Sheep And Goats Flashcards
How to tell the difference between sheep and goats?
Goats: can lift their tail
Sheep: can’t lift their tails
Where is grazing better?
Down south
What are the levels of the stratified system?
- Hill breed
- upland breed
- down lowland breeds
What are the advantages to stratification?
• Exploits breeds to best ability on land types
• Slaughter lamb carcass can be tailored to meet the market requirement
• Hill ewes productive life extended
• Heterosis
What are the disadvantages to stratification?
Increased movement of animals between flocks
- Disease risk: moving from farm to farm
- System relies on animals moving off farm
- Stocking density issues e.g. foot and mouth
- Open Flocks
- Cross breeding struggles to improve genetics
Mountainous /hill breeds
Location – Mountainous/hill
Features:
• Hardy
• Small size (~35-50kg)
• Low litter size - single lambs
• Strong mothering ability
• Minimal input
Upland breeds
Location - Upland
Features:
• Bigger frame (~80kg)
• Larger litter size (~2)
• Fast growth
• Good milk production
HalfBreds a.k.a. Mules
Location – Various (upland or lowland)
Features:
• Moderate body size (~60-80kg)
• Large litter size
• Good milk
• Fast growth
• Good mothering
Lowland/Down Breeds
Aka terminal sides/meat breeds
• Large size (~80kg)
• Good carcass conformation
• Medium litter size
• Fast growth
• Less hardy
Uk sheep industry products:
Meat – lamb/mutton
• Wool - not as profitable / cost more to sheer
• Milk - small industry
• Hides/pelts
• Offal
In order to maintain cars value where should you inject when possible?
Neck - low value bit of animal
Increased darkness =
Increased melatonin levels
Sheep oestrus cycle =
Around 17 days
How many cycles are taps left in?
2 cycles
Sheep gestation length?
147 days/5 months
Sheep scanning timeline?
45-90 days
When to wean a lamb?
12-16 weeks
Birth -slaughter: target for fat lambs
4 months
Birth -slaughter: short-keep stone lambs
9 months
Birth -slaughter: Lons keep store lambs
12 months
Why don’t all farmers vaccinate?
Due to high cost
Endemic Disease - Abortion causes :
• Enzootic Abortion in Ewes (EAE) – Chlamydia abortus
• Toxoplasmosis – Toxoplasma gondi
• Campylobacter
• Salmonella
• Listeriosis
Which two endemic diseases Halle vaccines?
• Enzootic Abortion in Ewes (EAE) – Chlamydia abortus
• Toxoplasmosis – Toxoplasma gondi
Endemic Disease - Internal Parasites causes:
Causes:
• Gastro-intestinal nematodes • Coccidiosis
• Cryptosporidiosis
• Liver fluke (Trematode)
Sheep scum
- Caused by the mite, Psoroptes ovis
- Extremely itchy, wool loss, weight loss, lost
production, can be fatal - Increased incidence since the end of compulsory organophosphate dipping
- More common in areas of higher sheep density, esp. those with common grazing
- Disease incidence increases in autumn and winter
Fly-strike
- Three different fly species
- Lucilia sericata (greenbottle) most common
- Lays eggs in fleece- esp. damp or soiled fleece
- Maggots hatch out and begin to eat through skin
-Cases often fatal unless caught and treated quickly
What diseases can cause sudden death in sheep?
- Clostridial
- Pasteurella
