Sheep production norms for the Eastern Highveld Flashcards
Before starting a sheep enterprise first …
- Choose a production system
- Choose a breed that comply with the requirements of the production system
Name the breed type devided into long, intermediate and short breeding season.
Long: Fat tailed sheep
Intermediate: All wool and dorper
Short: British mutton
When should the teaser ram be put in a single breeding season?
After at least 4 weeks of ram absence - 2 weeks before the mating season
Autumn Breeding
• High sexual activity in ewes
• Fecundity is high
• Parasite infection in lambs are high
• Ewes lamb with scarcity of feed (Sept/ Oct)
Spring mating
• Minimal parasite infection in lambs
• Feed availability during lambing is high
• Low lambing percentages
• Low fecundity
Multiple lambing seasons
• Ewe productivity is higher/ more lambs per year
• Difficult management
• Fodder flow & additional feeding NB
Name the 4 mating methods
• Flock mating
• Group mating
• Hand mating
• Artificial Insemination
Describe Flock mating
• Several rams (2-3%) amongst ewes (200-300)
• Lambs sire not identified
• Separate age groups & camp size NB (<170ha) and H2O point is NB
• Rams compete
Describe group mating
Groups of ewes and each group receives a single ram
Describe hand mating
Specific ewe mated to specific ram (stud breeding)
When is ram puberty?
In rams it is related to body weight = 40 – 60% of mature weight
When is ewe puberty ?
4 – 10 months or 50 -70% of mature weight
Fast growing and early puberty breeds ( Mutton or wool breeds)
Mutton breeds
Slow growing and late puberty breeds ( Mutton or wool breeds)
Wool breeds
Sheep age at first mating ?
14 – 18 months
2 tooth-age
BW of > 40kg
Duration of sheep pregnancy
150 days
5 months
Ewe carrying a single lamb weight increase
8kg
Ewe carrying a twin lambs weight increase
12.5kg
Why is nutrition important in the last 1.5 months of pregnancy ?
70% of foetal growth and development
udder development
lamb birth weight
weaning weight
When do we provide creep feed to lambs ?
3 weeks of age
When is a sheep’s max milk production ?
2-3 weeks post partum
When do we wean lambs ?
12 – 13 weeks
When can the sheep ewe mate again ?
60 days / 8 to 9 wks post partum