Proceedings 45th Annual Spooner Sheep Day

Transcription

1 University of Wisconsin-Madison College of Agricultural and Life Sciences in cooperation with the Indianhead Sheep Breeders Association Proceedings 45th Annual Spooner Sheep Day August 23, 1997 Agricultural Research Stations Department of Animal Sciences Division of Cooperative Extension

2 Table of Contents Acknowledgements 2 Welcome 3 Robert E. Rand Future Direction for the Wisconsin Sheep Breeders Cooperative 5 Rudy Erickson A Pasture System for Prolific Sheep 7 Janet W. McNally Early Experimental Results For Growth of East Friesian Crossbred Lambs and Reproduction and Milk Production of East Friesian Crossbred 12 Yves M. Berger and David L. Thomas Financial Analysis of the Economic Data for the Milking Sheep Flock at the Spooner Agricultural Research Station 21 Russell Kiecker Are Sheep in the Future of Commercial Agriculture in the Midwest? 26 Clark BreDahl Lamb Mortality And Causes A Nine Year Summary at the Spooner Agricultural Research Station 33 Yves M. Berger Hormonal Control of Ewe Reproduction 41 Randy Gottfredson The Use of Fecal Egg Counts and a Simple Method for Fecal Egg Count Estimation 44 Ed Haugen Is the Sheep Production System at the Spooner Agricultural Research Station Economically Viable? 46 Yves M. Berger Introgression of the Fec B Allele of the Booroola Merino into a Rambouillet Flock - A Progress Report B.R. Southey, D.L. Thomas, R.G. Gottfredson, and R. Zelinsky Lambing Performance of the Spooner Agricultural Research Station Flock 54 Yves. M. Berger and Richard A. Schlapper Past Recipients of the Sheep Industry Award 57 Index 58 1

3 ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF SUPPORT FOR SHEEP RESEARCH AND EXTENSION PROGRAMS AT THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN-MADISON Each year, a number of people and organizations support the sheep research and Extension programs of the Department of Animal Sciences, University of Wisconsin-Madison. Without such support, much of our sheep work would not be possible. The following organizations and people are thanked for their generosity in Dave Thompson, Editor, Sheep! Magazine, for providing morning refreshments at the 1997 Spooner Sheep Day. Indianhead Sheep Breeders Association for assistance with planning and conducting the 1997 Spooner Sheep Day (Pam Schuebel, David Erb, and Larry Meisegeier, Spooner Sheep Day Planning Committee). ABS Global, DeForest, Wisconsin (Marvin Pace) for assistance in ram semen evaluation and advice on ram semen collection. Babcock Institute for International Dairy Research and Development, University of Wisconsin- Madison (Michel Wattiaux and Bill Dobson, Directors) for support of the 1997 Great Lakes Dairy Sheep Symposium and dairy sheep research. Wisconsin Sheep Breeders Cooperative (WSBC) for co-sponsoring the 1997 Beginning Sheep Shearing School (David Stark, President and Dick and Sylvia Roembke, Secretary- Treasurer). The WSBC also serves a valuable educational and service function in their sponsorship of the Wisconsin Sheep Industry Conference (Bob Black, Coordinator) and the Wisconsin Central Ram Test (Nils Nelson, Station Manager and Rob Zelinsky, Ram Test Committee Chairman). College of Agricultrual and Life Sciences, University of Wisconsin-Madison (Neal Jorgensen, Interim Dean; Margaret Dentine, Interim Associate Dean of Research; Dale Schlough, Director of Agricultural Research Stations) for support of sheep research activities on campus and at the Arlington and Spooner Stations. University of Wisconsin-Extension (Carl O Connor, Dean of Cooperative Extension and Ed Jesse, CALS Associate Dean of Extension) for support of sheep Extension programs. Thank you, David L. Thomas Professor, Sheep Genetics and Management and Extension Sheep Specialist 2

4 Welcome Robert E. Rand, Superintendent Spooner Agricultural Research Station University of Wisconsin - Madison Welcome to the 45th Annual Spooner State Sheep Day and to the Station. It looks like another good program. I hope you all learn at least one thing that you can take home with you and use to make your life better. Following is a project list of crops and soils research and/or demonstrations ongoing at the Spooner Agricultural Research Station during the summer of Also included is a map of the Station showing field layout, irrigation systems, roadways, and timberstrips. You can see from the list that the crops and soils work we do here is very diverse. Some are conventional, such as the variety trials; and some are new, such as using annual ryegrass as a cover crop to establish alfalfa. Agriculture in this area is changing, and we hope to be able to assist growers by keeping current with our information. Project List - Spooner Agricultural Research Station 1997 Determination of benefits of continuous manure vs. no manure applied to rotation crops of corn, oats, and alfalfa. Field 5 Measuring benefits of high input rates of lime, fertilizer, and pesticides on alfalfa. Field R. Evaluation of several methods of stockpiling grass forages for early spring pasture. Field 3 Evaluation of summer seeding of alfalfa. Field K, Q. Determining the effect of ground gypsum wallboard (sheetrock) applied to alfalfa. Effect of narrow row spacing of corn (18") vs standard row spacing (36"). Field 8 Evaluation of several alfalfa varieties. Field Q Evaluation of several commercial corn hybrids using different soil, or cultural practices. Fields 4,8, and silt loam site. Evaluation of frost seeding annual ryegrass using different cultural techniques. Fields 3,U Determining the benefits of nitrogen derived from alfalfa grown under different ph levels for corn growth. Fields TS KL, TS QR. Soybean variety evaluation. Silt Loam Site. Pasture demonstration with interseeding and nitrogen variables. Field U Evaluation of woody shrubs and perennial fruits for winter hardiness, establishment ease, and longevity under wildlife protected conditions. Field L Potato variety and seedling evaluation. Field 8 Evaluation of methods of controlling annual weeds in potatoes. Field 8 Evaluation of stand density on yield and weed population in potatoes. Field 8 Determination of hilling method on yield and quality of russet burbank potatoes. Evaluation of calcium sources for potatoes. Comparison of three systems of alfalfa establishment, clear seeding, oat companion crop, and annual ryegrass companion crop. Field Q Canola variety evaluation. Field Q Demonstration of native grasses. Field Q 3

