Tuam Mart held a sheep breeding event in conjunction with Teagasc last Thursday, with several breed societies showing pure and crossbred stock.

Teagasc sheep specialist Shane McHugh chaired the event and highlighted breeding policy options. He told the crowd that if they were thinking of buying a ram in special sales, they should act quickly to get the ram accustomed to the new farm and diet well in advance of the breeding season.

This point was again emphasised by Tuam-based Teagasc adviser Glen Corbett. Corbett emphasised that a new ram needs to be on the farm up to 10 weeks prior to the start of the mating season. He said that ensuring a trouble-free lambing period next spring depends on several factors. The first is that you keep accurate records and consult these during the lambing period. He told farmers to draft ewes now and remove culls. Records kept from lambing last spring served useful in identifying potential problem ewes based on previous history during lambing.

When drafting ewes and segregating culls, he told farmers to check the body condition score of the flock. He said that the current target is to have a BCS of 3.5 at this stage of the year. He said that ewes in poor conditions should be separated, their mouths checked to ensure that teeth are in good shape, with no overshot or undershot mouth. He also advised farmers to look at feet and lameness issues well in advance of breeding and to avoid over-trimming. One of the other critical areas to look at in the sheep is the eyes. Corbett advised farmers to look for any yellowness in the eyes or signs of anaemia as these may be signs of liver damage due to fluke.

Those which are suitable for breeding should be fed accordingly to build condition in advance of the breeding season. He said that doing this early is crucial as it can take up to 10 weeks to build one body condition score.

In terms of those buying in breeding hoggets, he urged farmers that unless they know for certain that vaccines have been administered, they should give a clostridial vaccination straight away with the booster in four to six weeks.

In terms of ram management, he said that the semen produced by a ram now will be used to inseminate ewes in eight to 10 weeks time. For that reason, he advised farmers to pay close attention to ram management. He advised farmers to look at the physical shape of the ram. “He needs to be fit, but not fat and needs exercise in the runup to mating,” he said. Again, the eyes should be checked and the mouth to ensure that he is not suffering from illness and is able to graze without any issues. The reason for this is that during the breeding season a ram can lose condition rapidly. The ram should be checked for cuts, abrasions and any illness as a spike in temperature at this stage could affect his fertility during mating. Corbet advised farmers to look at his feet, particularly his hind feet as these will come under most pressure. The rams testicles should then be checked. They should be firm, but not hard. They should have no lumps and be of a good size.

Dosing and vaccinations

Rory Hannon of Zoetis Animal Health advised farmers to have faecal samples analysed before and after worming to check the need to worm in the first place, and the effectiveness of the wormer thereafter. He said that where farmers are taking faecal samples after dosing to check on resistance, where using a white or clear dose, the sample should not be taken for at least 14 days post treatment. Where a yellow dose is used, samples should not be taken for at least seven days after dosing. In terms of clostridial vaccines, Hannon told the crowd that pulpy kidney continues to be the biggest killer of lambs over one month of age. He said that where farmers are vaccinating lambs, it is pointless to give one shot without following up with the booster shot, as the second shot is what is needed to achieve protection for that animal. He advised farmers that they should change the needle regularly when vaccinating to avoid cross-contamination between lambs and subsequent infections.

IFA’s Sheep chairman John Lynskey said that this year’s lamb crop is up 5%, or almost 100,000 ahead on last year, due to the favourable weather during mating and lambing. He said that so far this year, slaughterings are approximately 60,000 ahead of last year. He said that earlier in the year increased numbers of ewe hoggets were slaughtered which he thought should benefit upcoming breeding sales.

In addition, he highlighted the fact that New Zealand will have the second-lowest output of lamb in the last 60 years.

They also have increased their exports to the Middle East and China and won’t fill their EU quota this year. He said that although the trade has been difficult in recent weeks, these factors should result in a more positive long-term outlook for producers.