Last Thursday, the NI Sheep Programme held a webinar focusing on preparing ewes and rams for the upcoming breeding season. Hosting the event was programme farmer Clement Lynch, who farms outside Park, Co Derry. Clement runs 500 ewes on 54ha of improved grassland and 155ha of hill grazing.
Clement’s flock is split between 150 Lanark-type Scottish Blackface ewes and the remainder being a mix of Mule- and Suffolk-cross animals.
Rams have been physically inspected and are fit for breeding this autumn. The farm's vet, Des Fitzgibbon outlined five checks for farmers to carry out on rams. \ Houston Green
Breeding preparations
The event focused in on three key areas of flock management prior to breeding, namely body condition scoring animals, the importance of physically checking rams for soundness and animal health.
The importance of body condition scoring ewes
Having ewes in the right body condition score (BCS) at the start of the breeding season has a big bearing on the number of lambs born.
While condition scoring is subjective and an allowance is needed for different breeds, when carried out regularly, it has its merits.
Scoring
When scoring sheep, animals are rated on a five-point scale. A BCS 3 is seen as the ideal condition, with animals in a fit condition. When handled over the loin, rib and tail bones, there is a good covering of flesh on ewes.
As BCS increases towards 5, sheep have more flesh while, in reverse, there is less flesh and bones are easily felt as BCS falls below 3.
To change BCS by one point can take six to eight weeks. So the earlier and more frequently ewes are handled to monitor condition, the better.
For Clement, the aim is to keep ewes in a steady condition across the year, but particularly from weaning to the end of the breeding period.
“It is easier to maintain ewe condition rather than trying to put on flesh. From flock records, I have found where my ewes go out to the ram in body score 4, conception rates and lambs born are significantly higher.”
Increased output
Last year, all ewes were condition scored at clipping time in July. This data was recorded and reviewed at scanning.
In the crossbred ewes, animals in BCS 2 averaged 182% at scanning, as did ewes in BCS 3. Ewes at BCS 5 scanned at 181%.
However, ewes at BCS 4 had the highest scanning figures at 190%, leading to an increase in lambs born alive in spring from these animals.
This autumn, Clement is aiming to have as many ewes in BCS 4 as possible when breeding starts to see if this trend is repeated.
Flock targets
“One of my targets is to increase scanning rates to average 190% for my crossbred ewes. On an upland farm, I couldn’t handle much more than that.”
Back in the spring, scanning averaged 183%, so there is scope to improve on this with a few tweaks to the system here and there.
This includes prioritising good-quality grass for ewes in late summer and autumn, so that ewes are in better condition going to the ram.
To improve flock health, ewes are scanned for OPA, which cannot be treated and results in death. Any ewe that had a positive scan for OPA was culled early, whilst in good body condition. Cull ewes that would have ultimately died, averaged £109 (€121) when sold.
Priority grazing for ewes
In the past, breeding ewes were in direct competition with lambs for autumn grass. However, this year, Clement has started drafting lambs earlier.
This has freed up more grazing ground for ewes going into autumn, making it much easier to get ewes to BCS 4 before breeding starts.
Early drafting benefits
Drafting labs earlier has resulted in fewer lambs running overweight when slaughtered.
“Last year, just 50 lambs were sold fat by the end of August. This year, 227 lambs have been sold fat. The last group sold in August averaged 19.9kg.
“In the past, I was guilty of holding lambs for too long before drafting. From my benchmarking figures, I basically gave away the equivalent of £4,500 (€5,000) in free meat from selling heavy lambs exceeding the 21kg carcase weight limit.
“To make it easier to draft lambs more regularly, I batched and colour-marked them at weaning.”
Lambs were split into male and female groups in one of four weight bands: 43kg and over; 40kg to 43kg; 38kg to 40kg; and 35kg to 38kg.
This meant fewer lambs had to be brought in each week to weigh. Lambs performed well at grass and kill-out was excellent earlier this summer at 49%.
It slipped to 47% and 44% as the season progressed and grass quality became more variable. But having so many lambs out of the system is a big plus for the autumn.
Taking the lead on flock health
An animal health plan has been drawn up between Clement and his local vet Des Fitzgibbon.
Screening the flock for Jaagseikte, or ovine pulmonary adenocarcinoma (OPA), was undertaken during spring 2020 and will now be a routine health check carried out annually.
