Sheep industry structure and performance targets Flashcards
What are common problems in sheep?
- Lameness
- Abortion - Fertility
- Poor lamb growth
- Thin ewes
- Sudden death
- Worms
How can you manage infectious disease in sheep? (3)
- Biosecurity - prevent entry
- Reduce disease challenge - Management, test + cull, Drug tx
- Improve resistance - vaccinate, management + breeding
What should be done to diagnose a sheep?
- Seasonal - weather / parasites
- Age
- Clinical exam / Post mortem
How many sheep + lambs are in the UK?
+ value of production?
- total = 32.7million
- Breeding ewes = 15.4 million
- Lambs = 16.5 million
- Value = £1.3billion
What are characteristics of hill breeds?
– Hardy, thrive in harsh conditions
– Good mothering
– One lamb per ewe
– Male offspring- meat production
– Females kept as replacements or sold to upland farms
What are characteristics of upland breeds?
– Bigger carcasse
– Fast growth
– Prolificacy
– Milkiness
– Female hill sheep crossed with male Long Wool Breed
– Blue Face X called Mule
– Border X called Half Bred
– Females sold to lowland farms as ewe replacements
– Males sold for meat
What are some of the estimated breeding values (EBVs) used for sheep?
- Litter size (total number of lambs born)
- Maternal ability (milk production) lamb growth to 8 weeks
- Scan weight lamb (21 weeks)
- Carcass composition and conformation (muscle fat)
- Mature size (ewe live weight at first mating)
- Breeding Values for Worm Resistance Traits
What are production outputs of sheep?
- Lambs
- Wool
- Cull ewes
What are production variable costs of sheep?
- Feed
- Bedding
- Vets + medicine
- Replacements
What are production fixed costs of sheep?
*Rent mortgage
* Utilities
* Labour
* Machinery
What are key performance indicators in sheep flocks?
- Scanning %
- Lambing % - born alive, weaned, reared
- Ewe mortality (1-3%)
- Culling rate for ewes (20%)
- Ewe : Tup ratio (40:1)
- Lamb mortality
- *Lamb growth rates - 0.25kg/day *
