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- Herausgeber: Crowood
- Kategorie: Fachliteratur
- Sprache: Englisch
Practical Sheep Keeping explains everything you need to know to manage sheep and keep them healthy. Aimed particularly at the keeper of the small flock - say around thirty ewes - the principles nevertheless apply to flocks of all sizes. From choosing and buying, through housing, feeding and routine management, to breeding and lambing, Kim Cardell offers sound advice based on many years' experience. Contents include: Where to begin; Fencing, shelter and housing; Moving, handling and transport; Breeding and genetics; Nutrition.Grassland and crops; Wool and shearing; Keeping the flock healthy; Lambing and lamb rearing; Marketing and business. A comprehensive guide to sheep keeping aimed at sheep farmers and potential sheep farmers, especially on a smaller scale. Gives sound advice on how to manage sheep and how to keep them healthy. Fully illustrated with over 120 black & white photographs and diagrams. Kim Cardell is an experienced sheep keeper, farming journalist and past editor of The Sheep Farmer.
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Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2013
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Practical Sheep Keeping
Second Edition
Kim Cardell
Copyright
First published in 1998 by The Crowood Press Ltd Ramsbury, Marlborough Wiltshire SN8 2HR
www.crowood.com
Paperback edition 2012
This e-book first published in 2013
© Kim Cardell 1998 and 2012
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electrical or mechanical, including photocopy, without permission in writing from the publishers.
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data A catalogue reference for this book is available from the British Library.
ISBN 978 1 84797 586 7
Illustrations by Tony Phillips-Smith. Photographs by Fiona Teagle and Kim Cardell.
Dedication To my late parents Peggy and Willmar Cardell, who knew a thing or two about sheep, and to my brother Peter who knows even more.
Acknowledgements Grateful thanks to the following friends and colleagues who have contributed in so many ways to the production of this book by reading manuscripts, supplying information, and offering comments, advice and encouragement. They are all stalwarts of the sheep industry. Roger Ash; The British Wool Marketing Board; David Croston, BSc; Alastair Dymond; Ron Harrison, BSc; Cath Hoyland, BSc; Richard Janes, BSc (Animal Sciences); Peter Johnson; Tony Phillips-Smith; Mike Prettejohn, MRCVS (former president of the Sheep Veterinary Society); David Sullivan; Ian Wilkinson; Robin Hill; and Fiona and Peter Teagle.
Contents
Title Page
Copyright
Introduction
1 Where to Begin
2 Fencing, Shelter and Housing
3 Moving, Handling and Transport
4 Breeding
5 Feeding and Nutrition
6 Grassland and Crops
7 Wool and Shearing
8 Health
9 Lambing
10 Rearing
11 Marketing and Business
12 The Shepherd’s Year
Appendix I Anatomy of the Sheep
Appendix II Condition Scoring (and lamb classification)
GLOSSARY
Sources of Information
Index
Introduction
The environment, animal welfare and climate change have become major global issues since this book was first published. But, although the sheep industry has been affected by them, it has not been radically changed as a result. This is largely because global sheep farming remains a mix of subsistence, pastoral and high-tech and, while embracing the twenty-first century, it retains its proud traditions. Sheep must have shepherds and must depend on Man, while Man still depends on them.
However, one phenomenon of the last decade that has touched on the industry is the Internet. Advice and facts about every aspect of worldwide sheep keeping are at the end of a computer key. We can now surf for all the information – practical, academic or quirky – that we could ever need.
The missing element is the sheep. This book is intended to be an introduction to the practical side of sheep keeping and to provide a framework which allows small flocks – as small flocks often do – to grow into larger flocks.
The keyword is ‘framework’. Unlike the Internet, no book is big enough to include every detail of sheep management; but it can set out the fundamentals of what is involved. Anything additional or more advanced will be somewhere at the end of that computer key.
Flock Facts
1 Where to Begin
Sheep are a full-time responsibility and need hands-on attention – much of it physically hard.
