BVMS1

• 1) hill or mountain breeds
• 2) longwool/crossing breeds (native to UK and imported)
• 3) longwool Ewe Breeds
• 4) Terminal sire Breeds (native and imported)
• 5) shortwool ewe breeds (upland and lowland)
• 6) breeds used for dairy

• hill sheep flocks (300-1200m above sea level)
• Upland sheep flocks (150-450m above sea level)
• Lowland sheep flocks (below 300m above sea level)

• Scottish blackface
• cheviot
• swaledale
• welsh mountain

• bluefaced leicester
• border leicester
• wensleydale
• teeswater
• bleu du maine (import)
• rough de L'Oeust (import)

• from upland farms or hill farms
• breed and/or finished
• (upland shortwool ewe breeds (or halfbred ewe or draft hill ewe) x terminal sire ram
• lowland short/longwool ewe breeds

• Scottish blackface (most numerous hill breed in UK. blk face or b&w- out swinging horns in males)
• swaledale (3rd numerous pure breed in uk.interbreed w/ blackface, meat not as good, white patches around nose/eyes)
• South country Cheviot (erect ears, roman nose, no horns/some males might)
• North country cheviot (straighter nose, no horns, isolated from S.country, heavier breed)
• Welsh Mountain (smallest pure breed, qualities well marked/mother/hardy/milk/etc, white/tan face, ewes are hornless, crosses w/ border le. very active/hard to confine)

• Border Leicester (N.england/S.scotland, carries head high, very wide/erect ears, roman nose)
• Greyface
• Scottish half breed (border (r) x cheviet(e))
• Welsh half breed (Borderr (r) x Welsh (e))- bigger than welsh mt. ewe
• English half breed (Border (r) x Clun forest (e))
• Blueface leicester (most commonly used longwool in UK- very close relation to border)
• North Country Mule (Blue x swaledale- most common in low sheep farms)
• Scottish mule (blue x blackface- used on school farm??)
• Welsh mule (blue x welsh mt.)
• Teeswater (N. of england, production of rams, less important)
• Wensleydale
• masham (cross of one of the above w/ a hill breed- unusual in this part of the country)

Romney Marsh (used for making rams "pure", severe weather adaptable, excellent forigers, resistant to worms and footrot, excellent quality, ideal for crossing 1/2 breeds- "romney 1/2 breed")

gives buyers a groundwork to base purchases

• Suffolk (native to UK, most important, jet black face, finish grass at 45-50kg w/o too fat)
• Dorset down (native, minor sig., med sized, face/legs/ears are grey/brown, used over suffolk when need early maturing/med sized lamb)
• Hampshire down (face/ears have dark brown color, produce terminal sires for lowland, early maturing lambs)
• Texel (head covered w/ fine white hair, black nose, short neck, most widely used sire at moment, import/france, well proportioned, well developed muscle)
• Beltex (belgium, med size, short thick wide head/neck, good shoulders/wide back, 1y terminal sire breed, few lambing problems, grow quick, double muscled hindquarters)
• charollais (france, pink head, wide/deep chest, thick thighs, friendly-trouble free lambing, meat)
• Bleu du maine (blue/grey hornless, terminal sire or crossing sire, france, large, mature ~110kg-150kg, meat, Ewe good milk)
• Rouge de L'Ouest (france, crossing/terminal sire, milking, meats, lowground, red face)

• Dorset Horned (very distinctive, white face, pink nose, strong horn e & r, not prolific, 140-150%lambing, long breeding season. leambs ready for market in spring- can breed 3 times in 2 years)
• Polled Dorset horn l(intro from polled rams from australia)
• Lleyn "klin"(Hardy, welsh, prolific, easy lambing, increasing popularity, consistant quality, vigourous at birth good wool)

• ewes lamb mainly in december and january
• intensive early lamb production
• extensive early lamb prodiction-early lamb from grass
• objective is to sell finished lambs during march, april, may and june when market prices are high
• lambing % usually lower

• Summer grass lamb production- ewes lamb late february/early march
• objective is to sell lambs between june and october
• autumn/winter lamb production- eyes lamb in late march/early april
• objective is to sell lambs between oct and dec
• young sheep (hogget) production- extension of autumn/winter lambing- objective is to sell lambs between jan and april

• (august/september)
• age
• teeth and mouth (good teeth=good eatting) (check molars too)
• udder
• barrenness
• other (health, feet and legs, body condition)
• prolapse of vagina or uterus, production records

• goal- 3-3 1/2
• conception rate low in fat ewes
• scale of 1-5

• age
• teeth/mouth
• reproductive organs (sheath and penis, scrotum and testes, semen samples)
• brisket scores
• health
• feet/legs
• body conditoin
• production records

• weight and age of ewe of lambs at mating
• nutrition
• time of mating, lambing, and weaning
• nutrition
• (use an experienced ram...)

