Weight monitoring are essential to sheep farming for multiple reasons. By monitoring the weight of the sheep in your flock, you can easy determine whether the sheep are ready to be sold or if they has lost too much body condition. A sheep may look healthy to those standing an distance away, but it might either have too much fat or too little muscle.
By monitoring the weight of your sheep, you can make sure that there weight has a direct impact on the sale price of the sheep. The growth stage of sheep allow you to understand how the sheep will develop during there lifetime. Newborn sheep tend to be very small, but they gains their initial weight quick during there first few weeks of life.
Why Weighing Your Sheep Is Important
At three months of age, the sheep will have gained more than double there initial weight. At six months of age, they will be close to reach the weight range that indicates that you should begin the finishing process for the sheep. By following the established growth stages, you can make decisions regarding the care of the sheep appropriate.
If you do not follow these growth stages, you might discover it difficult to reach the weight targets that are indicated on the growth stage chart for sheep of similar characteristic. Another reason that you must monitor the weight of sheep is because of the different breed of sheep. Breeds that are used for the production of meat will reach market weight earlier then breed that are used for the production of wool.
Additionally, sheep of the meat breed will have more muscle than wool breed of the same age. Wool breeds will remain lighter for a much longer period of time. If the farmer would like to produce as much market weight as possible, he or she should choose meat breeds.
However, if the market for sheep is primarily breeding stock or wool, you should select fine wool breeds. Comparing the weight of each breed help to remove the guesswork involved in selecting breeds for a flock. A third reason that you must monitor the weight of sheep is due to the sex of the sheep.
Rams will weigh more than ewes of the same breed. Once both rams and ewes of the same breed reach maturity, the rams will routinely outweigh the ewes. This difference in weight have an effect on both the allocation of pasture to each sex of sheep, as well as the size of equipment that might be needed for moving these sheep.
You should account for the weight of rams when establishing the system in which the rams will move. Body condition scoring is another tool that can be used in conjunction with weight monitoring. While the weight of the sheep is direct connected to body condition, the two is not the same.
Sheep can have healthy weights yet still lack the amount of muscle that should be present. Additionally, sheep can have high weights due to too much fat rather than muscle. By feeling the sheep from spine to ribs, farmers can perform a body condition check every few weeks, without the need to use specific equipment.
Another reason that the weight of the sheep must be monitored is for the establishment of market category. There are different weights for spring lambs, feeder lambs, and pasture raised animals. Each group of sheep will have a specific weight and time limit.
By establishing a market category to which your flock will be managed, farmers can ensure that they do not produce sheep that may be oversold. Additionally, by following these market categories, farmers can ensure that sheep will not be slaughtered prior to reach the weight that would provide the best price for the sheep. Various tools can be used to measure the weight of the sheep in the flock.
Platform scales are an essential tool that can be established in the farm, but there are other simple tool, such as weight tapes. The weight tape is a tool that can be utilized in the field to measure the weight of each sheep. The weight tape will not be as precise as the platform scale.
However, it is useful for determining the weight of each sheep without having to move each sheep to the scale. Electronic identification system can automatically register the weight of the sheep. Additionally, using these systems allow farmers to establish long-term records of the weight of each sheep, which can help with other management decision.
Sheep will experience seasonal change in there weight. For instance, the spring season will provide the best forage for the sheep to gain weight, but during the winter, even with high quality hay, the sheep may lose weight. By monitoring the body condition of the sheep throughout the year, farmers will be able to account for these seasonal change.
Finally, the value of weight monitoring is in the habit of weighing the sheep and scoring there body condition. By establishing a routine of regularly weighing the sheep in the flock, as well as scoring there body condition each month, farmers can count on the weight and body condition scoring system to indicate there progress. By employing this routine, farmers will be able to ensure that there sheep remains healthy and can be sold at a consistent rate.