5 Map goes here!! 4

6 FUTURE DIRECTION FOR THE WISCONSIN SHEEP BREEDERS COOPERATIVE Rudy Erickson, Director Wisconsin Sheep Breeders Cooperative Wilson, Wisconsin Wisconsin Sheep Breeders Cooperative has been a grass roots organization since its beginning as part of the Farm & Home Week Ag meetings held on the campus at Madison, Wisconsin. Some of the things the WSBC does as part of its yearly business. 1. The largest sheep conference in the Midwest. 2. Annual Bred Ewe Sale at Janesville. WI. 3. Annual Production Tested Sale at Arlington, WI. 4. Promotion of lamb at hotel & restaurant trade show in Milwaukee. 5. Assist in selection of judges for WI State Fair. 6. Cooperation with State Extension Staff with programs such as a. Shearing Schools b. ETN 7. Publish the Wisconsin Shepherd 8. Wisconsin Ram Test Center 9. National Dorset Ram Test 10. National Polypay Ram Test 11. Extraordinary Tastes 12. Agri-Business Council 13. Wisconsin Livestock & Meat Council 14. Wisconsin Association of Meat Processors 15. FFA/4-H Awards 16. Youth Awards 17. Judging Contest 18. Youth Sheep Camp 19. Scholarships 20. Make It Yourself With Wool On Thursday afternoon of the 1997 Sheep Conference, there were five groups who met and discussed the future of the WSBC. 65 people participated in the meetings. Each group was assigned a moderator and ideas were written down on a flip chart. Education was listed as a high priority. 1. Encouragement of new and more events. 2. Youth Day at Symposium. 3. Youth Program at Spooner Sheep Day. 4. Three new scholarships to be funded in Promotion is always needed to provide leadership with lamb & wool promotion. 1. Working with Hotel & Restaurant Trade. 2. Providing top quality lambs for the market place. 3. Locker plants need a source of meaty lambs. 4. Provide financial support for Make It With Wool. 5

7 5. Explore a system to provide lamb meat for special events like State Fair, Football Games; like the pork and beef groups are doing presently. Organization Membership needs to grow to accomplish the needs of the Sheep People in Wisconsin. More volunteers are needed to accomplish the various goals and ideas put forth at the 1997 Symposium. Funding is necessary for the WSBC to get money to do more things. 1. Membership dues 2. Commissions from Sales and Equipment Auctions 3. Grants 4. Gifts 5. Fund Auctions 6. Check off program Infrastructure Rebuilding the sheep numbers to assure continuation of the lamb marketing organizations, wool marketing organizations, suppliers of sheep equipment, feed dealers, and veterinarians has to be a strong goal for the future of the Sheep Industry in Wisconsin. What can we do? 1. Encourage Western aged ewes as they did in the 40 s and 50 s. 2. Encourage development of certain breeds of sheep to concentrate on acceptable lambs for the meat industry like Canada. 3. Encourage producers to take additional training and become Master Shepherds to work with new and beginning sheep owners. 4. Encourage purchasing of quality ewe lambs to start a flock. 5. Encourage commercial ram buyers to ask for performance data. 6. Encourage budget material be developed for the 90 s. Example: What if lambs are 55 and corn is $6.00 /bushel or if lambs are 95 and corn is $2.45/bushel. Is sheep production workable in Wisconsin? In the Governors meeting to explore the future of Livestock in Wisconsin, Jack Ruttledge of the Dept. of Animal Sciences, said that in Wisconsin we waste more grass than Nebraska produces. I see on the various farms throughout Wisconsin enough buildings standing empty that we could increase our ewe flocks by 10-fold and only make a small dent in the space that is available. Ideas and discussion are needed from WSBC, County and Area Associations, and Purebred Producers and Commercial Producers to help find some common ideas to assist the Wisconsin Sheep Industry to grow and thrive into the next century. Mail you ideas to: Wisconsin Sheep Breeders Cooperative 3696 Country Aire Drive Cedarburg, WI