A small flock must be managed as professionally as a large commercial flock. Not only does common sense demand it, but the law demands it too. Sheep are very vulnerable to neglect and ignorance. They demand good stockmanship as summed up in the Five Freedoms of animal welfare:
Freedom from hunger and thirst.Freedom from discomfort.Freedom from pain, injury or disease.Freedom from fear or distress.Freedom to express normal behaviour.So, the questions to ask before establishing a flock are:
Do I have time to keep a daily watch on them?Do I have time to sort out any problems when they occur?Do I have a source of advice?Am I physically fit to handle sheep?Is there help in an emergency?Do I have land which is suitable for sheep?Can I afford to invest in the basic essentials?Can I afford to keep them until they start paying their way?Can I accept that they will eventually be sold or slaughtered?Do I know the legislation affecting the industry?Can I cope with the form-filling and bureaucracy?Setting up a flock can be plagued by red tape. In the UK and some other countries it is compulsory to:
Register a flock, even if it consists of one pet sheep.Complete Movement Forms before moving sheep to the premises and record all sheep movements on and off the property thereafter.Register the premises where the sheep are to be kept.Identify the sheep with official tags.Keep a Holding Register.Record the use of all medicines.Most of this paperwork needs to be up and running before buying any sheep. Sources of advice and websites for up-to-date information and legislation are included in the Appendix.
For those who can cope with red tape, producers in Europe can also sign up for the Single Payment Scheme, which is the main agricultural subsidy scheme. It is not compulsory, but those joining it will need to adhere to certain requirements in order to receive payments. The requirements usually reflect current laws and good agricultural practice.
Sheep farmers may also have access to grants for countryside conservation schemes and production systems such as organic.
Climate Change
New management and production controls may be introduced into the sheep industry as the issue of climate change is addressed. Sheep produce and emit methane and carbon dioxide through belching and flatulence. Both are end products of rumen fermentation, both are useless to the animal and both are implicated in climate change.
Resources
Labour, capital, land, equipment and information are the five main resources for sheep keeping.
Fig 1 Basic sheep management equipment includes (from the left): stock fencing, hay feeder, straw bale, torch, bucket, electric fencing components and hurdles.
Labour
The small flock cannot usually afford to pay labour so the owner is the major source, although a flock being established as an extra enterprise on a farm is likely to have labour to call on.
Local contract shepherds will do routine work. Most are trained and experienced shepherds, undertaking fencing, routine health care, dipping, shearing and lambing.
Single-handed shepherding is not difficult with manageable sheep, good fencing, land in one block and good handling pens. For transporting, dipping, shearing and lambing, an extra hand may be needed.
In the event of illness or holidays, there must be one person who can be called on to check the sheep daily, recognize a problem, deal with it and have the authority to call professional help such as a veterinary surgeon.
As a rule of thumb, allow one hour every day to check the flock and deal with any immediate problems and, on average, one day a week for routine management. The lambing period can require at least a month of dedication.
Capital
Setting-up costs depend on what is already available. If the land is well-fenced and watered and has a suitable building, the main expense will be the sheep and basic equipment (Figs 1 and 2).
Budget for everything at the start, even if some items such as lambing equipment are not immediately needed; it may be at least twelve months after buying the sheep before any money comes in.
Setting up on a shoestring is challenging; be prepared to substitute time for money by making equipment, buying it secondhand or moving stock around cheap rented land. But never cut costs on sheep care and always make fencing a priority.
Land
Most small flocks are established on farms where the land is adjacent to the farmhouse. Land which is not within sheep or human walking distance of the home can involve considerable costs in transport, time and inconvenience.
Land for sheep should be well-fenced, well-drained, have a water supply and shelter. If it appears to be suitable but has never carried sheep before it is worth finding out the reason. There may be a mineral deficiency in the soil or a predator problem.
A stream can supply water provided it is accessed safely and legally and stock do not pollute it. Conversely, it may already be polluted upstream and this, plus any wet areas, are a health hazard and should be fenced off.
Shelter in the form of trees, hedges or simple housing is essential and a building, if only for housing a sick animal, is necessary.
Renting Land
In autumn and winter, when cattle are housed, a neighbouring farm may welcome sheep to eat off surplus grass, graze a pasture reseed or even scavenge waste vegetable crops. But beware of basing flock numbers and policy on this supply of grazing because it may not be reliable.
