What is Sheep GEMS?

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Sheep GEMS News Brief 1 – April 2024 GEMS stands for Genetics, Environment, Management and Society, which are four pillars of our sheep industry. Why so? In the U.S., distinct breed-types are spread across climatically diverse regions and management systems. Breeding robust sheep that perform well under these conditions is therefore critical to the industry’s long-term sustainability. Currently, however, traits indicative of robustness and climatic resilience are largely absent in our genetic evaluation. Our ambition in Sheep GEMS is to remedy that shortfall. Sheep GEMS has been underway for about two years, with exciting results generated. For those findings to…

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The “Ram”bunctious Ram: A Discussion on Ram Behaviors

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As sheep producers, we all need two important things to get lambs on the ground: ewes and at least one ram, depending on the size of the ewe flock. The purchase of a quality ram can be quite an investment. Understanding proper management and handling of your ram is vital to keeping the producer and everyone on the farm safe, while ensuring the health and longevity of the ram. Here are some points to think about in your operation: Proper handling and raising of rams/ram lambs impacts ram aggression. Rams have a natural level of aggression which increases as they…

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NSIP Data Entry – Dead At Birth (DAB)

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Not all lambs make it all the way from conception to birth. On occasion we see a litter where some are full term healthy lambs, but there is also a mummy or a partially formed lamb. Deciding how to enter data in these cases can be confusing. But here are some guidelines to help you decide how to enter these lambs.  Keep in mind that the birth type of a lamb is used in adjustments for birth weight. A single lamb that weighs 10 pounds will end up with a lower birth weight EBV than a triplet lamb with a…

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Prepubic Tendon Rupture

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Pregnant ewes experience a tremendous strain on their abdominal muscles and tendons as their lambs grow, especially during the last few weeks of pregnancy. The abdominal muscles and tendons are attached to the ribcage, vertebrae and pelvis (grey lines in picture) with the muscles and tendons forming a hammock (pink) that supports the abdominal organs. As the lambs grow, this hammock stretches and gets thinner and is under more pressure. The prepubic tendon (red X in the picture) is made up of the tendons of multiple abdominal muscles and attaches along the lower rim of the pelvis, just above the…

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Orphan Lamb Considerations

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Sooner or later, nearly every shepherd has a lamb that needs to be supplemented. Whether it's a rejected lamb, one whose dam has died, or simply a lamb whose dam has insufficient milk, identifying these lambs early and getting them off to a good start is essential. Other lambs at special risk include twins out of yearling dams, triplets or quads, and lambs whose dams have or have had mastitis. Start by ensuring they receive adequate colostrum at birth and then supplement with a good quality milk replacer through weaning. It's best, when possible, for a lamb to be raised…

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Producer Profiles: Lambing Flow in Different Operations

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As producers we organize our barns for lambing according to what works best in our own situation. Here, three producers, from Iowa, Kentucky and Maine, share how they manage their sheep during lambing, with a focus on barn lambing. Producers were asked to describe how their lambing barn is organized and how they manage the flow of ewes and lambs. They also describe the barn's physical structure, lambing and mixing areas, jugs, feeding, recordkeeping and any special considerations, like the use of barn cameras, creep feeding, etc.  John Bare, DVM, Thistlegrove Farm Location: central Iowa Approximate number of ewes/acreage: 70…

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Ruminations on Lambing Season

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Lambing season encompasses the last few weeks of gestation through lambing and early lactation. There are a lot of preventable problems that can arise during this season and derail the health and productivity of your ewes and lamb crop. Below is a compilation of management tips to help keep your pregnant ewes healthy, get your lambs off to a good start and decrease the stress and workload for tired shepherds. These tips are compiled from EAPK blogs and newsletters published during 2021-2023. Preparation for lambing Nutrition and exercise Make sure that you are providing adequate nutrition and exercise for your…

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Colostrum

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The best diet that you can offer your lambs is good quality colostrum, followed by milk that they consume straight from their healthy, well-fed dam. Unfortunately, things do not always go as planned and all shepherds should be ready to, at least temporarily, supplement or replace a lamb's colostrum needs in case their dam is unable to do so. What is colostrum? The "milk" that ewes produce in the days leading up to lambing and is available to her lambs on the first day after lambing is called colostrum. It is "liquid gold" that contains antibodies to all the diseases…

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Lambing Interventions

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We all love finding new lambs all dried off and nursing, but sometimes ewes need a little help to get there. In general, less intervention is better and if ewes are not having trouble, they will do better lambing and bonding with their lambs if you do not disturb them while in labor. Know what to look for as signs of distress and be sure to intervene sooner rather than later if it is needed. Before lambing starts, make sure that you have some way lined up to be able to catch and restrain a ewe in distress. My favorite…

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Recipes for Keeping Trough Water Running in Winter

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Previously published for The Daily Record through OSU Extension Wayne County I've gotten the question a few times – 'How can I prevent water troughs from freezing without electricity?' Well, what a very good question indeed. First, let's talk a little bit of chemistry. Adding salt to water when you're boiling noodles increases the boiling point of the water, meaning the water is hotter than 212 degrees. This is the same concept with salt water and freezing point; salt water will freeze at a lower temperature than 32 degrees. Soda bottle and salt or burying the trough are a couple…

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