Sheep Production Why choose sheep? Sheep can survive where cows can t Sheep will eat problem weeds like Leafy Spurge Profit per acre is the same for sheep and cows, and usually higher for sheep Easier to get started due to less equipment needed Fine Wool Medium Wool Long Wool Crossbred Wool Carpet Wool Hair Dairy Types Fine Wool American Merino American Merino American Merino Debouillet Delaine Merino Rambouillet The Merino was first developed in Spain King s decree made it a capital offense to export Merinos out of Spain without his permission Merinos imported from Spain in early 1800 s Small to medium size poor carcass very fine wool 19 μ or finer length heavy fleece horned Type A - very wrinkled Type B - slightly wrinkled American Merino Debouillet Debouillet Breed originated in New Mexico by crossing Rambouillet and Delaine Merino adapted to sparse grazing conditions Introduction to Animal Science 1
Delaine Merino Delaine Merino Rambouillet Strain of Spanish Merino more mutton-type than the American Merino Type C smooth bodied Developed from Spanish Merino at an agricultural experiment station in Rambouillet, France Rambouillet Rambouillet Medium Wool large size medium carcass fine wool 21 to 23 μ length heavy fleece horned Cheviot Coopworth Dorset Finnsheep Hampshire Montadale Oxford Perendale Polypay Ryland Shropshire Southdown Suffolk Cheviot Cheviot Cheviot Cheviot hills of Scotland face and lower legs are free of wool adapted to sparse grazing conditions small size excellent carcass 32 to 34 μ length medium fleece Introduction to Animal Science 2
Coopworth Coopworth Dorset Developed from Leicester and Romney breeds in New Zealand Developed in Dorset, Somerset and Wiltshire counties in England prolific and breeds outof-season good milkers Most popular whitefaced breed in the United States Dorset Dorset Finnsheep medium size good carcass 28 to 30 μ length medium fleece Also called Finnish Landrace very prolific widely used in crossbreeding in the US Finnsheep Finnsheep Hampshire Small to medium size poor carcass 28 to 30 μ length medium fleece Developed in Hampshire county in England wool blindness Introduction to Animal Science 3
Hampshire Hampshire Montadale large size excellent carcass 27 to 28 μ length medium fleece with black face Developed in St. Louis, MO 40% Cheviot, 60% Columbia Montadale Oxford Oxford Developed in Oxford county, England large size excellent carcass 32 to 35 μ length medium fleece with brown face and legs Oxford Perendale Perendale Developed in New Zealand by crossing Cheviot and Romney Introduction to Animal Science 4
Polypay Polypay Ryeland Developed at USDAD Dubois, ID research station by crossing Rambouillet, Targhee, Dorset and Finnsheep Developed in the rye growing region of southern Herefordshire, England dual-purpose Ryeland Shropshire Shropshire Developed in Shropshire and Stafford counties, England wool blindness excellent milkers Medium to large size good carcass 26 to 27 μ length medium fleece with black face and legs Shropshire Southdown Southdown Developed in the South Downs of England one of the best for carcass quality Adapted to wet conditions Very small size excellent carcass 24 to 26 μ short wool length very light fleece with brown face and legs Introduction to Animal Science 5
Southdown Suffolk Suffolk Developed in Suffolk county, England adapted to sparse grazing conditions Most popular breed in the US today slightly aggressive large size excellent carcass 30 to 32 μ short wool length light fleece with black face and legs Suffolk Long Wool Cotswold Cotswold Leicester Lincoln Romney Developed in the Cotswolds, England 35 to 37 μ Cotswold Leicester Leicester Developed in Leicestershire, England 33 to 35 μ Introduction to Animal Science 6
Lincoln Lincoln Lincoln Developed in Lincoln county, England The largest breed of sheep large size good carcass coarse wool 39 to 42 μ long wool length heavy fleece Romney Romney Romney Developed in the Romney marsh area of Kent county, England Medium to large size medium carcass coarse wool 33 to 35 μ long wool length heavy fleece Crossbred Wool Columbia Columbia Columbia Corriedale Targhee Developed in Wyoming and Idaho by crossing Lincoln and Rambouillet Developed to thrive on Western range large size good carcass 25 to 27 μ medium long wool length heavy fleece Introduction to Animal Science 7
Columbia Corriedale Corriedale Developed on Corriedale estates in new Zealand by crossing Lincoln and Merino medium size good carcass 25 to 27 μ medium long wool length heavy fleece Corriedale Targhee Targhee Developed at the USDA Dubois research station by crossing Rambouillet and Lincoln medium to large size medium to good carcass medium to fine wool 22 to 24 μ length heavy fleece Targhee Carpet Wool Black-faced Highland Black-faced Highland Drysdale developed in Scotland also called Scottish Blackface very coarse but tough wool Introduction to Animal Science 8
Black-faced Highland Drysdale Drysdale Developed in New Zealand Hair Dorper Dorper Dorper Katahdin Barbados Blackbelly St. Croix Developed in South Africa by crossbreeding Dorset and Blackheaded Persian Katahdin Katahdin Barbados Blackbelly Developed in the United States (VT) result of crossbreeding St. Croix and several wool breeds Originated on Barbados Island probably from west African sheep stock prolific breeds out-ofseason Introduction to Animal Science 9
