Sheep Husbandry Flashcards
List mountain breeds.
Scottish blackface Swaledale Rough Fell Welsh Mountain
List hill breeds.
Lleyn North Country Cheviot Clean Forest South Country Cheviot Kerry Hill Exmoor Horn
List longwool breeds.
Border Leicester Blue-faced Leicester Wensleydale
What is the purpose of half-breeds?
to bring some hardiness & good mothering ability into longwoll breeds while maintaining the high quality wool, milk production, and fertility
List longwool breeds.
Border Leicester Blue-faced Leicester Wensleydale Tesswater
How many lambs are expected yearly from a halfbreed?
two
List terminal sire breeds.
Dorset Hampshire Down Suffolk Charolais Beltex Texel
Describe the sheep year.
spring = lambing early summer = shearing summer = weaning autumn = tupping
What is the gestation length of a sheep?
147d
At what age does a lamb wean?
12-16w
What is the purpose of scanning a ewe? When is it performed?
diagnose pregnancy & fetal number identify barren ewes 60-90d post fertilization
At what age to ewes mate first?
18m
How long is the oestrus cycle?
17d
What are raddle marks/keel paint?
paint used to identify ewes that have been tupped applied to the venture of the tup
What is a scanning percentage?
number of fetuses @ scanning/number of ewes tupped
What are some major health issues experienced in the early summer?
fllystrike parasitic gastroenteritis
How do you treat flystrike
dagging, shearing, topical antiparasitics
How do you treat parasitic gastroenteritis?
antihelmentic drugs, grazing strategies, breeding for resistance/resiliency, nutrition
How do you identify cull ewes?
tooth loss mastitis “thin ewe” chronic lameness
Flock management in the autumn looks like:
scab control fluke control pre-breeding management
What is a gimmer?
18m ewe 1st pregnancy basically a heifer
What are the controlling forces for sheep farmers?
climate/weather relief costs (food, fuel, labour) prices (lambs, cull ewes)
What is the role of a vet in sheep farming?
flock health advice & management lambings/caesareans/prolapses lame/sick tups lamb health issues (lameness, entropion) parasite control/biosecurity
What does a healthy sheep look like?
alert clean/uniform fleece
What does an ill sheep look like?
lameness thin reduced abdominal fill diarrhea coughing/difficulty breathing
What are the birth-slaughter intervals?
4m for fat lambs 9m for short-keep store lambs 12m for long-keep store lambs
What does short-day breeding mean?
decreased light hours = increased melatonin & GnRH = increased ovulation & sperm production
True/False Tups are given 1 chance to tup ewes.
False they stay with ewes for 2 cycles
What is the appropriate tup:ewe ratio?
1:50 1:20 for single-sire 1:10 for synchronized
Why choose a mountain breed?
hardiness & affinity for otherwise non-productive land
Why choose a longwool breed?
higher quality wool produce half-breeds
What is a terminal sire?
pure-bred tup used on half-bred ewes for fast growing lambs with good carcass conformation not very hardy
Explain flock types in the stratified system
Explain the advantages & disadvantages of indoor vs. outdoor lambing.