8 A PASTURE SYSTEM FOR PROLIFIC SHEEP Janet W. McNally, Producer Hinckley, Minnesota Why Choose A Pasture System For Prolific Sheep Or Prolific Sheep For A Pasture System? To most veteran sheep producers, the words pasture and prolific are not often associated with each other. Triplets conjure up to many the image of extra time in the lambing pen and lots of TLC. Many experienced shepherds are inclined to say that there is no way sheep can successfully birth and rear triplets totally on pasture. There are a lot of good reasons why many hold the opinion that triplet-bearing ewes belong in a confinement situation, but the biggest reason is perhaps that we are just not familiar with pasture lambing of sheep, period. Most midwestern sheep are raised in confinement, and the experience of most shepherds begins with an intensive confinement system. When sheep are confined, lambed in a crowd, penned, and turned out into a group of lambed sheep in a relatively small area, they behave quite differently than they would if they lambed in a 3 acre field where they can seek a quiet corner, lamb, and feed within 30 feet of the lambing bed. There are a lot of able instincts in our sheep that are not expressed in the barn situation but which will be expressed in the pasture. Shepherds who have lambed in a confinement situation probably have not witnessed the full capabilities of their sheep. Another reason why many may not feel triplet-bearing ewes are a viable option on a pasture system is simply due to the effect confinement lambing has had both on selection of sheep and on learned behavior. Sheep lambed indoors are relatively easy to deal with when problems occur. Should a ewe or lamb need to be caught to help with suckling, to unplug a teat, or if a pair needs to be confined longer to help with a poor bond, it is not difficult to do. Intervention is done with such regularity that only sheep with outrageous deficits are culled. Hence sheep that would not perform well under a pasture system are allowed to continue in a confinement system. There also appears to be a certain amount of learned behavior as well. Sheep that have always lambed in a barn are inclined to lamb in the crowded bedding area out on pasture the first year. Sheep with pasture lambing experience are inclined to lamb in more isolated parts of the pasture. Veteran pasture lambers even seek shelter by bushes or windbreaks to have their lamb, and will stay separate from the flock for several days. Due to the learned behavior and the needed culling, it can take several years to convert a barn-lambing flock into a successful pasture-lambing flock. So if pasture-lambing a prolific flock is going to require some effort to convert the sheep, why would anyone bother? There are several reasons, but economics, nutrition, and labor are the big three. Economics: Sheep and beef are low margin enterprises. Traditional confinement sheep operations with a large investment in buildings and harvested feeds require a prolific flock just to break even rather than result in added net income. Properly designed pasture-based sheep systems can keep costs down by eliminating the need to invest in buildings and machinery (which depreciate), and keeping the investment in land and livestock (which appreciate or produce their own replacements). Pasture systems also can greatly lower total feed costs. Nutrition: Ewes raising triplets may be working as hard as a Holstein cow producing 80 to 100 lb. of milk per day and should be fed accordingly. If fed indoors, this means unlimited dairy quality (18-22% crude protein) legume hay, and two or more pounds of corn. Ewes raising 7

9 lambs on well managed pasture are already receiving 22 to even 30% crude protein forage. One pound per ewe per day of shelled corn from the second week post lambing to weaning helps improve weaning weights and improve ewe body condition at weaning. The first ration, using hay, requires a lot of daily labor and costs 53 to 60 cents per ewe per day. The second ration requires very little labor and costs 10 cents per sheep per day. Good pasture is more palatable than good hay, and feed intake can be higher, hence milk production could be better on well-managed pasture. Labor: Perhaps the biggest reason to take a prolific flock to pasture is labor, especially at lambing time. There are a lot of details about lambing that a ewe can take care of herself. She just needs a proper environment to do it in. In a pasture system, there is no time spent feeding sheep, there is very little time spent moving sheep. Most of the time is spent making rounds to dip navels and ear tag, dock tails, and castrate newborns. Definitely more time will be spent just walking, so there is a trade off, but for some, this is a much more desirable way to spend time (vs. lifting bales and buckets). The net effect is that the shepherd can lamb a much larger number of sheep. Why choose prolific sheep for a pasture based system? In the northern states the answer is very simple. We have very long winters and very high winter feed costs compared to the rest of the country. Just like dairy farms here need to be very efficient, our sheep operations too must be very efficient to offset the extra winter feed costs. It is paramount to keep winter feed costs to a minimum by lambing late in the spring and grazing into the snowy season. Managing livestock in these circumstances means it is desirable to have the bare minimum of stock on hand throughout the winter and have an explosion of population in the spring to match the equal explosion of forage growth. Prolific sheep help match this forage curve. How To Manage Prolific Sheep On A Pasture System Begin with scanning the ewes for fetal numbers about 80 days after the rams went in. Just before lambing begins, sort the ewes into groups according to fetal numbers. Ewes lambing with triplets behave differently and have different needs than ewes lambing with singles. Also the single lambing ewes are much more likely to be first-time lambers, who know little about the business of lambing and are very likely to meddle or interfere with a set of triplets. Since we want the triplet group as small as possible, it is desirable to sort the twins off as well. Another benefit from scanning is that pasture resources can then be allocated according to litter size. The pastures with the heaviest predator pressure and lowest nutrition can be given to the single group, and the best feed and most sheltered fields can be saved for the triplets. Adequate nutrition is paramount during the prelambing and lambing period to making everything run smoothly, after lambing is done, nutrition affects performance, but does not affect management nearly as much. Lambing should begin at the point in time when there is adequate grass to feed the flock without any supplemental feed. For the Spooner area, this is close to the date of May 10th. This point in time usually occurs about three weeks after the first buds appear on the brush. Prior to this point in time, some supplemental feed, both hay and corn will be necessary. Pre-lambing nutrition will affect the size of the lambs, and the size of the lambs will affect their ability to tolerate cold rainy weather. So be sure to have the ewes in condition score three by lambing. The feed value and quantity of the grass is changing very rapidly at this time, so supplements need to be adjusted accordingly. Once lambing begins, it is essential to stop all supplemental feeding, and it is essential to keep 2 to 4 inches of grass under foot. The goal is to get the sheep to spread out, lamb in quiet places, and have no particular reason to move (such as for food or water). Supplemental feeding 8