Barbados Blackbelly Barbado St. Croix Originated in Texas Barbados blackbelly and Rambouillet breeds used Rams are horned, ewes are polled Originated in US and British Virgin Islands probably from west African sheep stock prolific breeds out-of-season Tunis St. Croix Dairy United States Meat-type sheep East Friesian East Friesian East Friesian Other Classification Developed in northeast Germany and the Netherlands 500-700 kg per lactation testing 6-7% milk fat, the highest average dairy milk yield recorded for any breed of sheep Ewe Breeds prolificacy mothering milking ability body size wool production longevity Ram Breeds growth rate muscling carcass quality Introduction to Animal Science 10
Other Classification Other Classification Terms for understanding Ewe Breeds Corriedale Debouillet Delaine Merino Finnsheep Leicester Rambouillet Targhee Ram breeds Cheviot Hampshire Montadale Oxford Shropshire Suffolk Southdown Dual-Purpose Columbia Dorset Lincoln Romney Ram non-castrated male sheep Wether castrated male sheep Ewe female Sheep Reproduction Estrous Cycle Puberty Gestation Period 148 days Breed as yearling 5-6 years breeding life 1 ram / 20-30 ewes seasonal polyestrus poly = many estrus = heat ewes have many cycles during which conception may occur but only during a certain season, the Fall. duration = 16 days duration of estrus = 30 hours ovulation is approximately 26 hours from the onset of estrus suggested time of mating = 12 to 18 hours after onset of estrus 5 to 7 months of age for ewe lambs usually breed at 8 months of age ram lambs generally reach puberty one month earlier than ewe lambs. Gestation Ram Flushing 148 days in length 110 to 150% lamb crop average volume of ejaculate = 0.7 to 2.0 ml 2 to 5 billion sperm per ml of ejaculate 40 to 100 potential matings per ejaculate Feeding extra grain 2 to 3 weeks prior to breeding (½ lb of corn or oats) increases ovulation rate and the incidence of twinning (actual increase in lamb crop of 10% to 20%) Introduction to Animal Science 11
Tagging shearing the locks of wool and dirt from the dock is done at breeding service by ram is more certain is done at lambing makes lambing more sanitary makes nursing easier Crutching Shearing of wool from rear quarters and around udder is done prior to lambing cleaner lambing nursing is easier for lamb Sheep Production Feeding Ruminants like cattle Feed a quality brand name 18 % protein feed Most feeders feel a textured feed is more desirable than a pellet Facing Jugging Lambing Shearing of wool above and below the eyes prevents wool blindness Just before lambing, ewes are moved to small (4 x4 ) pen 3 to 4 days after lambing, ewe and lamb(s) are turned out to pasture Lamb should nurse within minutes, especially if cold weather Strip teats to remove a mucous plug that seals the teat, lamb may not be strong enough to suck the plug out and not get any milk, if he fails, he will quit trying and die Lambing Lambing Management Colostrum: mothers first milk (antibiotics) Keep ewe and lamb together for first 24 hours or more if the ewe doesn t want to claim the lamb Grafting: adopting lambs (triplets) onto other ewes (with singles or dead lambs) can be difficult to get ewe to claim lamb Many lambs are lost in the first 24 hrs Twins - first born gets separated while second is being born Assist difficult lambings Gently pull front legs Give ewe antibiotics after Disinfect lambs navel with iodine Identification: mark lambs with paint brands, or ear tags or tattoo ears (purebreds) Docking: cut off tails tails are a bother between 1st and 2nd vertebrae of tail Elastrator: rubber band cuts off circulation Hot Iron: electric, heated knife stops bleeding Introduction to Animal Science 12
Management Castration: remove testicles Elastrator Cut with a knife Burdizzo crushes cords Dock & Castrate before 6 weeks old Wean at 3-4 months Management Culling: choosing animals not to keep for breeding purposes Aging Sheep: less than 1 yr.. = milk teeth 1-2 yrs = middle two teeth replaced by 2 larger teeth each year to 4 yrs = another set replaced 6-7 yrs = begin to lose teeth Grazing Management: New Technologies for Old Problems John W. Walker & Ken C. Hodgkinson 4 Principles of Grazing Management Kind of Livestock Season of Grazing Livestock Distribution Stocking Rate Topographic Preference Species Differ in Diet and Topographic Preferences Upland Riparian Cow Sheep Grass Forb Shrub Goat Selectivity Control of Euphorbia with Sheep Dietary Preference Sheep vs. Goat Preference for Euphorbia Sheep Goat Sheep Grazing Reduces Forbs Goats Control Quercus Introduction to Animal Science 13
Goats Reduce Juniper Distribution of Acacia nilotica By Domestic Livestock Balsamorhiza sagittata Reduced by Spring Grazing Spring Grazed Fall Grazed Winter Browsing Reduces Shrubs Poor Distribution results in Degradation of Riparian Areas Stocking Rate Effect of Overgrazing in Nebraska, USA Overgrazing in Saudi Arabia Reasons for Overgrazing It increases short-term net profit. Financial arrangements often encourage overstocking particularly in drought. Drought is considered unusual instead of normal. Excellent Condition Poor Condition Introduction to Animal Science 14
Government Policy Often Encourages Overgrazing South Africa Tax Policies United States Emergency Feed Programs Wool Incentive Australia Drought Subsidies Non-Equilibrium & Equilibrium Grass as Fuel or Forage Grazing Systems Grazing Systems for Arid & Semi-Arid Rangelands Equilibrium Systems Improve animal distribution Allow for seasonal deferment Non-Equilibrium Systems Improve distribution Allow for seasonal deferment Help manage fine fuels Simple Flexible Principle Base Introduction to Animal Science 15