For mid- to late-season lambing flocks, the start of the breeding season is still four to six weeks away. This gives flock owners time to carry out a few final checks on breeding animals and to take action where necessary.

While it may be too late to carry out the majority of routine checks for early-lambing ewes, there is still time to check replacement ewe lambs, which will most likely lamb down in early April.

Make pre-breeding checks a priority over the next week. It will be time well spent and should help increase conception rates, which will ultimately lead to more lambs being born next spring.

Body condition

Handle mature ewes, replacements and rams to assess body condition prior to breeding. Lowland-cross ewes should be in a condition score of 3.25 to 3.5 plus going to the ram, with hill ewes in a condition score of 3.0 plus.

This means animals should have a good covering of flesh along the ribs and hindquarters. Having animals in a steady body condition throughout the breeding season will have a positive effect on fertility, rather than animals that are constantly gaining and losing flesh.

There is still time to check replacement ewe lambs, which will most likely lamb down in early April

Delayed breeding for thin ewes

In flocks that have mature ewes or yearling hoggets that reared lambs struggling to regain body condition, it may be beneficial to give these animals an extra few weeks to gain flesh before breeding. This situation is likely to apply to a handful of animals, most likely older ewes.

In early lambing flocks, these animals could be held back for two to three weeks and bred along with replacement ewe lambs or hoggets.

The delay in breeding will mean older ewes will lamb down just as grass growth is beginning to kick off.

If ewes fail to regain condition despite the preferential treatment, they should be culled, as they will end up being the ones to continually cause trouble.

Parasite control

Make sure purchased flock replacements have been quarantined and treated for internal parasites, such as liver fluke, before joining the main flock.

The same applies to ewe lambs, both homebred and bought-in, as well as older ewes struggling to gain body condition.

Ideally, dung samples should be taken in such animals to determine the presence of internal parasites and whether treatment is actually required. This is especially true of worm treatment.

All replacement breeding stock that are bought in should be quaratined before joining the main flock at breeding time. These animals should also be placed on the same routine parasite treatments as the main flock. / Mary Browne

Feet and teeth

Make sure all breeding animals are walking freely on all four feet. Keep on top of lameness with regular foot bathing.

Paring feet should be a last resort. Where sheep need feet pared, do not over-trim.

The outer shell of the hoof should be at least 2mm longer than the sole of the foot.

Also, check that teeth are intact and not over or under shot. Feel along and under the animal’s jawline for protruding teeth or lumps.

Testicles

Check the testicles of each ram that will be used during the breeding season. Testicles should be free of lumps and firm to touch, similar to a flexed bicep.

The epididymis should be easily felt at the bottom of the scrotum. Testicles should be at least 32cm in circumference when measured. Check that the ram’s penis is free of any lumps or warts, and is not corkscrewed.

Meal feeding

Feeding a small quantity of concentrate on a daily basis in the runup to breeding can improve body condition and help ram vigour.

In flocks that breed replacements as ewe lambs, the heavier these animals are, the better

Mineral supplementation

Make sure breeding animals are properly covered for trace minerals before and during the breeding season, especially if they are moving to winter grazing.

Ideally, ewes would be blood sampled between the weaning and breeding season to determine mineral status.

Mineral supplementation can be offered in various forms, from licks to drenches or a bolus.

Breeding weight for ewe lambs

In flocks that breed replacements as ewe lambs, the heavier these animals are, the better.

Lambing down and maintaining milk production places ewe lambs under physical stress.

Therefore, go through this year’s selection of ewe lambs and give them a final weighing before breeding starts.

Lambs should be at least 60% of mature weight going to the ram, which for breeds with a high mature weight, is 50kg liveweight.

While ewe lambs may well exceed the target breeding weight in autumn, were they the heaviest lambs in the flock at eight and 12 weeks old?

Replacements

Along with liveweight, it is worth carrying out a final checklist for homebred replacements and this is where good flock records are worth the effort.

While ewe lambs may well exceed the target breeding weight in autumn, were they the heaviest lambs in the flock at eight and 12 weeks old?

Ideally, these lambs should be kept for breeding, as they were bred from the best milking ewes in the flock.

Use flock records to make final decisions, such as keeping replacements from twin-bearing ewes, ewes that have no issues with lameness and animals that rarely require dagging.

Breeding group size

Ram power is crucial to getting a high percentage of ewes mated in a four-week period. While mature rams that are tried and tested can cover 80 to 100 ewes, the one downside of breeding such large groups in a single-sire method is that if the animal becomes sub-fertile, there will be a very high barren rate. Raddle and swap rams between groups if single-sire mating. A ram lamb in his first season should work with 25 to 40 ewes, depending on the animal’s size and condition. Mature rams can cover 50 to 60 ewes coming into heat naturally.

Where the ram effect has been used to bring ewes into heat, breeding groups need to be smaller. This method will bring high numbers into heat on the same day. This will put rams under pressure to cover all ewes.

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