Because of the fact that sheep is seasonal breeders, sheep dont breed throughout the entire year. Sheep are seasonal breeders due to the decrease in daylight that occur during autumn. During autumn, sheep undergo biological change in response to the decrease in daylight, such as an increase in the hormone melatonin, and the beginning of estrus cycles.
Because ewes cycle every few weeks during the autumn, identify when to begin breeding the ewes will ensure that the ewes have successful conceptions of lambs that will be born in the spring. Because lambs born in the spring are beneficial to the flock due to the lushly growth of grass during spring, the farmer must carefully manage the breeding of ewes. In order to ensure that the ewes are bred successful, the ewes must be monitored for sign of heat.
How to Breed Ewes and Care for Lambs
Standing reflex is one sign of heat; the ewe will stand firm when a ram attempt to mount the ewe. Other signs of heat include vulval swelling and the presence of mucus from the vulva of the ewe. Additionally, the ram effect can be used to synchronize the cycles of the ewes; the introduction of rams into the flock will cause the ewes to enter estrus at the same time.
Furthermore, a marking harness can be placed on the rams to track which ewes the rams have mounted. Closely related to the breeding of ewes is the body condition of the ewes; the body condition of the ewe are related to the success of the ewe’s ovulation and lambing. If the body condition of the ewe is too thin, the ewe will ovulate less often.
If the body condition of the ewe is too fat, the ewe may experience difficultly lambing. You can determine the body condition of the ewe by feel the spine of the ewe over the loin; the spine should be palpable, but not prominent to the touch. During the breeding season, it is important to provide extra grain to the ewes several week prior to the introduction of the rams; providing extra grain to the ewes, also known as flushing, will lead to an increase in the ovulation rates of the ewes.
The last six weeks of a ewe’s pregnancy are crucial to the development of the lambs; during this period, lambs undergo seventy percent of their total growth. Thus, during this period, the nutrition provided to the ewes should be increased to ensure the health of the lambs, and to prevent toxemia. The gestation period for sheep lasts for approximately five month.
The needs of the fetus within the ewe change during this gestation period. During the early stage of gestation, the embryos are quite delicate. Hence, it is important to minimize stress that is placed upon the ewes during these early stages of gestation.
During the mid-term stage of gestation, the organs of the fetus begin to form within the ewe’s body, as well as the wool of the fetus begin to grow. During the final six weeks of gestation is when the lambs experience the fastest rate of growth. Most of the fetal growth occur during this stage.
At this time, lambing area should be prepared for the lambs that will be born. Finally, after the lambs are born, it is important to ensure that the lambs consume the colostrum that the does produce in the first few hours of the lambs’ lives, or the lambs may not survive. Because different breed of sheep have different characteristics, it is important to choose the breed that best suits you goals for your flock.
If the wool is of primary concern, fine-wool breeds will produce one lamb at a time. If the goal is to obtain lambs that contain the necessary amounts of protein for human consumption, meat breeds will produce twins or more lambs that can reach market weight in a shorter period of time. Lastly, prolific breeds will produce large numbers of lambs, but require intensive management of the ewes to ensure that they can meet the demands of these prolific breeds.
Crossbreeding the breeds of ewes and rams will produce lambs that exhibit hybrid vigor. Rams are required to perform the breeding of the ewes. Hence, it is important that the health of the rams are maintained.
The scrotal size and semen quality of the rams should be checked several weeks prior to the breeding season. It is important that the rams are healthy and do not have lameness in their limbs or footrot in their feet, as these lambs will not be able to perform the breeding tasks required of them. Prior to the ewes are to be join, the rams should be isolated from one another.
This allows for the “ram effect” to occur. Additionally, each ram will have a marking harness to monitor how many of the ewes that they mate with. In order to ensure that the lambs reach the market weight that is required of them, there are several task that should be completed with the lambs.
During the first two weeks of the lambs’ lives, they will grow rapidly with the milk that the does provide. After this initial period, lambs should be provided with creep feed. Additionally, lambs should be dewormed and vaccinated to ensure that they remain healthy.
Using a breeding chart will allow owners to keep proper track of the ratio of rams to ewes, the gestation of the ewes, and the breeding schedule of the flock. Additionally, using a breeding chart will allow owners to plan the future of their flock.