Within the crossbred ewes, positive cases of OPA amounted to 0.8%. All ewes with a positive case of OPA were culled at weaning and averaged £109 (€121).
“These animals were physically correct in every way and in great condition when sold. If they had not been scanned, there was no way to know they had OPA.
“They would have started losing flesh and ultimately died this winter. So, having them sold at a good price more than pays to scan for OPA.”
Clement plans to scan the crossbred flock to monitor OPA every spring. Any ewes with the condition will be culled.
Hill flock
In the Blackface ewes, there was a higher incidence of OPA at 5.9% in mature animals, with replacements and rams scanning clear.
The hill flock will now be scanned twice per year to bring the number of positive cases down as quickly as possible. Again, all positive animals will be culled.
The hill flock has also had issues with higher rates of barren animals when pregnancy scanning. Two years ago, barren levels were as high as 18%.
Blood sampling showed these animals were low in Iodine and that toxoplasmosis was circulating in the animals.
Ewes are now vaccinated for toxoplasmosis and given a high-iodine mineral drench prior to breeding. While this has helped reduce barren rates, they are still higher than Clement would like.
Culling problem ewes
Flock performance and problems are recorded on a farm software package and animals are EID-tagged. It is a system Clement has used since 2015.
As labour is primarily limited to Clement, he has become ruthless at culling animals giving problems.
Issues such as lameness, teeth and udder problems are recorded throughout the year on a handheld reader.
When selecting replacement ewe lambs, the reader will flag up ewe lambs bred from problem ewes, making it easy to exclude these animals for breeding.
Replacements
Only lambs gaining 360g/day from birth to eight weeks old are kept as replacements. Again, the EID tagging and software package makes it simple to identify these animals.
“I want to keep replacements from ewes that give no problems over the year. Culling hard and being selective with ewe lambs will help deliver a flock that is easier maintained and needs less labour.
“By selecting on weight gain to eight weeks old, this identifies my best milking ewes on a grass-based system.”
Getting the ram ready
Des Fitzgibbon is the farm vet and he outlined five basic checks to have rams fit and ready for breeding.
“It takes around eight weeks for a ram to manufacture sperm, so rams going out with ewes this autumn should be checked now for physical correctness,” said Des.
1 Body and muscle tone
First off, Des pointed to the sire’s body condition. The animal should be handled not just for fat cover, but for muscle definition.
Handle the ram, feeling along the spin, ribs and hind legs.
Rams should be fit, with a BCS score between 3.5 and 4 at the start of the breeding season.
2 Body temperature
Check the body temperature of rams to ensure there is no underlying infection, especially in a newly purchased sire. Healthy rams should be between 38°C and 39.5°C.
3 Teeth and eyes
Check that teeth are correct. Run both hands back and forward along the outside of the jaw to check the molars. The animal’s jaw should be free of lumps and overgrown teeth.
Check the eyes are bright and clear with no sign of discharge.
Eyes that are bloodshot are a good indicator of a heavy fluke burden.
4 Feet
Check the ram’s feet carefully. The sidewalls of the feet should be 2mm to 3mm longer than the softer sole of the foot.
If not, rams will be lame when walking, especially on hard, uneven and stoney ground.
Foot paring rams is not recommended so close to the breeding season, unless absolutely necessary. Even then, do not over-trim. Check that dirt or stones are not lodged in feet.
5 Testicles
Testicles should be symmetrical and firm. A simple rule to work to is that the ram’s testicles should feel liked a flexed bicep.
They should also be free of lumps and the fluid within the scrotums should be easy to feel. The epididymis should be easy to feel at the bottom of the scrotum.
Size matters, as bigger testicles means greater sperm production. This means rams can cover more ewes. Testicles for a working, fruitful ram should exceed 32cm in diameter.
Check the ram’s penis, which should be pushed out for examination. It should be free of any lumps and the vermiform appendix, a worm-like attachment that helps spread sperm in the ewe’s cervix, should be easily seen.
Semen-testing rams
On the topic of taking a semen sample from a ram, Des said that carrying out the five outlined checks is more effective and will pick up at least 90% of problems.
“A semen test is not reliable. Around 18% of rams will not give a sample for testing. Also, semen testing can show a high sperm count, but the ram can have a low libido, which means ewes won’t be covered.
“It can also be painful on the ram to carry out. So it is best to carry out the five standard checks properly as this will be time better spent.”