Check that the land is suitable and that the flock will not be forced to stay on muddy ground.
Always have clear agreements with the landowner as to:
The start and finish dates.Which fields can be used.That electric fencing is allowed.What public rights of way have to be considered.Who is responsible for insurance.What responsibilities the landowner will have – such as daily checking, fencing and feeding.Payment – amount per month or per head and when due.What else is included in the costs – such as feeding hay or silage.Another source of grazing is from property owners whose land is too small to farm but too big to garden. This makes a useful area for small groups of sheep such as the rams or ewe lambs.
Sometimes farmers or local authorities want sheep to clear ground, reduce weeds or improve fertility. They offer grazing on areas such as reservoir banks, playing fields, orchards and woods. Again, bear in mind closeness for shepherding and the need for good fencing, handling equipment and transport.
A local land agent specializing in agricultural matters is a good source of advice on buying, renting or grazing land.
Equipment
Fencing and basic handling equipment are the two most important items to have before buying sheep. The former can be a portable electric fencing system (seeChapter 2) and the latter some lightweight hurdles.
Borrowing or sharing equipment with other flocks is an option but frequently both parties need it at the same time. A lamb weigher and a turnover crate – both expensive items – may warrant sharing.
Information
It is important to get adequate information before setting up a flock. Agricultural colleges offer practical shepherding courses and training in specific skills. Spending time observing or helping on a sheep farm is ideal.
Fig 2 Basic sheep husbandry kit. From the left: wool shears; foot shears; antibiotic spray; worm drench and gun; digital thermometer; syringe with disposable needle; wax marker for temporary identification; tagger and tags.
Sign on with a local veterinary surgeon – preferably one with a sheep specialist in the practice – and pick his brains. Other sheep producers are a major source of help, as are farming organizations – especially ones that have regular local meetings.
There are numerous organizations, farming magazines and Internet sites which can answer queries (see Further Information). Drug companies, fertilizer and feedstuff manufacturers, seed merchants and equipment makers will give advice.
Local and regional agricultural shows involve all aspects of the sheep industry and are exceptionally useful for viewing different breeds and for advice and information. Go with a list of queries to avoid being sidetracked and remember that every breeder believes that his breed is the best.
The Purpose
Sheep are adaptable animals and can be kept for a variety of purposes. Keeping them because you like them is a good enough reason. But the sheep is a working animal and thrives best when it has a job to do. When deciding on a purpose, bear in mind:
The environment. Early lamb production is not suited to hill farms.The market. Make sure there is one.Finance – setting up pedigree or dairy flocks is more expensive than prime lamb commercial flocks.Labour and time. Running dry sheep (sheep which are not being bred) for wool or mutton needs less than a breeding flock.Satisfaction. Pedigree breeding may be more interesting than producing slaughter lambs.Producing Meat
This is a major reason for keeping sheep. Lambs are easily sold through markets, direct to abattoirs or slaughtered for ‘farm gate’ sales or home consumption.
The downside can be high marketing costs when selling small numbers and, for some small flock owners, the emotional difficulty in selling lambs for slaughter.
Pedigree Breeding
Pedigree breeding suits the small flock because attention to recording, breeding and showing is important.
A pedigree flock is, however, an expensive entry into sheep keeping, requiring good foundation stock, some specialized equipment, extra time and expense for recording, travelling, preparation, showing and advertising. It is said that the work involved in one pedigree ewe is ten times that of a commercial ewe. On the plus side, once the flock is established and successful it can be quite lucrative.
One way to get established is to set up a cheap commercial (non-pedigree) breeding flock for the experience, then introduce some pedigree ewes and a ram. The pedigree ram can also be used on the commercial ewes to upgrade them and to make better use of him.
Wool
Keeping ‘dry’ (unbred) sheep, is popular for home spinning, selling fleeces or building a cottage industry on woollen products. Young unbred ewes and male castrates, which are not stressed by breeding, give the best fleeces and are simple to manage.
The system could involve a breeding flock of pedigree or purebred specialist wool breeds at the core, with the best offspring kept for wool production and others sold for slaughter. Specialist wools include the fine wool from the Merino, coloured wool from rare breeds such as the Shetland and lustre wools from the Wensleydale. In the UK, you may need to register with the British Wool Marketing Board.
