly become low in Mg
- bad weather, coming towards peak lactation, no eating
How to diagnose hypomag or calc?
Clinical signs are very similar, without lab testing = struggle so usually vets/ farmers treat for both
Deficiency of Copper =
- Sway back, poor growth
Deficiency of cobalt
Pine, ill thrift, scour
Deficiency of iodine
Goitre, poor growth, dec fertility
Deficiency of selenium
white msucle disease
DEficiency of Vit E
Low vigour
Concentrate bucket issues
- some sheep eat half box
2. others don’t touch
Silage issue
- animal with neurological signs if bale gets listeria = struggle to get pH lwo enough
Feeding root crops
- pregnant ewes
- if ground freezes sheep can’t plough up
- heavily pregnant animal = very bulky food. Thought it can lead to vaginal prolapse due toxic abdominal pressure
Stocking density
- Lowland: 15 ewes / ha
- Upland: 12.5 ewes / ha
- Hill: 1.5 ewes / ha (lower pasture quality)
Ram condition score
What is the range
What do we want
- BCS ranges from 1- 5
start of breeding want - 3.5-4
- If too low, seamen quality will be bad
