Sheep

Question 1

how many months is a lamb considered a lamb for until it becomes a ewe, ram or wether

Answer 1

12 months

Question 2

How many sheep does QLD have, and what state has the most amount?

Answer 2

QLD: 3.5 million
NSW has the most (27.6 million)

Question 3

What is considered a small sheep industry size

Answer 3

200-500 lambs sold/ year

Question 4

What 2 sizes of sheep farms are the most common in Aus.

Answer 4

Small: 200-500 lambs/ year (40% of industry)
Medium: 500-2,000 lambs/ year (51% of industry)

Question 5

Who are main importers of Australian wool (List 4 - hint: 3 in Asia, 1 in Europe)

Answer 5

China, South Korea, Italy, India

Question 6

Has the trend of wool production been increasing or decreasing in Australia?

Answer 6

Decreasing

Question 7

What is the primary management factor contributing to wool growth

Answer 7

Nutrition

Question 8

What is a ‘micron’ and what range has the highest demand? AND what sheep breed can provide this?

Answer 8

Microns are the diameter of a wool fibre, society prefers <20 microns, and Merino sheep can provide this

Question 9

What can reduce the deviations in diameter along each fibre (and increase consistency in wool)?

Answer 9

A constant plane of nutrition (supplements may be required in low rainfall months)

Question 10

Describe these terms: staple length, staple strength, tender wool, position of break (and where is not ideal to break), vegetable matter

Answer 10

Staple length: length of an unshorn lock of wool
Staple strength: force required to break a staple (machine measures this)
Tender wool: has weak spots due to yearly deviation in nutrition causing varying microns, has low staple strength
Position of break: where the wool breaks during the strength test (base, middle, tip - not ideal in middle)
Vegetable matter: ‘contamination’ of seeds, burrs (managed with pasture management), >2% is considered heavy contamination and reduces value as its costly to remove

Question 11

Where is the main destination for our live export sheep? AND where in Aus. are they exported from and why?

Answer 11

Middle East (Kuwait, Qatar, Jordan)
From WA because it is more geographically ideal

Question 12

What can a maternal sire introduce into a flock, and what can a terminal sire introduce into a flock?

Answer 12

Maternal sire: good mothering skills (good lactation, low mismothering rates, good rearing)
Terminal sire: good lambs for eating (fast growth rate, high muscle capacity on caracass)

Question 13

Give examples of maternal sires

Answer 13

Border Leicester, Coopworth

Question 14

Give examples of terminal sires

Answer 14

Poll Dorset, Texel, Suffolk

Question 15

What breeds of sheep are classified as British long wool?

Answer 15

Border Leicester, English Leicester, Lincoln, Romney

Question 16

What breeds of sheep are classified as British short wool?

Answer 16

Poll Dorset, Suffolk (and White Suffolk), Texel, Southdown

Question 17

What breeds of sheep are classified as Dual purpose?

Answer 17

Corriedale (1/2 merino, 1/2 lincoln), Coopworth (BL X Romney)

Question 18

What breeds of sheep as classified as Shedding

Answer 18

Wiltshire, Dorper

Question 19

List 4 common internal parasites of sheep (hint: B, B, S, T) and list the symptoms, treatment and preventative hubandry

Answer 19

Barber’s pole worm, Black scour worm, Small brown stomach worm, Thin-necked intestinal worm

Symptoms: anemia, bottle jaw (oedema), source

Treatment: anthelmintic drench

Husbandry: monitoring of worm burden, rotational grazing

Question 20

List 2 common external parasites, their symptoms, treatment and preventative husbandry

Answer 20

Blowflies, sheep lice

Symptoms: itching, wool rubbing, lice, dullness/ depression, skin lesions, kicking

Treatment: Insecticide (lice), flystrike: shearing, insecticide, maybe antibiotics/ anti-inflammatories

Px husbandry: tail docking, mulesing, crutching, px insecticide application

Question 21

List the main infectious diseases of sheep (hint: one is a group of disease - and list those included), symptoms, tx, px husbandry

Answer 21

Johne’s disease (wasting disease), Clostridial diseases (tetanus, malignant oedema - like blackleg, pulpy kidney - enterotoxaemia, black disease, blackleg)

Symptoms: wasting, dullness/ depression, dehydration, infertility, abortion

Tx: disease dependent vx, euthanasia, supportive care

Px husbandry: vx, biosecurity (testing/ controlled movement of stock)

Question 22

The 3 foot diseases, symptoms, tx, px hubsandry

Answer 22

Footrot, Absesses, Shelly hoof

Symptoms: lameness, red/ weepy between toes (interdigital space), separation of horn from hoof

Tx: footbathing (e.g. zinc sulfate solution), antibiotics

Px husbandry: foot trimming (paring), grazing management (when in wet conditions)

Question 23

What are the 3 types of routine husbandry in sheep (hint: G, H, R) and what do they include?

Answer 23

General: lamb marking, shearing, weaning
Health related: jetting/ dipping/ backlining, vx, footcare
Repro.: joining, prep scan, wet/ dry testing

Question 24

What is the ideal age to perform lamb marking and what procedures are performed?

Answer 24

Ideal age: 2-8 weeks (wean at 12 weeks), no more than 12 weeks, no less than 2 weeks (interfere with dam/ lamb bond

Procedures: tail docking, castration, weaning, mulesing, ear tagging, ear marking (notching)

Question 25

When are lambs weaned from mum?

Answer 25

~12 weeks (3 months)

Question 26

What procedures are included in adult husbandry?

Answer 26

Crutching, shearing, vx (annual), foot care, drenching (oral anthelmintic)

Question 27

What procedures are included in reproductive husbandry

Answer 27

Joining, preg scan, wet/ drying test (performed at/ prior to weaning)

Question 28

What is included in a basic clinical exam of a sheep, and what can be conducted while in the race or tipped?

Answer 28

In the race: FAMACHA, BCS, ageing, udder, wool condition
Tipped: BSE, udder, feet

Question 29

What conditions are the most susceptible to fly strike?

Answer 29

High rainfall, humidity and temps above 17 degrees celcius

Question 30

What is the reproductive behaviour displayed by a ewe and a ram?

Answer 30

Ram: mounting, flehmen response, courting behaviour (following, pawing, licking, sniffing)
Ewe: urination, standing to be mounted

Question 31

What breed often mismothers?

Answer 31

Merino, notoriously horrible mothers

Question 32

How to assess pain in sheep?

Answer 32

Orbital tightening, ear and head position, sometimes flehmen response, observe absence of normal behaviour (not eating, isolation, no flight response)

Physiological: cortisol, HR, RR

Question 33

Why tail dock at the 3rd vertebrae and not the 1st or 2nd?

Answer 33

The third vertebrae allows the skin around the anus/ vulva to be covered, preventing risk of skin cancer