Dairying
Sheep milk and products such as cheese, yoghurt and ice cream are popular and give added value to the flock. This is an enterprise which requires a large investment in stock, housing and equipment and must comply with health, hygiene and other regulations. Being a shepherd is not enough; dairying and marketing skills are essential.
A small flock is unlikely to be viable because of the overhead costs but as a trial, some early-weaned ewes could be hand-milked and products made for home consumption to see if expansion is feasible. Ewes’ milk freezes successfully and can be frozen and then sold to a manufacturer for processing. The British Milksheep and the Friesland are popular milking breeds.
Visitor Attraction
Few people can resist the appeal of ewes and lambs so a small flock attached to a hotel, bed and breakfast or camping establishment will earn bonus points. The flock must be tame, clean and attractive.
The downside is that where the general public are involved there may be mandatory health and safety requirements – especially concerning zoonoses (the transmission of disease between sheep and humans) – and special insurance. The flock programme may have to suit the visitor season – such as lambing just before the season starts.
Integration
Integrating a flock with another enterprise is a smart way to take two crops off one area. Sheep will integrate with orchards, trees and vineyards and can maintain wildflower meadows, cliff tops and heath land. A flock will also utilize low-cost housing that can be used for turkey rearing and other purposes for the rest of the time. Polytunnels, for example, may be used for lambing in the winter and horticultural crops in the summer.
Rare Breeds
The sheep industry is littered with breeds that are out of fashion – sometimes for genuine farming reasons and sometimes because of the vigorous marketing of new breeds. Minor, rare and endangered breeds – such as Manx Loghtan, Hebridean and Soay – can be used in most systems to produce meat, breeding stock, wool and for land management. A number of different breeds make an interesting zoo but to conserve them it is better to select one breed.
Many can be flighty and difficult to shepherd and may not adapt to new conditions; but they are hardy, need less attention than modern breeds and are light to handle.
Finishing Store Lambs
Not all slaughter lambs are sold at weaning because they would flood the market and because not all of them are ready to sell. Therefore weaned lambs, especially those born late to hill and upland flocks, are grown very slowly (stored) then fattened for sale in winter and early spring – often on grass and forage crops on lowland farms. This is a natural way to spread marketing and provide fresh lamb for twelve months of the year. Those sold in the following spring are usually called hogget.
Buying and finishing store lambs is not an attractive enterprise for the small flock. The lambs are usually difficult to handle and the profit is the difference between the buying and selling price minus transport, food, veterinary costs and any deaths. It is more an exercise in buying and selling than in shepherding.
On established farms they utilize break crops and surplus grass or cereals. Suitable female store lambs can be grown on to make relatively cheap breeding ewes (seeChapter 10).
Rearing Ewe Lambs
Similar to finishing store lambs, rearing ewe lambs involves buying in young ewes (ewe lambs) and rearing them for a year before selling them or retaining them for breeding. Again this may simply be an exercise in buying and selling but on the plus side it gives hands-on experience in stock rearing, handling and marketing.
Organic Lamb
Most lamb is only a step away from being organic. The regulations allowing it to be labelled organic are based on normal welfare considerations plus restrictions on feed type, fertilizers and medicines.
Organic lamb is compatible with late lambing (seebox ‘Lambing Periods’) because late lambing flocks have a low demand for bought-in feed. Alternatively, many hill-bred lambs are naturally organic and could be identified and finished on organic lowland farms. The downside is that although inputs are low, so too are outputs because of low stocking rates; and not all abattoirs are registered to slaughter organic lamb.
A useful halfway stage – especially for local markets – is to call it ‘naturally reared’. Never call it ‘hormone free’ because all animals have hormones.
Mutton
Mutton comes from older sheep – typically four to five years old – or at the end of their breeding life. As an introduction to keeping and marketing sheep, some younger ewes with breeding or udder problems could be bought from a local flock and run on grass for sale to the quality mutton trade.
Sheepdog Training
Small flocks are sometimes kept for training sheepdogs. About twenty-five to thirty is the minimum size of flock needed and these, primarily for welfare reasons, should be dry sheep. One approach is to buy a flock of ewe lambs, keep them growing on grass, sell them for breeding a year later and then buy a new flock.
