A basic checklist to keep sheep healthy and productive

The price of replacement livestock has increased dramatically in recent years, so it's important to obtain the highest possible lamb weaning rate. Shane Brody explains how to achieve this.

- Shane Brody

I have known lamb weaning rates in communal farming areas to be as low as 8% to 15%. This means that only eight to 15 lambs from every 100 breeding ewes survive into adulthood! If you wish to be profitable and grow your farming enterprise, you should have a lamb weaning rate of at least 85%. In fact, you should be striving to achieve in the region of 90%.

If you consistently produce low reproduction figures, you won't have enough female offspring to replace ewes that are too old. Female animals are usually sold as 'old ewes' at anything from seven to eight years (depending on nutritional and environmental issues), but some ewes may produce for slightly longer.

Be sure to replace ewes before they begin to 'slate' or lose their teeth completely due to wearing down. Slate ewes or 'gummers' (teeth worn right down to the gums) will struggle to raise lambs, particularly in a harsh environment where there may be a shortage of grazing or feed.

VACCINATION

To keep lamb losses as low as possible, it's crucial to vaccinate your sheep at least once a year against prevalent diseases such as pulpy kidney, a lethal disease of young sheep. Newborn lambs have some immunity against this disease, but this wears off within a few months.