sheep husbandry Flashcards
Gestation length
around 147 days
when do lambs reach puberty
around 8 months
what is the production cycle of a ewe
- October/November = put to ram
- march/April = lambing
- may/June = weaning
- august/ September = ewe ‘flushed’ (fed enhanced diet before tupping)
what is the production cycle of a lamb
-march/April = birth
- may/June = weaning
- august/september= early finish on grass then to slaughter OR
- January = older lambs finished on roots though the winter then to slaughter
what husbandry requirements are needed from conception to 42 days
this is the early phase, feed for ewe maintenance (grass +/- forage)
what husbandry requirements are needed on days 42-90 of pregnancy
- feed for ewe maintenance + 2MJ/day (grass +/- forage) so that the placenta develops enough
- ultrasound scan
what husbandry requirements are needed days 90- parturition
- fed 2x maintenance requirements by lambing time
- good nutrition is essential
- around 6 weeks before lambing, ewes are moved to more sheltered fields or indoors
3 positives and 3 negatives for indoor lambing
positives:
- reduces the risk of lamb hypothermia
- easy to monitor and intervene
- more control on ewe diet pre-lambing
negatives:
- potential disease spread
- risk of mismothering
- stressful to move ewes prior to lambing
3 positives and 3 negatives to outdoor lambing
positives:
- more space
- less disease spread
- less stressful for ewe
negative:
- harder to monitor and intervene
- risk of lamb hypothermia
- risk of predation
do hill sheep prefer to lamb outdoors or indoors?
outdoors, hardy breed
do lowland sheep prefer to lamb outdoors or indoors?
shelter or housing is usually provided, usually brought indoors in late gestation
basic order of lambing?
- feet appear 1st
- head follows
- lamb delivered
- bonding
- check teats and milk
how can you age sheep?
mouthing
- you can age sheep by looking at the age of the teeth: when permanent incisors replace milk teeth
what areas of a sheep do you look at and feel to BCS them?
transverse and spinous processes
what are common sheep husbandry procedures
- ageing sheep by teeth
- BCS
- Foot trimming
- shearing
- vaccinations
what is shearing?
procedure to remove a sheep entire fleece in one piece
what is crutching
removing the wool from around the tail and between the back legs
why do you shear sheep
- so that they don’t overheat
- reduces the risk of fly strike
when do you usually shear sheep
early summer, may marks the start of a shearing season in uk
what welfare considerations are there with sheep shearing
- injury, which then causes stress
- shorn sheep need to be protected from very cold/wet conditions for several weeks after
what is a vaccination
administration of a vaccine to stimulate the immune system to develop adaptive immunity to a pathogen
which common vaccines do we vaccinate sheep with
- clostridia spp.
- Pasteurella
- enzootic abortion and toxoplasmosis
when do you vaccinate ewes
4 weeks before lambing so the lambs can gain protection via colostrum and milk
when can you vaccinate lambs from
3-4 weeks