Lambing Periods
Lambing periods should be chosen to:
Suit the market and prices (Fig 108).Suit the resources – late lambing does not need housing.Match grass growth or other feed to pregnancy and lactation.Avoid clashing with other events, such as spring cultivations.Suit the weather conditions.Suit the breed – some breeds have late breeding seasons.Autumn Lambing
Usually confined to lowland flocks where grass and other forage crops are available during the winter. Can graze winter grass when dairy cows are housed. Utilizes early lambing breeds such as the Poll Dorset. Lambs grow slowly over the winter on their mothers and are ready for the high-priced (European) Easter market. Lambing percentages may be low but so, too, are production costs. The bulk of the work is during the winter. Warm weather at tupping may affect the fertility of the rams.
Early Lambing
Lambs are born in late winter. Often housed for lambing and reared on forage crops and concentrates. Has high feed costs and needs to catch early prices with fast-growing, top-quality lambs. Can stock the dry ewes heavily in the summer and would suit a farm with limited, rough or droughty summer grassland and which grows forage crops and cereals. Bulk of the work is in late winter and early spring. Lambs are sold at 10–16 weeks of age and could be weaned at six weeks and finished indoors on concentrates while ewes are stocked heavily outside. May suit pedigree flocks which need lambs well grown for sales. Suits quick-maturing breeds.
Spring or Mid-season Lambing
This is the traditional system which matches lamb growth with grass growth and suits an all-grass farm. Requires good grassland management to ensure there is grass for tupping, grass for lambing and lactation, and grass for finishing lambs in summer. Unfinished lambs can be sold as stores or held over and sold in the spring as hoggets. Where there is plenty of grass it suits organic and low-input systems. Usually has good lambing percentages and suits most breeds especially large crossbreds.
Late Lambing
Lambing in early summer on grass produces low-cost quality fresh lamb during the following winter for a rising market. Late pregnancy and lambing are at a pleasant time of the year and no housing is necessary. Feed costs are low because grass is available before and after lambing. Can achieve good lambing percentages and suits most breeds. Possible problems include prolapsing and becoming cast (getting stuck on their backs) – both due to getting too fat on grass – predators and deciding when to shear. Lambs can finish on grass or be sold as stores.
Frequent (Accelerated) Lambing
The ewes are lambed every eight months – typically, winter, autumn and spring. In the UK the system is usually based on the Poll Dorset because of its long breeding season but other breeds can be induced to mate out of season with hormonal treatment (seeChapter 4). It requires very tight management, synchronized mating and reliable supplies of feed and labour. Small flocks can increase annual production without needing more ewes, and produce prime lamb throughout the year.
Management
Sheep are adaptable and can be bred, reared and sold at almost any time of the year. Normally flocks are managed on an annual cycle with the same activities at the same time each year. When setting up a flock it is essential to establish an initial plan – even though this will be revised and adjusted in subsequent years.
First, draw up a simple annual cycle (seeTable 1) based on the following:
The supplies of grassland (or other feed sources).When the products are to be sold.A feasible lambing date to meet this market (seebox Lambing Periods).Other demands on labour and resources.Flock Size
The number of sheep to keep is influenced by the amount of land available and how productive it is. The average number of adult sheep supported by a hectare (2.5 acres) of land for one year is called the stocking rate. For example, ten hectares of grassland supporting and rearing thirty ewes and their lambs for a year has a stocking rate of three ewes per hectare.
A stocking rate of twelve to fourteen ewes per hectare is not uncommon but keeping four or five ewes per hectare is a safe starting point on average lowland pasture. It may not sound many but there will be little grass during the winter and there will be lambs – perhaps two from each ewe – demanding grass in the summer. In upland conditions it could be four or five hectares per ewe.
Start with 20 per cent less than seems feasible. Disease builds up on heavily stocked grassland and the ideal is to have enough land to be able to rotate the flock and ‘rest’ their grazing areas every two to three years by grazing it with cattle, cropping it or cutting it for hay or silage.
