URBANA, Ill. — Improving the profitability of your sheep operation starts with the idea.
“If you are new to the sheep business, first identify your market and then work backwards to approach sheep breeding,” says Megan Torrance, sales specialist at Purina Animal Nutrition.
“Christian holidays are big and we have the largest ethnic market,” Torrance said during a presentation at Illinois Sheep Industry Day, hosted by the Illinois Wool Growers Association. “So you can have a spring group of lambs and a fall group of lambs and still maintain a market.”
Breeding problems in sheep flocks can occur due to sheep mistakes, ram mistakes, or human error.
“Most of the time the ewe is very simple, but when there isn’t the right environment or the ewe gets older, that’s when things go awry,” the expert said.
“My best advice is to have your vet test your ewe for pregnancy,” says Torrance, who raises and shows Dorset sheep. “My family is very passionate about sheep slaughter, so it doesn’t make sense to pay them to feed if they’re not doing the work.”
Shepherds can also make mistakes from a management standpoint by making sheep too thin or too obese.
“Lamb’s health score is 1 to 5, but we want him to be around 3,” Torrance said. “The rams will probably lose about 10% of their body weight at the beginning of the breeding season because they get excited and run around.”
Lean rams are generally less fertile.
“They also have reduced libido and it’s hard to cover ewes, so it’s better to condition them a little more when you drive them out,” Torrance says.
“The Purina Hi-Fat Tub has Accuration technology which is really great, especially when you first drive the ram out. If you want it, the sheep will eat, but if you don’t, most of the time they won’t. “,” she said. “Rams are the hardest working animals, so they require a lot of energy.”
Mr Torrance said it was important to feed sheep with minerals at least 60 days before breeding season.
“Wind and Rain Minerals are the only minerals that contain Availa Zinc,” the sales expert said.
“When we started using this mineral in our herds, we probably had to do a little more foot trimming than we would have liked, but we don’t have the incidence of foot rot that we used to,” Torrance said. Ta.
“Zinc methionine is important for reproductive success in rams,” she says. “It takes 48 days for a ram to complete spermatogenesis, so we have to think ahead.”
Mr Torrance advises any shepherd who believes their sheep to be suspicious to have the animal tested.
“In the long run, it will save you some heartache,” Torrance said.
“The ram to ewe ratio for mature rams is 25 to 30 rams and 15 to 20 for yearling rams,” she said. “The rule of thumb is she gives one female for every age of ram up to three years old.”
Torrance said a lactating ewe’s energy requirements increase by 33% for twins and 43% for triplets.
“I think protein is undervalued, but from a fetal growth perspective, protein is very important,” she said. “Protein requirements increase by 30% for twins and 38% for triplets.”
Torrance said 70% to 80% of a fetus’s growth occurs during the third trimester.
“If sheep are only eating hay, there may not be enough space in their stomachs to get all the energy they need,” she says. “So we have to think of a way to offer her something else.”
Torrance has been struggling with herd ketosis.
“We feed him a lot of hay and the Purina purple tub really helps,” she said. “These tubs contain a large amount of calories that they burn to meet their energy needs, and their density is about 2.5 times that of corn.”
Each tub weighs 200 pounds and can hold 30 to 40 sheep.
“These tubs help maintain proper body condition in rams and ewes, increase conception rates, increase lamb production, increase milk fat and provide high amounts of energy to ewes. ” Torrance said.
“Our new sheep and goat R+R tubs represent breeding and acceptance and are very good for the ewes that will be breeding,” Purina experts said. “It’s a stress tub that has a lot of good stuff in it, including Taxco, which is a type of yeast, and it helps lower your body temperature, especially in the summer.”
“R+R tubs also contain chelated manganese and zinc, vitamins, and additional selenium,” she said. “It’s equipped with Accuration technology and her Alleviate, which is extremely effective for digestive health.”
Torrance advises all shepherds to test their hay.
“Hay is the cheapest feed source,” she said. “Looking at the protein, fiber and energy in your hay will help you make better feeding decisions.”
