The first day of May is critical to ensure stock successfully get through the winter and perform. Having pasture covers and stock health in place for winter will set up the farm for next season's income.
Ewe condition-scoring is vital to boost sheep performance. Ewes need to be body condition- score (BCS) three at tupping and lambing. A BCS three ewe will feel like the top knuckles of a fist over her short ribs. To ensure ewes are in adequate BCS at these critical times (tupping and lambing), condition score them at scanning and weaning. Draft off those less than three and concentrate on lifting their weight. This will improve conception rates, colostrum production, lamb birthweight and lamb weaning weights.
For example, a flock with a tail of 15% at BCS 2.5 or less will scan 15% less than a flock where only 5% are light. To increase by one condition score, the ewe needs approximately
30kgDM extra, which is a return of 43 cents/kgDM. You'll be hard pushed to get that return anywhere else on your farm.
Lamb survival is largely controlled by the condition of the ewe at lambing and the feeding of that ewe (especially multiples) from six weeks prior to lambing. It is crucial that the lamb stands in the first twenty minutes of life and gets a substantial feed of that all-important colostrum. Ewes that are in condition score 3.5 at lambing will produce colostrum for twice as long as a ewe in condition score 2.5.
Flushing will also improve conception rates. Lower-condition ewes have the best response to flushing, so if covers are short, concentrate on those animals. Shearing stimulates their appetite, causing a flushing effect. However, this must be done at least two weeks before tupping to ensure there are no negative effects on conception through shearing-associated stress.
Make sure the selenium status of your ewes is adequate by monitoring livers from cull animals. A selenium drench prior to tupping is an effective way of raising selenium levels. Other minerals are not as limiting for conception.
There are no recipes for parasite management in ewes. Some data from our tail end ewe trial suggest drenching the tail-end ewes will limit condition loss but the effect is not
long-term. It is best to chat to a vet about your situation before drenching.
Hogget-mating is a great way to improve your bottom line but it needs to be done well. Hogget liveweights should be maximised by mating with a minimum liveweight of 40kg. It is important to use teasers for the 17 days prior to ram introduction to get them cycling.
Scanning is important so singles and multiples can be fed properly. In New Zealand, it is advised to feed hoggets as well as possible during pregnancy and lactation so they lamb in good condition and cope with lactation well. It is vital they are in as good a condition for mating as two-tooths.
Calf survival is dependent on pregnancy survival, cow condition at calving, pasture cover at calving and cow death rates. By having cows in poor condition at mating, these will suffer and your bottom line will be affected. From four weeks into lactation (peak lactation) through to weaning, cows and calves need to be fed well to ensure good mating weights and respectable calf liveweight gains.
There are a number of ways to affect your profit through stock management during the year. The two most important points are: knowledge is power and decisions should be made early. Please call us if you would like some ideas for your situation.