Breeds
When choosing a breed the considerations for the small flock are:
The shepherd likes the breed.It suits the environment.It suits the system.It provides an acceptable end-product.Docility.Cost and availability.Size. Small sheep are light to handle.There are at least eighty-five pure breeds and recognized crosses in the UK alone and 200 worldwide. Most suit a range of systems and environments. And there is often as much variation within breeds as between breeds.
A ewe of any breed or cross will produce a slaughter lamb especially if it is bred to a Down ram (Fig 3). A safe bet is to choose a local breed or one from a similar environment. For other purposes such as wool production, rare breeds, pedigree flocks or dairying the choice of ewe breed is more specific.
Fig 3 This illustrates the basic stratification of the UK sheep industry with a few examples of the numerous breeds and crosses. New breeds and breeding schemes have dulled the distinction between types of breeds, and Longwool rams (crossing sires) can sire prime slaughter lamb, while Down rams (terminal sires) produce ewe lambs suitable for commercial breeding. Prime lambs can also come from dairy, specialist wool and rare breed flocks. Some examples of ‘first cross’ ewes are: North of England Mule (Bluefaced Leicester × Swaledale) Scotch Halfbred (Border Leicester × North Country Cheviot) Welsh Halfbred (Border Leicester × Welsh Mountain)
Table 1 Annual Cycle of Sheep Production
Rams are basically of two types – terminal sires for producing a prime slaughter lamb and crossing or maternal sires for producing breeding ewes. Terminal sires are well-muscled with a fast growth rate to produce fast-growing meaty lambs. Crossing sires will impart milkiness, prolificacy, hardiness and a good fleece in their female offspring. However, many breeds are dual purpose, capable of producing good breeding stock as well as slaughter lambs.
Commercial flocks producing prime lambs and breeding ewes will normally put rams of a different breed over the ewes. Rare breeds, pedigree, wool and dairy flocks will normally select rams of the same breed as the ewes.
Small, quick-maturing breeds produce lambs which reach slaughter weight quickly (ten to fourteen weeks) and are suited to early lambing flocks. Large, slow-maturing breeds can be used in later lambing flocks where lambs may not need to grow quickly.
Buying Sheep
The golden rules when buying sheep are:
Buy the best you can afford.Make sure they are healthy.Buy from a known source.Get as much information about the flock as possible.Examine well before purchase.Buy ewes of similar type and age.There are a number of sources of sheep. The important ones are:
Direct from an established flock.From a market or specialist sales – usually in the autumn.Through a dealer/buyer who will source and transport them.Buying Direct
Buying direct from a farm is best because the buyer sees the sheep in their environment and can discuss their management and health care. The larger the flock, the better the choice. Some flocks have annual reduction sales when they auction their surplus breeding stock. Look for advertisements in the local papers.
Breed societies have the names of pedigree breeders with stock for sale. When buying quality sheep – especially pedigree or dairy sheep – the records of the ewe should be available. These might record the amount of milk each dairy ewe gives in one lactation, how many lambs a ewe has had each year and how fast the lambs grow.
Pedigree stock may have a fixed price according to age. Commercial ewe prices are often published in the farming press, or the local market auctioneers can advise. A factor in determining price is the number of lamb crops the ewe will have – on average five–seven crops. So younger ewes may cost more but will give more back. Ewe lambs, however, tend to cost less because they are unproven and still have some growing to do.
Fig 4 Specialist markets sell breeding sheep in matched lots. Here, Charollais in-lamb shearling ewes come under the hammer at Shrewsbury Market. Photo: Tim Scrivener.
Markets and Sales
Local papers and national farming publications will advertise markets in late summer when the major breeding sheep sales are looming. These auctions help to establish prices.
Stock sold at specialist sheep sales are often inspected by veterinary surgeons and come with some assurances that they are capable of breeding and have no important defects. Identifying the farm from which they come is useful as it may operate a health scheme and offer sheep which have been accredited (free from certain diseases).
Stock is penned in groups matched for size, appearance or age and are normally sold as a group (Fig 4).
