Earlier housing

Continued heavy rainfall and grass disappearing fast is leading to some farmers having to plan for earlier housing of ewes or lambs for finishing.

This is particularly the case for highly stocked farms (10 ewes/ha to 12 ewes/ha plus) and those on marginal lands where grass utilisation has become increasingly difficult.

There are a few recommendations that should be followed that will facilitate a smoother transition.

One of the most significant of these is addressing lameness before animals are housed as failing to do so can lead to an outbreak if healthy and lame animals are housed at the same time.

The best approach is to segregate lame animals. If these animals have not recovered by the time housing is taking place, then housing should be delayed for these, or sheep should be confined to a separate area. Healthy animals should also be run through a foot bath as a precautionary measure before housing.

As for housing itself, where possible, sheep should be housed dry as wet sheep will take much longer to dry indoors. This is a particularly important element where sheep are being shorn post-housing.

Lambs housed in previous weeks have in cases taken a long time to settle indoors due to higher than normal temperatures. A forecast drop in temperatures is likely to help address this but it is also important to ensure there is adequate ventilation and air flow through the shed.

Winter shearing

Winter shearing of ewes can deliver a number of benefits. Research carried out in Teagasc Athenry showed lambs born to ewes that had been shorn at housing giving birth to lambs that were 0.6kg heavier on average.

This increase in liveweight was carried through to weaning where lambs were 1.9kg heavier on average and approximately two weeks younger at slaughter. This stemmed from increased intake, reduced heat stress and the gestation length increasing by an average of 1.5 days.

Shearing did not have any influence on lambing difficulty or body condition score at lambing, although it does have benefits in monitoring the body condition score of ewes in late pregnancy. It also allows 10% to 15% more ewes to be housed in a given space.

It should be noted that shearing should take place at least seven to eight weeks before ewes are released outdoors and is not recommended to take place where ewes will be released outdoors before the end of February.

In contrast, research in Athenry on lambs finished through the hill lamb trial has shown that shearing lambs has no performance advantages. The benefit that it can have is on the cleanliness of lambs presented for slaughter.

Liveweight of ewes

The Department’s liver fluke forecast (page 43) shows a high risk of infestation right across the country. A significant contributor to resistance developing to flukicides is overuse of the same active ingredient and animals receiving an inadequate volume of product, be it due to underestimating the liveweight of animals or dosing guns being incorrectly calibrated. The weight of ewes can vary greatly depending on breed, body condition and stage of gestation, and this is a factor that should be taken into account with large-framed ewes in mid-pregnancy and slaughter-fit ewes regularly weighing in excess of 80kg.