10 causes sheep to rush from their lambing spot, drawing a portion of lambs with them, and scattering newborns all over the field. There are two 'styles' of lambing sheep. One is called drift lambing, whereby sheep are moved every one to three days to a new paddock, leaving the newly lambed ewes behind to stay in the old paddock. The other is called set stock lambing, where every paddock is stocked with a predetermined number of ewes and left there until lambing is complete. Drift lambing is a little more suited to sheep that are to receive closer supervision than is set stock lambing. Drift lambing concentrates all the newborns in one paddock, where they can be quickly found and attended to. This can be very helpful during periods of cold rainy weather for example. Set stock lambing requires that the shepherd travel over the entire farm and can require more walking if lambing is to be supervised. Set stock lambing is most often used where large numbers of ewes are lambed with very minimal supervision. The advantage to set stock lambing, is that by spreading the lambing ewes all over the farm, the day's newborns are very far apart resulting in less mix ups (it is less likely two sets of newborn triplets will run in to each other) and in fact the sheep probably require less supervision. As a minimum, twice daily rounds need to be made to check on and process newborn lambs. More often is necessary if the sheep experience lambing difficulties, or when the weather becomes cold and wet. Pasture-lambing sheep seem to deliver easier than their barn lambing counterparts, and multiple births are smaller and less likely to need assistance. So twice a day (morning and evening) may be all that is necessary. All lambs found in the morning round for example, are marked with paint, ear tagged, and their navel dipped in iodine, while all lambs from the previous evening round are observed to assure they are receiving adequate milk, and are docked and castrated. This way a lamb is processed at birth and then re-examined about 6 to 12 hours later. This helps catch lambs that are on ewes with inadequate milk supply. Painting lambs (with the aerosol sprays) is a real benefit to monitoring the status of a litter. When each set is marked with its own unique marking, the shepherd can observe if the lambs are staying together with their ewe, or they are straying apart. Cold, wet weather is a big bugaboo in pasture lambing, especially with prolific sheep. If a typical single is born with enough fuel to last 6 hours in a cold wet night, a twin will last only 3-4 hours, and triplets only 1-2 hours. Some triplets or quads, if born into a cold puddle, may never even stand up. This is one place where the prolific sheep need a little assistance. There are five strategies to minimizing cold stress losses. They are: if possible, move the lambing bunch (must be drift lambing to do this) to a pasture with shelter, monitor rectal temperatures of lambs, use moveable shelters out in the field, use warming boxes equipped with hot water bottles out in the field, use hypothermic first aid and rewarm lambs if the first four fail. Again, prelambing nutrition affects lamb birth weights and ewe milk supply. Inadequate nutrition will become obvious when the weather turns bad. Critical temperatures to know are: be concerned if it is raining and air temperatures drop below 55 degrees F. Temperatures at or below 45 degrees F are critical if it is raining and lambs cannot get dry. Monitor rectal temperatures frequently. Normal lamb temperature is Lambs with temperatures of 102 should be watched, but if adequately fed will usually do fine. These lambs respond nicely to temporary shelter, such as a teepee. When the lamb s temperature drops to 101, the lamb can no longer digest milk and must be rewarmed. A lamb warming box with a hot water bottle out in the field will work. Two hours may be enough time in the box, then the lamb and its family should graduate to a shelter. Lambs that drop below 99 degrees must be 9

11 brought home and rewarmed. If the lamb cannot raise its head, it will need intraperitoneal glucose. Always Always Always, if one lamb must be removed from a litter, bring the whole litter with it. If only one lamb is removed from a ewe for rewarming there is a very good chance the ewe will not take it back. The odds are improved if the whole litter sticks together. Managing the milk supply is the most critical part of success with a prolific flock. This is influenced to a large degree by nutrition, but genetics will play a very important role. Ewes should be selected for heavy (60 day) litter weights, as this weight is the most indicative of milk production. But managing milk supply goes beyond genetics and nutrition. When ewes are lambing simultaneously, the shepherd has a brief opportunity to swap lambs and even-out litter sizes. This can only be done successfully while the ewe is still giving birth. It is also important to identify lambs that are not receiving adequate milk very early (during the first 4 days) while they can still be easily trained to use a milk creep. Lambs can be successfully reared on the dam, while being supplemented on a milk creep out in the pasture. The creep should be located near a favorite loafing area. The lamb will need to be taken to the creep three or four times before it will catch on. Lambs reared this way will use one half of the milk replacer that an orphan lamb will use and will be every bit as big as its contemporaries raised on the ewe. Lambs that stay with the mother learn to eat grass at a younger age and require no special treatment at weaning. Another aspect to managing the milk supply is thorough culling. Ewes should be bagged (udders examined) after weaning and any problems removed from the flock. Consideration also should be given to eradicating Ovine Progressive Pneumonia (OPP) as this disease has a big impact on milk production. Lambs and ewes identify with a particular spot in the pasture where they can find each other. At first this is the lambing bed, but as the lambs grow older, this location will move due to weather, predators, insects, feed, or water supply. During the first three to four weeks of life, a lamb cannot become lost from its mother for very long, without suffering from inadequate milk. Hence moving sheep after lambing can result in lambs and ewes that will, at least temporarily, be quite disoriented. The best policy is to set stock newly lambed ewes for a period of 30 to 50 days post lambing. If it is essential to move sheep from a paddock, move the whole group together, not just a portion of them. It is better to combine two groups than it is to split a group in half. Rotational grazing is a method of grazing that better utilizes and manages growing forages. Once the lambs have reached at least 30 days old, it is now possible to resume rotational grazing. Small paddocks of sheep can be joined together into larger and larger groups until all of the triplets are in one group, all of the twins in another, and all of the singles in a third. The triplets should lead the rotation, and be permitted to lightly graze, while the larger twin group will keep pushing the triplets ahead. The single group could either be joined with the twin group at this point, or may be managed as a separate group cleaning up behind the twins. Sheep with young lambs perform best on 2 to 4 inches of pasture. The less pasture removed, the faster the regrowth will be, but if too little is removed then the plants will mature and loose quality. The amount of rest between grazings depends upon the pasture plants and the weather. During rapid early spring growth, a 10 day rest may be all that is needed, while during the slow dry fall weather, a 6 week rest may be required. Ewes raising triplets are putting a lot of body reserves into producing lamb and can be expected to drop to a condition score of 1.5. The most economical way to rebuild the body condition back to prepare for winter weather and breeding, is to wean the lambs relatively early. Early weaning on pasture is around 70 days old (as opposed to 100 days or older). Lambs should be prepared for weaning with proper vaccination for Enterotoxemia and should receive two dewormings, one when six weeks old, and the other at or just before weaning. The night before 10

