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
We’ve been members of NSIP since 2006 and I must confess that I’ve never really understood what all went into the calculation of “Number of Lambs Weaned”, let alone Genomically-enhanced Estimated Breeding Values (GEBV) for NLW. Seems most of my ewes had NLW GEBV that were about the same as
Weaning lambs on a small farm can be a challenging endeavor. Being limited on space and supplies, such as electric fencing, means careful planning must take place to manage the two groups separately. There are various ways to wean lambs off of their dams. The approach you choose may vary
Ewes only have two teats and hopefully raise at least twin lambs, so maintaining healthy udders and culling ewes with udder problems is important to minimize lamb losses and bottle lambs while ensuring optimal growth of lambs on your farm. Mastitis leads to lower weaning weights in lambs of affected
Weaning can be a stressful time for both ewes and lambs. Since a lamb’s immune system is not fully developed, weaning stress can negatively affect both a lamb’s health and its growth rate. Weaning lambs while ewes are still producing a lot of milk increases the risk of mastitis. There
Data collection is the cornerstone of obtaining Estimated Breeding Values (EBVs) through the National Sheep Improvement Program (NSIP). But the need for good records and accurate data is not limited to producers submitting data to NSIP. All flocks can benefit from good data collection since selection and culling decisions should
Gestation in sheep varies from 142 to 152 days with the average being 147 days. Just like people, individual pregnancies can vary, gestation periods of 138 to 159 days are not unheard of. Ewes carrying multiple lambs tend to have shorter gestations while male lambs (and heavy birth weight lambs) are usually carried for longer than female lambs. The form above calculates the lambing date based on a 147 day gestation period.
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