Dealers
Auctioneers may recommend a dealer to select, bid for and transport sheep on behalf of a buyer. Some may advertise in the farming press or will be found at the markets. The dealer needs to be clear about what the buyer wants and how much he is prepared to pay. A good dealer is worth knowing, but a bad dealer can bring disease and disaster to the unwary.
What to Buy
Draft Ewes
Many flocks are established from draft ewes. These are older, surplus ewes that are still capable of breeding. They may have come from hill flocks where conditions become too hard for them but they will thrive on lowland farms.
Draft ewes are experienced lambers, cheap producers of homebred stock and will eventually have a carcass value. They may be at least a full mouth (seeAppendix I, Fig 116) and possibly older. Draft hill ewes tend to be genuine. Check the reason for the sale of surplus ewes from lowland flocks and remember that few vendors will sell their best stock. Physical defects are obvious but rejects from a health scheme, barreners (who have failed to have a lamb), non-breeders and problem lambers are not.
Young Ewes
Ewe lambs are around a year old and may be ready for breeding. They are the cheapest of the young ewes, cost more in feeding because they still have some growing to do and may not be easy to manage at lambing. An inexperienced shepherd may not want inexperienced ewes.
The next category of young ewe is the two-tooth (seeAppendix I, Fig 116). They cost more than the ewe lamb, especially if they are proven breeders and are well grown.
Pregnant Ewes
Ewes may be sold ‘in-lamb’ or described as having ‘run with the ram’. In-lamb ewes should have been identified as pregnant by a pregnancy scan. Those merely running with the ram are not guaranteed as pregnant. Pregnant ewes make a quick introduction to sheep keeping but it is vital to have accurate lambing dates otherwise their management and feeding both before and at lambing will be chaotic.
Ewes with Lambs
Ewes with lambs at foot (sometimes described as couples) are often sold at local markets. The ewe is probably useless and the lamb it is suckling may not be her own. But they give instant experience in sheep rearing, handling and marketing.
Cade Lambs
Cade lambs (often called orphans) are surplus lambs from flocks whose ewes produce more than they can rear. Cades for sale should have had adequate colostrum (seeChapter 9), dry navels and be a few days old. They are sold at livestock markets but buying direct from a large flock is better. They are often available quite cheaply to avoid the bother of having to hand rear them. Rearing these lambs will cost time, milk powder and lamb feed but they give experience in rearing and marketing or may make a tame breeding flock.
Rams
The ram is a problem in small flocks. He is needed for only a few weeks but must have feed, care and companionship for the rest of the year. If his daughters are kept for breeding, inbreeding becomes a possibility long before the end of his working life – which may be around six years.
For getting started, a cheap option is a good-looking uncastrated slaughter ram. He will have hybrid vigour and cost no more than slaughter prices. Another option is an older ram from a commercial flock where rams will be routinely culled at a certain age. Beware if buying in a livestock market that he is not a vasectomized ‘teaser’ ram.
Rams from breeders may be performance-recorded for growth rate and leanness, have high health status and should come with some guarantee of fertility. A small flock would need to share or be a serious breeder to justify the cost of a ram of this calibre.
Sharing two rams with another flock solves the problem of companionship, is an insurance against one becoming infertile and delays inbreeding. Another scheme would be to buy two ram lambs, breed from them and sell them on as two-tooth.
Borrowing is an option, but introducing disease is a risk for both borrower and lender. Clarify who is responsible for any veterinary treatment or if the ram dies. Check for obvious signs of transmissible diseases such as orf or footrot.
Pedigree breeders may hire rams but increasingly only to flocks with a high health status. Clarify the period and terms of hire such as veterinary costs, insurance and fertility guarantees.
In breeding terms, rams are half the flock – so buy the best you can afford. And try to find one which is docile and easy to handle.
Selecting Sheep
Judge sheep on:
Health.Physical appearance.Usually, sheep look either healthy or dead; judging which is which is not that difficult. Commonsense says that a healthy sheep does not normally limp, hang its head, have droopy ears or dull eyes and does not have abnormal discharges from orifices.
Those which are carriers of infectious or chronic diseases are not obvious, so buying from flocks which are involved in health schemes is a reasonable safeguard. Vendors should divulge the flock’s vaccination and worming programmes.
