Use LEFT and RIGHT arrow keys to navigate between flashcards;
Use UP and DOWN arrow keys to flip the card;
H to show hint;
A reads text to speech;
20 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
|
Number of sheep in the UK |
31 million (mainly meat lamb pruduction) |
|
|
UK sheep industry |
Sheep farming is one of the only agriculture in less favourable areas UK sheep industry is stratified to make use of less productive land but also increases movement around in country/flocks which increases the risk of disease spread |
|
|
Stratified system - different breeds |
-Mountain/ hill breeds (eg Blackface, Swaledale, Cheviot) are hardy, minimum input and are designed for 1 lamb/year. Most flocks are closed only purchasing rams and sell lambs for meat or keep or sell them for breeding. DRAFT EWES are older hill ewes moved to lower pastures when cant cope with harsh) -Longwools (eg. border/blue-faced leicester, teeswater) are large framed and crossed with draft ewes for half-breds/mules. Terminal sires (eg. dorset, texel, beltex, suffolk) are bred with half-bred ewes for fast growing lamb with good carcass formation but are less hardy than hill breeds. |
|
|
Stratified flock types |
- Hill - extensive grazing, low input/low output, usually only by tups, late lambing - Upland/lowland flocks - varying grazing intensity, LILO or HIHO, usually large numbers of replacements bought, lambing early/late - Pedigree longwool/terminal sire flocks - intensive grazing, HIHO, usually only tups bought in, often lamb early |
|
|
The sheep year |
Spring - lambing Early summer - shearing Summer - weaning Autumn - tupping Tup, store lamb and reeplacement breeding female sales are usually late summer/early autumn |
|
|
Sheep gestation |
147 days Scanning at 60-90 days |
|
|
Lamb weaning and birth-slaughter/birth-mating times |
Weaning = 12 - 16 weeks old (usually moved to best grazing for growth) Fat lamb slaughter target = 4 months Short keep slaughter target = 9 months Long keep slaughter target - 12 months (no longer or compitition with next years lambs) 1st mating if bred as gimmers at 18months |
|
|
Breeding |
Tupping in hill sheep short (Nov/Dec) whereas some lowland sheep can breed all year Sheep are naturally short day breeders Oestrus cycle ~17 days and tups are left for 2 cycles. Tupping ratio = 1:50 (but 1:20 if single sire or tup lambs and 1:10 for synchronised ewes) |
|
|
Keel paint |
For estimation of lambing dates To show return to oestrus (not pregnant) To show the tups are working |
|
|
Scanning percentage |
Number of foetuses seen at scanning/ number of ewes put to tup. |
|
|
Indoor lambing |
-Advantages = protection from weather, less lamb loss to hyperthermia, closer supervision, can lamb early, allows pasture recovery/growth -Disadvantages = more labour, more risk of infectious disease, must provide food/water/ bedding |
|
|
Outdoor lambing |
-Advantages = less labour, less risk of infectious disease, lower capital expenditure, less fixed costs -Disadvantages = increased hypothermia/ starvation loss, loss from dystocia (obstructed labour), need to lamb later, need to have sufficient pasture |
|
|
Ewe condition scores |
Lowland at tupping = 3.5 Hill at tupping = 2.5 Mid-gestation = 3.0 Late pregnancy = 3.0 - 4.0 |
|
|
Ewes vaccinations and crutching for lambing |
Clostridia, Pasteurella and Toxoplasma Can remove wool around udder for better access for lambs (crutching) |
|
|
Pregnancy toxaemia |
Often older ewes with multiple lambs as due to nutrition Can give calcium and energy eg mollasses High mortality |
|
|
Hypocalcaemia |
Often older ewes with multiple lambs (similar to pregnancy toxaemia) - give calcium (should respond in 20-30mins) |
|
|
Hunched up lambs |
Under 5h old and can swallow = put in warming box Over 5h old and can swallow = colostrum by stomach tube and put in warming box Over 5h old and cant swallow = Intraperoneal glucose (IP) glucose and put in warming box |
|
|
Lamb catration and tail docking |
Catration - up to 7 days with rubber band, up to 3 months by unqualified person without anaesthetic not by rubber band, otherwise qualified and using anaesthetic Tail docking - up to 7 days by unqualified person without anaesthetic |
|
|
Culling rate target Lambing % sold |
20% 150% |
|
|
Sheep teeth and age |
Central incisors = 1yr 3 months 2nd incisors = 1yr 9 months 3rd incisors = 2yr 3 months 4th incisors = 2yr 9 months |