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Last Thursday, the NI Sheep Programme held a webinar focusing on preparing ewes and rams for the upcoming breeding season. Hosting the event was programme farmer Clement Lynch, who farms outside Park, Co Derry. Clement runs 500 ewes on 54ha of improved grassland and 155ha of hill grazing.
Clement’s flock is split between 150 Lanark-type Scottish Blackface ewes and the remainder being a mix of Mule- and Suffolk-cross animals.
Rams have been physically inspected and are fit for breeding this autumn. The farm's vet, Des Fitzgibbon outlined five checks for farmers to carry out on rams. \ Houston Green
Breeding preparations
The event focused in on three key areas of flock management prior to breeding, namely body condition scoring animals, the importance of physically checking rams for soundness and animal health.
The importance of body condition scoring ewes
Having ewes in the right body condition score (BCS) at the start of the breeding season has a big bearing on the number of lambs born.
While condition scoring is subjective and an allowance is needed for different breeds, when carried out regularly, it has its merits.
Scoring
When scoring sheep, animals are rated on a five-point scale. A BCS 3 is seen as the ideal condition, with animals in a fit condition. When handled over the loin, rib and tail bones, there is a good covering of flesh on ewes.
As BCS increases towards 5, sheep have more flesh while, in reverse, there is less flesh and bones are easily felt as BCS falls below 3.
To change BCS by one point can take six to eight weeks. So the earlier and more frequently ewes are handled to monitor condition, the better.
For Clement, the aim is to keep ewes in a steady condition across the year, but particularly from weaning to the end of the breeding period.
“It is easier to maintain ewe condition rather than trying to put on flesh. From flock records, I have found where my ewes go out to the ram in body score 4, conception rates and lambs born are significantly higher.”
Increased output
Last year, all ewes were condition scored at clipping time in July. This data was recorded and reviewed at scanning.
In the crossbred ewes, animals in BCS 2 averaged 182% at scanning, as did ewes in BCS 3. Ewes at BCS 5 scanned at 181%.
However, ewes at BCS 4 had the highest scanning figures at 190%, leading to an increase in lambs born alive in spring from these animals.
This autumn, Clement is aiming to have as many ewes in BCS 4 as possible when breeding starts to see if this trend is repeated.
Flock targets
“One of my targets is to increase scanning rates to average 190% for my crossbred ewes. On an upland farm, I couldn’t handle much more than that.”
Back in the spring, scanning averaged 183%, so there is scope to improve on this with a few tweaks to the system here and there.
This includes prioritising good-quality grass for ewes in late summer and autumn, so that ewes are in better condition going to the ram.
To improve flock health, ewes are scanned for OPA, which cannot be treated and results in death. Any ewe that had a positive scan for OPA was culled early, whilst in good body condition. Cull ewes that would have ultimately died, averaged £109 (€121) when sold.
Priority grazing for ewes
In the past, breeding ewes were in direct competition with lambs for autumn grass. However, this year, Clement has started drafting lambs earlier.
This has freed up more grazing ground for ewes going into autumn, making it much easier to get ewes to BCS 4 before breeding starts.
Early drafting benefits
Drafting labs earlier has resulted in fewer lambs running overweight when slaughtered.
“Last year, just 50 lambs were sold fat by the end of August. This year, 227 lambs have been sold fat. The last group sold in August averaged 19.9kg.
“In the past, I was guilty of holding lambs for too long before drafting. From my benchmarking figures, I basically gave away the equivalent of £4,500 (€5,000) in free meat from selling heavy lambs exceeding the 21kg carcase weight limit.
“To make it easier to draft lambs more regularly, I batched and colour-marked them at weaning.”
Lambs were split into male and female groups in one of four weight bands: 43kg and over; 40kg to 43kg; 38kg to 40kg; and 35kg to 38kg.
This meant fewer lambs had to be brought in each week to weigh. Lambs performed well at grass and kill-out was excellent earlier this summer at 49%.
It slipped to 47% and 44% as the season progressed and grass quality became more variable. But having so many lambs out of the system is a big plus for the autumn.
Taking the lead on flock health
An animal health plan has been drawn up between Clement and his local vet Des Fitzgibbon.
Screening the flock for Jaagseikte, or ovine pulmonary adenocarcinoma (OPA), was undertaken during spring 2020 and will now be a routine health check carried out annually.
Within the crossbred ewes, positive cases of OPA amounted to 0.8%. All ewes with a positive case of OPA were culled at weaning and averaged £109 (€121).