• mule, greyface
• scottish halfbred
• welsh halfbred

• giving ewes which are in fairly poor body condition an imporved diet for a few weeks before mating. so thay they put on weight and condition prior to going to the ram
• important to increase ovulation rate and lamb success and decrease barreness

• spring lambing vs early lambing
• ram : ewe ratio
• use of ram harnesses and marking crayons

• ID ewes have been matied during 14 day period
• change color of crayon every 14 days can id ewes returned to
• benefit to management
• can divid the flock into groups according to expected date of lambing
• advantage for feeding times during late prego

• Synchronisation of oestrus useing intravaginal sponges impregnated w/ a synthetic progestagen (either flugestone acetate or medroxyprogesterone acetate)
• advantages:
• compace lambing period
• reduced labour costs/easier supervision during lambing
• aids adoption of orphan and triplet lambs
• more economic use of supplementary feed
• aids planning of vax, cast, tail dock, grassland manag., and marketing
• aids planning and development of AI
• *but cost about £1 per ewe and extra rams required- house ewes at lambing... need good facilities and skilled labour

• Ewe- breeding female after 1st crop of lambs (~2yrs old)
• Gimmer/shearling- between 1st and 2nd shear (~14mo)
• Ewe Lamb- 5mo age weaning, ~lambed at 12mo.

• 2001-2002 foot and mouth dz outbreak. breeding flocks decreased.
• has been going up and down between 2002 and 2006
• most meat is now bought in supermarket, not butchers- meat prices decreased
• rinancial return from sheep are very good!

• UK is number 8 on list. approx 2.4% of world wool production
• used to manufacture knitting, clothing, rugs, upolstry.
• return barely covers cost of sheering, but some imporvement

• sold fresh or used in cheese
• over 200 flocks 1y for milk production.
• ~2000 ewes (mostly s.america and med areas

• hill breeds: Swaledale 48 (e) 80 (r), Scottish blackface 54 (e) 86 (r)
• longwool/crossing breeds: border leicester 83 (e) 105 (r), bluefaced leicester 86 (e) 110 (r)
• longwool ewe breeds: Romney Marsh 70 (e) 85 (r)
• Terminal sire breeds: Suffolk 83 (e) 100 (r), Texel 85 (e) 90 (r)
• Cross breeds: greyface 70 (e), N.Country Mule 73 (e), Scottish halfbred 77 (e)
• *sheep range: ~50kg-110kg

• birth to weaning: Ram Lamb or Tup Lamb
• Weaning to 1st shearing: Ram Hogg, Tup Hogg, Tup Teg
• First to 2nd shearing: shearling, shearing, one shear tup
• 2nd-3rd shearing: two shear ram, two shear tup

• birth to weaning: hogg lamb, wedder lamb, wether lamb
• weaning to 1st shearing: wether hogg, wedder hogg, he teg
• 1st-2nd shearing: shearling wether, shearing wether
• 2nd-3rd shearing: n/a

• birth to weaning: Ewe Lamb, gimmer lamb
• weaning to 1st shearing: gimmer hogg, ewe hogg, ewe teg
• 1st-2nd shearing: shearling ewe, shearing ewe, shearling or gimmer
• 2nd-3rd shearing: two-shear ewe

• yeld ewe
• draft ewe
• cast ewe
• 2/3/4crop ewe
• lambing percentage
• full mouthed ewe
• broken mouthed ewe
• store lamb

• selection of breeding stock (aug/sept)
• cast ewe and ram sales (aug/sept)
• breeding ewe sales (aug/sept)
• Ram sales (aug/sept)
• Vaccination of replacements (aug/sept)- clostridial diseases and pneumonic pasteurellosis
• autumn dipping (sept/oct)
• onset of breeding season (sept)
• duration of breeding season (6-6.5months- till march)
• time of mating (oct/nov)
• ram: ewe ration (1:40-60
• duration of matting season (6weeks)
• %barren ewes 4-5
• nutritional flushing (4-6 weeks before mating, 4-6 weeks after start of mating)
• nutrition during preg:
• first 3 months (nil)
• last 2 months (hay plus concentrates)
• pre lambing booster vax (feb/march) clostridial dz, pneumonic pasteurellosis, commonly 4-6wk before lambing
• lambing (march/april)
• lamb mortality (5-18%)
• marking/tailing/cast (april/may)