The main physical health checks are on teeth, feet, udder or testicles and penis. They can be done with the animal on its feet, but for close inspection sit them up.
Checking the Ewe
1. The udder (seeAppendix I, Fig 122) should be neat, soft and pliable, showing no signs of hardness or lumpiness. A dry ewe which has suffered mastitis may have lost the ability to produce milk but may not show signs of the disease. Feel carefully for a tell-tale lump at the base of the udder just above the teat.
2. Teats should be neat without cuts, warts or hard scar tissue. In maiden ewes and lambs the teats should be a sensible size. Very small teats – sometimes found on lambs from multiple births – can indicate a non-breeder.
Four teats are not unusual but two of them will be supplementary and small. They frequently discharge milk but are rarely sucked. Alexander Graham Bell (of telephone fame) bred four-teated sheep to rear litters of more than two lambs and many breeders have continued his work.
Fig 5 The circumference of the scrotum is a good indication of the fertility of a ram. Measure it at the widest part.
Checking the Ram
1. There should be two testicles (seeAppendix I, Fig 121), both descended and of roughly equal size. They should be as firm as a clenched bicep and slip up and down freely in the scrotum, where there should be no swellings, cuts or lesions. The larger the circumference of the scrotum the greater the capacity of the testicles to produce sperm. The average circumference at the widest point in adults just before mating is 36–38cm. The average for ram lambs at eight months is 30cm.
2. Push the testicles to the bottom of the scrotum and feel the tail of the epididymis at the base of each one. This is where sperm is stored and should be firm and the size of a walnut.
3. The sheath (prepuce) around the penis should have no lesions or ulcerations and the penis should move freely within it. Check that the vermiform appendage (worm) is intact.
4. Semen tests are available through veterinary surgeons but they only show the fertility of the ram at the time of the test.
Fig 6 Checking the teeth.
Teeth
Inspecting the teeth is important (Fig 6). Incisor teeth (seeAppendix I, Figs 115 and 116) should be correct for the age, sound in their sockets and aligned with the gums. Incisors should meet the pad within 5mm of the front edge. In sheep not expected to eat root crops or graze closely, missing teeth (broken mouth) need not be a problem; although broken or pointed teeth can cause pain. Ewes which have lost all their incisor teeth (gummers) can do well on grass and could be a bargain if they are otherwise good sheep.
Damaged or loose molars (seeAppendix I, Fig 116) mean ewes cannot cud properly and derive less from their food. A green stain around the lips is a tell-tale sign, otherwise feel their condition through the cheeks. Upper molars normally overlap the lower jaw and the overlap should feel smooth and curved.
Deformed jaws – overshot or undershot (Fig 7) – should be avoided especially if replacement ewes are to be bred from them.
Fig 7 An undershot jaw (1). The front teeth do not line up with the pad in the upper jaw and eating may be difficult. Also avoid the opposite – the overshot jaw (2) where the lower jaw extends beyond the upper jaw.
Feet
Never buy sheep with bad feet. It is buying trouble. Foot care is hard work, sheep with problem feet suffer pain and the problem may be hereditary. They should look neat and not be overgrown or down on the pastern. Turn up each sheep, if possible, and check feet individually for signs of separation, soft or pussed tissue, distortion or overgrowth (seeChapter 8).
Physical Appearance
Pedigree sheep will have appropriate breed characteristics, such as face colour, and the relevant breed societies will advise new buyers what to look for. Otherwise appearances are relatively unimportant. Some crossbred ewes may look odd but they have the advantage of hybrid vigour.
Do not fear thin sheep; unless they have problem teeth or diarrhoea they have probably given everything to their lambs. Equally, never be wooed by fat sheep. They may be poor milkers or even barreners.
Bringing the Sheep Home
Do not bring sheep onto the property until you have the basic facilities in place. These may include:
Movement records and holding number.Insurance – primarily third party against straying, trespass and accidents.Adequate grazing or feed, plus one bale of hay per head.Stock-proof fencing in all fields.Clean water supply.Sound gates.Shelter from the elements.Tags and tagger.A holding pen for the whole flock.Basic foot trimming equipment.Dosing gun and wormer.An airy building and a few bales of straw for a sick bay.