12 weaning, the flock should be moved to the paddock lambs will be weaned into, so that lambs become familiar with the surroundings. On weaning day, the only processing the lamb should receive is to run through the sorting chute. Stress should be kept to a minimum. The ewes should be removed from the lambs and placed on very mature pasture, or better yet, grass hay for about one week. Weaning goes much smoother if the ewes and lambs cannot hear each other. After weaning, lambs can be grazed rotationally on the choicest pasture, while the ewes clean up behind them. Lambs should only graze the top 1/3 of the pasture plants. It may take three weeks before the ewes can be grazed within sight of the lambs safely! Fall forages do not produce the same gains as the summer pasture did. Supplementing lambs with one half to one pound of corn can help boost lamb gains economically, and will get a portion of lambs to marketable weight before winter. Triplet lambs will be smaller than twins and singles and of course will take longer to reach market weight. Most likely these lambs will need to be transitioned from pasture onto harvested feeds in November. Feeding shelled corn on pasture during September and October will help with the transition. Sheep producers in the U.K. almost always make use of baleage or haylage as winter forage for lamb feeding. Silage provides a succulent palatable feed more readily accepted than hay, and can make the transition to winter feeding easier without set backs. Ewes that were weaned in August will be able to regain all of their lost weight by November simply by cleaning up behind the lambs. They will then be prepared for winter weather and December breeding. 11

13 EARLY EXPERIMENTAL RESULTS FOR GROWTH OF EAST FRIESIAN CROSSBRED LAMBS AND REPRODUCTION AND MILK PRODUCTION OF EAST FRIESIAN CROSSBRED Yves M. Berger and David L. Thomas University of Wisconsin-Madison Spooner Agricultural Research Station and Department of Animal Sciences Summary Dorset-cross adult ewes were mated to either East Friesian (EF) crossbred rams (two 1/2 EF, 1/2 Arcott Rideau rams and one 3/4 EF, 1/4 Arcott Rideau ram) or purebred Dorset rams. East Friesian-sired lambs were heavier at birth and at 60, 120, and 142 days of age. No effect of breed of sire was found on fertility and prolificacy of the ewes to which they were mated. Ewe lambs born from these matings were raised and bred at seven months of age to Dorset rams. East Friesian crossbred ewes were no more fertile than Dorset-type ewes, but they produced more lambs (+.26 lambs/ewe lambing) at birth. Survival and growth of their lambs were found to be similar. In 1996, East Friesian crossbred and Dorset-type ewe lambs were machine milked after weaning their lambs at 34 days of age. East Friesian crossbred ewe lambs had a longer lactation than Dorset-type ewe lambs (120 versus 95 days, respectively) and produced approximately twice as much milk (210 versus 110 lb., respectively) with a slightly lower butterfat content. The greater lamb and milk production of East Friesian crossbred ewes indicates a good adaptation of these animals to the north central American environment. Introduction While dairy sheep production has a long tradition in many countries, the countries of North America are without a sheep dairying heritage. U.S. domestic sheep breeds have not been selected for commercial milk production. Experimental studies in the U.S. (Boylan, 1989) reveal some differences between breeds for commercial milk production. Among available breeds, Dorset, Rambouillet, Targhee, and Suffolk would be expected to have above average milk yield. However, the milk yields of these breeds pale in comparison to the yields reported for European and Mideastern breeds selected for milk production over many years. The East Friesian breed stands out as the highest performing dairy breed with milk yields of 1200 to 1400 lb. in 220 to 260 day lactations (Alfa-Laval, 1984). The East Friesian breed has been used widely in crossbreeding systems with local breeds to improve milk production. The Assaf breed was formed in Israel by crossbreeding the East Friesian with the Awassi breed (Goot, 1986). The Tahirova in Turkey was formed by crossing the East Friesian with the local Kivircik (Sonmez et al., 1976). In France, Flamant et al. (1975) reported an average milk production of first generation Friesian x Lacaune ewes of 50% more than pure Lacaune ewes. However, the adaptation of the East Friesian to some environments has been cause for concern. Gootwine and Goot (1996) reported a low milk production of pure East Friesian ewes and of crossbred ewes with a high level of East Friesian breeding in Israel. Similarly, studies made by the Research and Experimental Center for Sheep Husbandry in Mountainous Areas (CREOM, 1988) in France showed that a gain in milk production by using the East Friesian was not always present, but the loss in butterfat and protein was always present with East Friesian breeding. The East Friesian breed started to appear in the U.S. in 1993 via Canada. Since 1996, with the relaxation of the rules for importation, a greater number of pure East Friesian animals are now available in the U.S. An in-depth study of the production of East Friesian crossbreds in 12