• selection of breeding stock (sept/oct)
• cast ewe and ram sales (sept/oct)
• breeding ewe sales (sept/oct)
• Ram sales (sept/oct)
• Vaccination of replacements (sept/oct)- clostridial diseases and pneumonic pasteurellosis
• autumn dipping (sept/oct)
• onset of breeding season (oct/nov)
• duration of breeding season (4-5months- till march)
• time of mating (nov/dec)
• ram: ewe ration (1:40)
• duration of matting season (6weeks)
• %barren ewes 6-12
• nutritional flushing (4-6 weeks before mating, 4-6 weeks after start of mating)
• nutrition during preg:
• first 3 months (hay)
• last 2 months (hay plus concentrates)
• pre lambing booster vax (march) clostridial dz, pneumonic pasteurellosis, commonly 4-6wk before lambing
• lambing (april/may)
• lamb mortality (up to 25%)
• marking/tailing/cast (june/july)

• lambing (march/april)
• lamb mortality (5-18%)
• marking/tailing/cast (april/may)
• shearing (june)
• summer dip (early july)
• lamb sales (late june onwards)
• lamb type (finished lambs
• liveweight (lambs finished on grass in summer, 40kg)
• carcase weight (17-19kg)
• value £65-70
• weaning (mid july/aug)

• lambing (april/may)
• lamb mortality (up to 25%)
• marking/tailing/cast (june/july)
• shearing (july)
• summer dip (mid/late july)
• lamb sales (mid aug onwards)
• lamb type (store lambs to be finished in lowland)
• liveweight (lambs finished on lowland in summer, 25kg)
• carcase weight (n/a)
• value £45
• weaning (aug/sept)

• nutrition and embryo survival
• 15-30% of eggs released at ovulation fail mainly due to the failure of development during 1st month
• avoid sudden change
• ewes should maintain weight and body condition-constant fairly high plane of nutrition
• practical diet- cont. graze the pastures used for mating for some 4-5 weeks after the approximate mating date before being moved onto alt. grazing

• Practical diets
• grazing- good body-conditioned ewes during mid preg. will be adequately met by the grazing of late autumn pasture, cereal stubbles, or clean up after cattle (stocking rate should not exceed about 530kg live weight per hectare)
• lean ewes should be draw out from the main flock and grazed separately on the best grass available.
• give med. quality hay plus 0.25kg mineralised cereal
• housed ewes- med. quality forage feeds are the obvious choise in good body cond.
• housed ewes- poor body-cond. should be penned separately and given 1 to 1.5kg of higher quality forage or med quality hay and small amt of mineralized cereals
• (not common for ewes to be housed during mid preg.)

• reduction in lamb birthweight
• increase in lamb mortality
• premature birth of lambs
• poor ewe body-condition
• reduction in amount and quality of colostrum
• reduction in milk yield during lactation
• reduction in lamb growth rate
• increased risk of preg. toxaemia

• nutrient intakes from grazing and forage feeds such as hay, silage, cereal straw, and root cropsare insufficient. need supplementation w/ concentrates
• progressively increase the amts of concentrates given to match the increasing nutrient req. of the ewe

• commercial and home-mixed concentrate feeds are based on mixtures of:
• cereals (barely, oats, wheat, maize) or cereals
• +
• energy feeds (molassed sugar-beet pulp)
• +
• a protein supplement (soybean meal, rapeseed meal etc)
• +
• added minerals, trace elements and vitamins

• cereal should NOT be finely ground prior to inclusion-- should be lightly rolled or crushed or whole grain
• protein supplement should provide some undegradable protein (heat-treated soyabean meal)
• formulated to contain 12-13 MJME and 170-190g CP/kgDM
• end product is either a loose mixture or, 3 or 6,mm pellets or 20mm rolls

• prevents poaching of the ground
• working conditions are better, flock inspection is easier and much closer attention to manag. is possible
• better supervision at lambing
• older ewes will thrive better indoors
• ewe mortality should be reduced
• permits earlier lambing
• provides facilities for finishing lambs inside if need be
• on hill farms provides an alternative to the tradition pratice of renting land for away wintering of immature breeding stock in their first winter

• cost
• increased risk of the spread of infectious dz
• fleece damage

• Hyporthermia: exposure (20%), starvation (25%)
• stillbirths (15%)
• abortions (15%)
• infectious dz (12.5%)
• * % of lamb deaths due to...

