Ram management

Breed society sales have commenced and will increase in frequency in the coming weeks. It is advisable to carry out a physical check on rams before purchasing through sales or direct from the farm, to ensure there are no concerns that may affect future performance. Sales must abide by social distancing guidelines, so it is advisable to get there in good time to consider physical and genetic attributes and avoid your selection being rushed.

Rams should generally be in good condition, but not overly fat, which unfortunately is often hard to avoid. They should have good feet and no visible signs of lameness. Rams that are sitting back on their pasterns can be a sign of poor development or excessive feeding at a young age.

In terms of teeth, you should run your finger along the rams teeth and gums to ensure that teeth close OK on the dental pad and there are no issues with an overshot or undershot mouth. It is also worth rubbing your hands along the jaw line of the ram to ensure their back teeth are not protruding out.

Rams should have a clean head with no cuts. While hard to identify, it is worth looking at the rams eyelids, as there may be signs of scarring from corrective action being taken to treat entropion eye (turned in eyelids).

Breeders often do not like you attempting to turn over rams before a sale, but at a minimum, it is important to check that a ram has two evenly-sized testicles. There should also be two evenly-sized appendages called epididymis at the base of the scrotum. Signs of injury or infection in the penis are likely to be more of an issue in older rams rather than ram lambs.

It is beneficial to get rams purchased well in advance of when they are required to allow an acclimatisation period. The sale of excessively-fed rams is an industry issue, as grass-fed rams presented in shows are frequently disregarded by buyers. There is a slow move towards more farmers purchasing grass-fed rams or rams receiving lower levels of feeding, but there is still some way to go in this regard.

Where rams are coming off a high-energy cereal diet, it is important to manage the transition from a concentrate to grass-based diet correctly. This can mean feeding a reduced level of concentrates for a few weeks after purchasing.

Pre-breeding vaccination

Enzootic abortion and toxoplasmosis remain two major causes of lamb mortality. Vaccines are available for the two abortion-causing diseases, but are prescription-only medicines, meaning they have to be ordered through your vet. It is worth noting that many practices do not stock these products as standard and therefore ordering in advance is recommended. Enzovax, the vaccine for enzootic abortion, must be administered at least four weeks before breeding, while Toxovax, which protects against toxoplasmosis, should be administered at least three weeks before the start of the breeding season. Both vaccines can be administered on the same day and one treatment will generally provide lifetime protection. Ewe lambs intended for breeding may be vaccinated from five months of age, while the advice is to vaccinate hoggets and ewes in the four-month period prior to mating. Take care to guard against self-injection when administering both vaccines. If this occurs, follow the manufacturer’s guidelines closely and seek medical advice where warranted.