14 terms of lamb and milk production is now possible. The first results obtained at the Spooner Agricultural Research Station of the University of Wisconsin-Madison are presented in this paper. Materials and Methods In September and October of 1993, 1994 and 1995, a total of 386 crossbred ewes of 1/2 Dorset, 1/4 Romanov (or Finn) and 1/4 Targhee breeding were exposed to either East Friesian (EF) crossbred rams (two 1/2 EF, 1/2 Arcott Rideau rams and one 3/4 EF, 1/4 Arcott Rideau ram) or to Dorset rams. After birth, all lambs had access to a 19% crude protein creep feed. In general, lambs were weaned at about 8 weeks of age. Lambs raised on milk replacer were weaned at an average age of 28 days. Three to four weeks after weaning, all lambs were switched to a 13% crude protein ration in a self-feeding system. All lambs born in the spring of 1994 were sold for slaughter or as breeding stock after producing one lamb crop in All females born in the spring of 1995 and 1996 were removed from the self-feeding system at about five months of age and given a more conventional ration of alfalfa hay and corn until they were exposed to rams at seven months of age. All males were left intact, raised until they reached 120 to 130 lb., and sold for slaughter. Birth weight and weight at 60, 120, and 142 days of age (142 day weights for males only) were analyzed. The effects of sire (EF crossbred or Dorset), age of dam (1 to 5 years), type of birth (single, twin, or triplet), and year of birth (1994, 1995, or 1996) were determined. The effects of type of rearing (single, twin, triplet, artificial rearing) were also determined for weights at 60, 120, and 142 days of age. All ewe lambs born in February and March 1994 (48 EF crossbreds and 48 Dorset-type) were exposed to East Friesian crossbred rams between September 19 and October 24, All ewe lambs born in April, 1995 (104 EF crossbreds and 50 Dorset-type) were exposed to Dorset rams between October 3 and December 6, In both years, ewe lambs were kept in outside paddocks and fed first-cut haylage ad libitum. One-half lb. of corn was added one month prior to the start of lambing. Ewes were brought into a barn five days before the onset of lambing. General lambing management practices were observed. Lambs born in 1995 were weaned at about eight weeks of age. Lambs born in 1996 were weaned at an average of 34 days. In both years, lambs had access to a 19% crude protein creep ration from eight days after birth. Three to four weeks after weaning, lambs were switched to a 13% crude protein, high concentrate ration in a self-feeding system. All males were left intact and kept on this system until they reached a slaughter weight of 120 to 130 lbs. Females kept for replacement were removed from the self-feeding system at five months of age and given alfalfa hay ad libitum and.50 lb. of corn daily. Ewe lambs in the two years were pooled together for the analysis of their reproductive performance. However, body weights of lambs born in 1995 were analyzed separately from lambs born in 1996 since their breed of sire and management were different. The effects of breeding of the ewe (EF crossbred or Dorset-type) was determined for all traits pertaining to the ewe lambs. For the lamb traits of birth weight, weight at 60 days (lambs born in 1995), weight at 34 days (lambs born in 1996), and weight at 120 days, the effects of breeding of the dam (EF crossbred or Dorset-type), type of birth (single, twin, or triplet), type of rearing (single, twin, or artificial rearing), and sex (male or female) were determined. Type of rearing, of course, was not analyzed for birth weight. All ewe lambs born in 1995 and lambed in the spring of 1996 were machine milked. Their lambs were weaned at an average of 34 days, and the ewes were milked twice per day at 6 a.m. and 5 p.m starting on the day of weaning. Milking occurred in a 12 x 2 milking parlor with indexing stanchions (formerly known as a CASS system). Milking was performed with a high- 13

15 line pipeline with six milking units. Pulsation was set at 120/minute with a 1:1 ratio and a vacuum of 37 kpa. Individual daily milk production was determined every 28 days at an evening milking and the milking the following morning using the Waikato testing jar. Individual milk samples were taken at the morning milking only. Samples were analyzed for butterfat by a State of Wisconsin certified laboratory. Milk recording was performed according to the international regulations for milk recording in sheep published by the International Committee for Animal Recording (ICAR, 1992). An estimate of total milk production for a lactation was calculated using the following formula (Thomas, 1996): Estimated milk yield = [production 1st test day x no. days between start of milking and 1st test day] + [(prod. 1st test day + prod. 2nd test day)/2 x no. days between 1st and 2nd test day] + [(prod. 2nd test day + prod. 3rd test day)/2 x no. days between 2nd and 3rd test day] [prod. next to last test day + prod. last test day)/2 x no. days between next to last and last test day] + [prod. last test day x no. days between last test day and end of milking]. Milking was discontinued after test days when the total milk production from both evening and morning milkings fell below.45 lb. The estimated total milk production and lactation length was for the milking period only with no estimate of milk production during the nursing period. The effects of breeding of ewes (EF crossbred or Dorset-type), number of lambs born, number of lambs raised to 30 days, and weight of ewes at the start of milking were determined for the lactation traits. Out of 130 ewes that were milked, records of eight ewes were deleted because of health problems or recording errors. The East Friesian crossbred rams used in this study were two 1/2 East Friesian, 1/2 Arcott Rideau rams purchased in 1993 from a Canadian producer in British Columbia and one 3/4 East Friesian, 1/4 Arcott Rideau ram purchased from the same producer in The semen used to produce the 1/2 East Friesian rams came from Switzerland (name of sire: ODO 310 OD). The semen used to produce the 3/4 East Friesian ram also came from Switzerland (name of sire: Garfield 5074L). Results and Discussion Growth of lambs sired by East Friesian crossbred rams or Dorset rams. Lambing performance of ewes mated to East Friesian crossbred rams or Dorset rams as well as the survivability of their lambs until weaning are shown in Table 1. Breed of ram had no effect on the fertility and litter size of the ewes to which they were mated. Lambs from the two sire groups had a similar survival rate from birth to weaning of 86 to 88% indicating that East Friesian crossbred lambs are no more or less vigorous than Dorset crossbred lambs. 14

16 Table 1. Lambing performance of ewes mated to East Friesian crossbred rams or Dorset rams and survival of lambs. Sire Breed East Friesian Dorset- Trait crossbred type Number of ewes at breeding Number of ewes lambing Number of lambs born * Number of lambs alive at weaning Fertility 93.7% 93.2% Lamb survival 87.7% 85.5% Litter size adjusted for age of dam * Includes lambs born dead. The growth of lambs sired by the two types of rams is presented in Table 2. East Friesiansired lambs were significantly heavier at birth, 60 days, 120 days and 142 days of age than the Dorset-sired lambs. These results suggest that relative to Dorset rams, East Friesian-Arcott Rideau crossbred rams will sire faster growing lambs. Table 2. Weights of lambs born from ewes mated to East Friesian crossbred rams or Dorset rams. Sire Breed East Friesian Dorset- Trait crossbred type Birth weight, lb. 9.7 ±.09 a 9.0 ±.11 b (541)c (378) Weight at 60 days, lb ±.7 a 46.9 ± 1.5 b (477) (335) Weight at 120 days, lb ± 1.1 a 91.5 ± 1.1 b (406) (304) Weight at 142 days, lb a b (males only) (224) (135) a b Within a row, means with a different superscript are statistically different (P <.05). c Values in parentheses are the number of lambs. Reproductive performance of East Friesian crossbred and Dorset-type ewe lambs and growth of their lambs. Lambing performance of the two types of ewe lambs is presented in Table 3. East Friesian crossbred ewe lambs were heavier at mating (126.5 versus lb.) at an average age of 223 days. A slightly higher proportion of East Friesian crossbred ewe lambs lambed (94% versus 90%) at a similar age of 371 to 373 days. East Friesian crossbred ewe lambs produced significantly more lambs (+.26 lambs/ewe lambing) than contemporary Dorset-type ewes. Number of lambs weaned per ewe mated was 1.6 for East Friesian crossbreds and 1.3 for Dorset- 15