“These animals were physically correct in every way and in great condition when sold. If they had not been scanned, there was no way to know they had OPA.
“They would have started losing flesh and ultimately died this winter. So, having them sold at a good price more than pays to scan for OPA.”
Clement plans to scan the crossbred flock to monitor OPA every spring. Any ewes with the condition will be culled.
Hill flock
In the Blackface ewes, there was a higher incidence of OPA at 5.9% in mature animals, with replacements and rams scanning clear.
The hill flock will now be scanned twice per year to bring the number of positive cases down as quickly as possible. Again, all positive animals will be culled.
The hill flock has also had issues with higher rates of barren animals when pregnancy scanning. Two years ago, barren levels were as high as 18%.
Blood sampling showed these animals were low in Iodine and that toxoplasmosis was circulating in the animals.
Ewes are now vaccinated for toxoplasmosis and given a high-iodine mineral drench prior to breeding. While this has helped reduce barren rates, they are still higher than Clement would like.
Culling problem ewes
Flock performance and problems are recorded on a farm software package and animals are EID-tagged. It is a system Clement has used since 2015.
As labour is primarily limited to Clement, he has become ruthless at culling animals giving problems.
Issues such as lameness, teeth and udder problems are recorded throughout the year on a handheld reader.
When selecting replacement ewe lambs, the reader will flag up ewe lambs bred from problem ewes, making it easy to exclude these animals for breeding.
Replacements
Only lambs gaining 360g/day from birth to eight weeks old are kept as replacements. Again, the EID tagging and software package makes it simple to identify these animals.
“I want to keep replacements from ewes that give no problems over the year. Culling hard and being selective with ewe lambs will help deliver a flock that is easier maintained and needs less labour.
“By selecting on weight gain to eight weeks old, this identifies my best milking ewes on a grass-based system.”
Getting the ram ready
Des Fitzgibbon is the farm vet and he outlined five basic checks to have rams fit and ready for breeding.
“It takes around eight weeks for a ram to manufacture sperm, so rams going out with ewes this autumn should be checked now for physical correctness,” said Des.
1 Body and muscle tone
First off, Des pointed to the sire’s body condition. The animal should be handled not just for fat cover, but for muscle definition.
Handle the ram, feeling along the spin, ribs and hind legs.
Rams should be fit, with a BCS score between 3.5 and 4 at the start of the breeding season.
2 Body temperature
Check the body temperature of rams to ensure there is no underlying infection, especially in a newly purchased sire. Healthy rams should be between 38°C and 39.5°C.
3 Teeth and eyes
Check that teeth are correct. Run both hands back and forward along the outside of the jaw to check the molars. The animal’s jaw should be free of lumps and overgrown teeth.
Check the eyes are bright and clear with no sign of discharge.
Eyes that are bloodshot are a good indicator of a heavy fluke burden.
4 Feet
Check the ram’s feet carefully. The sidewalls of the feet should be 2mm to 3mm longer than the softer sole of the foot.
If not, rams will be lame when walking, especially on hard, uneven and stoney ground.
Foot paring rams is not recommended so close to the breeding season, unless absolutely necessary. Even then, do not over-trim. Check that dirt or stones are not lodged in feet.
5 Testicles
Testicles should be symmetrical and firm. A simple rule to work to is that the ram’s testicles should feel liked a flexed bicep.
They should also be free of lumps and the fluid within the scrotums should be easy to feel. The epididymis should be easy to feel at the bottom of the scrotum.
Size matters, as bigger testicles means greater sperm production. This means rams can cover more ewes. Testicles for a working, fruitful ram should exceed 32cm in diameter.
Check the ram’s penis, which should be pushed out for examination. It should be free of any lumps and the vermiform appendix, a worm-like attachment that helps spread sperm in the ewe’s cervix, should be easily seen.
Semen-testing rams
On the topic of taking a semen sample from a ram, Des said that carrying out the five outlined checks is more effective and will pick up at least 90% of problems.
“A semen test is not reliable. Around 18% of rams will not give a sample for testing. Also, semen testing can show a high sperm count, but the ram can have a low libido, which means ewes won’t be covered.
“It can also be painful on the ram to carry out. So it is best to carry out the five standard checks properly as this will be time better spent.”
Read more
Industry reacting to demand for mobile plunge dipping
In pictures: lively ewe lamb trade at Donegal Mule Group’s third sale
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