Prepare your ewes for the mating season

A sheep farmer has three chances to ensure an optimal lamb harvest and to guarantee profitability. The first is to have as many ewes as possible conceive.

- Izak Hofmeyr

The second is to ensure the survival of as many lambs as possible, and the third is to ensure that the weight gain of these lambs is optimal so as to realise the best possible price when marketed. This article focuses on the first aspect.

“It all starts with ewe preparation for pregnancy,” says André Fourie of Anker Agri, a consulting company in the Southern and Western Cape. “It can be compared to a fruit tree that fails to flower, meaning there is no fruit harvest to look forward to. Ewe preparation offers the first chance of increasing your profitability. Mistakes will cost you dearly, because the ewe that cannot conceive is a loss. You can have another mating season, but it complicates management significantly and drives up costs.”

Condition is important

When planning your mating season, you need to consider the fact that ovum development occurs six months prior to the mating season. Hence the first step in ewe preparation is to make sure your ewes are in an acceptable condition.

“Depending on the type of production system you are using, it can become quite complicated. In an annual system, the six months preceding the mating season coincides with the lambing period. In this system a loss in a ewe’s body mass must be minimised as far as possible. Ewes should have a condition score of 3,5 at lambing, and their condition should not drop below 3 after having lambed.

“In an eight-month system, the six months preceding the mating season overlap with mid-gestation. This is usually the time when many farmers try to cut back on the costs relating to nutrition, which is a mistake. It is vital for ewes to have a condition score of 3 and to keep them from entering a negative energy balance during this period. Your ewes’ condition score at mating must be 3,5.”