17 type ewe lambs. Gootwine and Goot (1996) found similar results when comparing East Friesian crossbred and Awassi ewes. In their study, East Friesian crossbred ewes produced.30 more lambs than pure Awassi ewes. Table 3. Lambing performance of East Friesian crossbred and Dorset-type ewe lambs. Dam breeding East Friesian Dorsetcrossbred type Number of ewes at mating Weight of ewes at mating, lb ± 1.1 a ± 1.3b Age of ewes at lambing, days 373 ± ± 1.7 Weight of ewes at weaning, lb ± ± 2.6 Fleece weight, lb. 7.7 ± ±.20 Fertility 94.3% 89.6% Litter size a b Survival rate of lambs 94% 93% Number of lambs weaned/ewe mated 1.6 ±.06 a 1.3 ±.07 b a b Within a row, means with a different superscript are statistically different (P <.05). Growth of lambs produced by the two ewe groups is presented in Table 4. Lambs from East Friesian crossbred ewe lambs were significantly heavier at birth, 30 days (1996), and 60 days (1995). The greater weaning weights of lambs from East Friesian cross bred dams compared to Dorset-type dams may be due to superior genes for growth from the East Friesian/Arcott Rideau compared to the Dorset, superior milk production of the East Friesian, or a combination of both. At 120 days, lambs from East Friesian crossbred ewes were heavier in 1996 but not in Perhaps when lambs were weaned at 30 to 34 days of age (1996), the greater weaning weight of the lambs from East Friesian crossbred ewes allowed them to express optimum growth to 120 days, while lambs from Dorset-type ewes, being smaller at 30 days, had a slower growth or a setback just after weaning. When lambs were weaned at 60 days (1995), lambs from East Friesian crossbred dams still had heavier weaning weights than lambs from Dorset-type dams but weights of both groups were heavy enough to allow good post weaning growth, and lambs from Dorset-type ewes actually exhibited some compensatory gain. 16

18 Table 4. Weights of lambs produced by East Friesian crossbred or Dorset-type ewe lambs. Dam breeding East Friesian Dorsetcrossbred type Birth weight, lb. 9.5 ±.11 a 8.6 ±.15 b (253) c (134) Weight at 30 days, lb only 29.0 ±.5 a 25.3 ±.7 b (158) (67) Weight at 60 days, lb only 49.1 ± 1.3 a 44.7 ± 1.3 b (74) (56) Weight at 120 days, lb ± 1.5 a 86.7 ±2.2 b (146) (59) ± ± 2.2 (57) (54) a b Within a row, means with a different superscript are statistically different (P <.05). c Values in parentheses are the number of lambs. Milk production of East Friesian crossbred and Dorset-type ewes during their first lactation. Lactation length, total milk production, and total fat production are presented in Table 5. It was found that number of lambs born and number of lambs reared by a ewe did not have an effect on the lactation traits. This agrees with the results of Gootwine and Goot (1996) and Barillet (1989). Barillet demonstrated that ewes who raised two lambs had a higher peak of production but a quicker decline compared to ewes who raised one lamb so there was no difference in total milk production between ewes that had raised one or two lambs. East Friesian crossbred ewe lambs had a longer lactation (120 versus 95 days) and produced about twice as much milk as Dorset-type ewe lambs (210 versus 110 lb.) which is more than the 50% increase in milk production reported by Flamant et al. (1975) for East Friesian x Lacaune ewes over Lacaune ewes. If the total milk production of first lactation ewe lambs is 30% less than second and third lactation ewes, the milk production of the Dorset-type ewes used in this study is very similar to the production of adult Dorset ewes (70 liters in 130 days) reported by Boylan (1989) in the U.S., but much lower than the production found by Geenty (1978) (122 liters in 170 days) in New Zealand. Ninety-five percent of East Friesian ewe lambs and 92% of Dorset-type ewe lambs had a lactation (milking period only) longer than 50 days. Eighty-three percent of the East Friesian ewes had a lactation longer than 100 days compared to only 50% of the Dorset-type ewes. Figure 1 presents the change in milk production and butterfat percentage throughout the milking period. East Friesian crossbred ewes started the milking period at a 40% higher milk production than Dorset-type ewes. With the exception of the fourth test day, East Friesian crossbred ewes and Dorset-type ewes had a similar rate of decline of approximately 20% per test period (28 days). The percentage of fat in the milk was inversely related to the milk production in both types of ewes, which is in agreement with the scientific literature. 17

19 Table 5. Lactation length, total milk production, and total butterfat production of first lactation East Friesian crossbred and Dorset-type ewe lambs. Breeding of ewe East Friesian Dorset- Trait crossbred type Number of ewes Length of lactation, days 120 ± 3 a 95 ± 4 b Total production, lb ± 8.6 a ± 13.9 b Total fat, lb ±.4 a 7.3 ±.9 b Percent fat 5.7% ±.1 a 6.0 ±.1 b a b Within a row, means with a different superscript are statistically different (P <.05). 18