• approx 45% of all lamb deaths near to time of lambing
• normal body temp = 38.6 tp 39.4 C
• if temp falls between 37 and 39 considered to be moderately hypothermic
• if below 37- seriously hypothermic
• TIME RISK:
• birth-5hours: excessive heat loss due to wet- less likely to suckle the ewe= no colostrum
• 10-3 days: depressed heat production= startvation exhaustion of energy reserves

• lambs born to ewes in poor body condition at lambing
• small lambs (single 4-7kg, twin 3-6kg, triplet 1.5-4kg)

see notes!

• adequate nutrition of the ewe during preg. esp. late preg. result is stronger lamb w/ plentiful energy reserves and colostrum
• ensure all lambs suckle well w/in the first 1-2 hours of birth- ideally intake 50ml colostrum/kg liveweight
• provision of adequate shelter in case of bad weather

• approx. 15% of all lamb deaths
• when a lamb is born dead close to the end of preg or dies during the process
• causes: physical stress and mishandling ewes, difficult lambing, malpresentation of lambs, oversized lambs

• approx. 15% of all lamb deaths
• a lamb is born dead at a time it would NOT have been able to survive outside the ewe
• causes: physical stress and mishandling of ewes, infectious dz

• approx 12.5% of all lamb deaths
• not usually a major cause of lamb loss, but can reach high prop. in indiv. outbreaks
• prevention: appropriate booster vacccination of ewe during late preg.
• ensure a fully adequate intake of colostrum w/in first 24 hours of life
• adopting sensible hygiene precautions at lambing time

• lambing routine (ensure lambs are viable, pen ewe and lambs, treat each lambs navel, check ewes udder, check colostrum and milk intake, unpenning, turning outside)
• ewe and ram effects (breed of ewe, age of ewe, breed of ram/size)
• lamb birthweight
• method and success of cross-fostering of lambs

• breed or cross of lamb
• sex of lamb
• birthweight
• nutrition

• peaches a peak at 3-4 weeks after lambing
• then a gradual decline
• influences:
• nutrition during preg. and during lactation
• breed
• liveweight and body condition
• age
• dental status
• udder damage
• previous exposure to stress
• nuber of lambs suckled

• set stocking with sheep alone (12-13 ewes and their lambs/ha)
• with sheep and cattle (beef cow and calf = 5 ewes, growing beef animal = 2.5 ewes)
• weigh sheep alone stocking rate might be 12 ewes/ha
• with sheep and growing beef cattle (7 ewes and 2 head cattle/ha)

• Rotation:
• forward creep grazing vs sideways creep grazing (see notes)

• marking and tailing and cast of male lambs
• tail trimming of ewes
• dosing of ewes and lambs (de worm)
• vaccination of lambs
• foot trimming/bathing (ewes and lambs)
• lamb sales
• shearing and dipping

• 4 broad spectrum anthelmintic groups
• 1) White Drenches (BZ)- Benzimidazole
• 2) Yellow drenches (LV)- Levamisole
• 3) Clear Drenches (ML)- Macrolytic-lactone
• 4) orange drence (AD)- 4- AD monepantel (introduced in 2010)
• rotate the chemical group used on an annual basis to minimise the risk of developing resistance to wormers- start with post-lambing ewe dose

• can wean at 6 weeks of age
• 1) intensive early lambing flocks
• 2) where frequent breeding systems practised
• 3) orphan lambs which are reared artificially
• lambs have access to a separate creep area from 10-14 days of age where good quality hay and fresh palatable concentrate feed are available ad-lib together with clean water

• cereals (barley, wheat, flaked maize)
• +
• Protein supplement (soyabean meal)
• +
• minerals, salt, trace elements and vitamins
• commercial products 3 or 5mm pellet
• home mix
• 12.5MJME and 160-165g CP/kgDM

• lambs 6 weeks old on ave. when weaned
• 15-18kg
• growth rate on ad-lib concentrate diet 300-350g/day
• food conversion effciency 3.5:1
• will finish 7-8 weeks after weaning at an average liveweight of 36kg
• may not castrate male lambs

• Leg, breast, loin chops, rib chops, shoulder, neck
• *most ezpensive joints are the leg and loin areas. a high proportion of these joints in the carcase is therefore desirable

• category: new season lamb, old season lamb, mature sheep
• weight: light (8-11.5kg), standard (12-17.5kg), medium (18-21.5kg), heavy (22-24.5kg)
• fat and conformation class (1, 2, 3L, 3H, 4L, 4H, 5) (E,U,R,O,P)

• around tail root
• along the spinous and transverse processes of the back bone in loin area
• along the spinous processes of the backbone at the shoulder
• along the breast bone (sternum)