20 Figure 2 presents the percentage of ewes in different milk production ranges. Eighteen percent of East Friesian crossbred ewes gave less than 110 lb. (50 kg) of milk and 36% gave more than 220 lb (100 kg.). Fifty-eight percent of Dorset-type ewes gave less than 110 lb. of milk, and only 2% gave more than 220 lb. These results indicate that Dorset-type ewes may not be worth milking on a commercial basis unless a severe screening of the best milking ewes is performed. East Friesian crossbred ewes, offer more possibilities as milking ewes. A decent level of production could be achieved after eliminating only the 18% lower producing ewes. Assuming that the East Friesian crossbred rams used in this study (50% and 75% East Friesian) came from a lineage with an average milk production of 880 lb. (400 kg.), the crossbred ewes of this study are at their expected level of production. These results are encouraging and denote a good adaptation of East Friesian crossbred animals to the environment of north central America. Conclusions East Friesian crossbred rams sired heavier and faster growing lambs than Dorset rams. East Friesian crossbred ewes were more prolific than Dorset-type ewes, and growth of lambs from East Friesian crossbred ewes was greater than the growth of lambs from Dorset-type ewes. Milk production of East Friesian crossbred ewes during the milking period was almost twice that of Dorset-type ewes, and by eliminating approximately 20% of the lower producing East Friesian crossbred ewes, decent levels of production can be achieved that make them worthwhile milking on a commercial basis. The high prolificacy, good growth of their lambs, and a decent milk production of East Friesian crossbred ewes indicates good adaptation to the north central American environment. 19

21 Literature Cited ALFA-LAVAL, System Solutions for Dairy Sheep. Alfa-Laval Agri International AB, S Tumba, Sweden. BARILLET, F., Expression de la production laitière à la traite des brebis Lacaune en système allaitement x traite mecánique. 4th Symposium on Machine Milking of Small Ruminants. Proceedings. Tel Aviv, Israel, Sept BOYLAN, W.J., The genetic basis of milk production in sheep. North American Dairy Sheep Symposium. July 25-28, University of Minnesota, Minnesota. Proceedings. CREOM, Race Frisonne: Intéret et limiters. Research and Experimental Center for Sheep Husbandry in Mountainous Areas. ORDIAP, Mauleon, France. Communication. FLAMANT, J.C., E. COSTE, M.F. FAYOT AND H. FERRIE, Amélioration génétique de la production laitière des brebis traites par l utilisation de la race Frisonne. In: Reproduction-Selection lère journèes de la Recherche Ovine et Caprine. INRA. ITOVIC. GEENTY K.G., Machine milking performance of Dorset ewes. 2nd International Symposium on Machine Milking of Small Ruminants. Alghero, May, GOOT, H., Development of Assaf, a synthetic breed of dairy sheep in Israel. In: Proc. 37th Annual Meeting of the European Association for Animal Production, Budapest, pp GOOTWINE, E. and H. GOOT, Lamb and milk production of Awassi and East Friesian sheep and their crosses under Mediterranean environment. Small Ruminant Research 20: ICAR, International regulations for milk recording in sheep. August 1, ICAR. Via Allessandro Torlonia 15A. I Roma. SONMEZ, R., R. WASSMUTH AND C. SARICAN, Untersuchungen uber Kreuzengen Zwischen Kivircik-und Ostfriesischen Milchschafen. Zuchtungdkunde, July/Aug. 48(4): THOMAS, D.L., Opportunities for genetic improvement of dairy sheep in North America. 2nd Great Lakes Dairy Sheep Symposium. Proceedings. March 28, Madison, Wisconsin. 20

22 FINANCIAL ANALYSIS OF THE ECONOMIC DATA FOR THE MILKING SHEEP FLOCK AT THE SPOONER AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH STATION Russell Kiecker Area Agricultural Agent Spooner Agricultural Research Station University of Wisconsin-Extension Background The milking sheep flock at the UW Spooner Agricultural Research Station has completed two lactations (1996 and 1997). The economic data collected has been analysed and inferences have been concluded which will assist in financial decision making and venture planning. To ensure accuracy, the UW Extension computer farm records program AAIMS (Agriculture Accounting Information Management Service) has been used. This program also allows easy manipulation of information that would be very time consuming if done by hand. It is imperative that the reader understand that only the income and expenses of the sheep milking enterprise are being considered. Other income items such as lamb sales, cull sales, etc. are not considered. The financial information and analysis presented only pertains to the sheep milking enterprise. Farm Earning Statement A farm earning statement is a snapshot of the income and expenses for a given period of time. Table 1 is a farm earning statement for the 1996 lactation. Table 2 is a farm earning statement for the 1997 lactation. Table 3 is the farm earning statement for both lactations combined. Included in each farm earning statement are expense items, hired labor, opportunity cost, and depreciation. Hired labor was paid at a rate of $8.00 per hour. An individual contemplating milking sheep is encouraged to budget for labor whether it is hired or family labor. Opportunity cost is a cost of money. Since money can be invested in many different places, it is advised to assign a percentage rate to the amount of money invested in the business. The total invested in the Spooner Agricultural Research Station project is approximately $50,000. We used an opportunity cost of 9% since we calculated that the $50,000 could be put in a low risk mutual fund and earn at least 9% return. Depreciation is a cost of replacing the investment after it becomes worn out. We considered the milking parlor and its equipment to be productive for 20 years. Hence, a depreciation charge of 5% was charged against the enterprise. It is recommended that the depreciation cost be kept in a separate account and not used for expenses such as family living or maintenance. Implications When comparing the 96 lactation with the 97 lactation, it is apparent that the increased number of ewes milked in 97 and the increased milk production of older ewes significantly 21