Breeding and feeding for more lambs Andrew Thompson & Mark Ferguson
What ewe type do you/your clients predominantly run? A) Fine and super fine Merino B) Medium Merino C) Meat Merino (Including Dohnes & SAMM) D) First cross E) Maternal composite F) Shedders G) Stud terminal H) Stud maternal 14% 81% 5%
What do you/ your clients most want to improve in your/their sheep? A) Growth rate B) Weaning % C) Wool cut D) Micron E) Carcase- lean meat yield F) Resistance to fly strike G) Resistance to worms H) Doing ability 11% 68% 11% 11%
Currently how do you/they sustain the ewe base? A) Completely self replacing B) Combination of breeding own and buying in C) Buying in only 59% 36% 5%
An historically small sheep flock
But marking rates are not changing Enterprise sector Average marking rate (1990-1999) Average marking rate (2000-2009) Prime lamb specialists 84 85 Sheep specialists 73 71 Mixed sheep enterprises 75 74 Sheep Industry Total 77 77 (ABARE Survey data for all sheep regions of Aus)
AUD million per year Gross value of production 6000 5000 Wool Meat 4000 3000 2000 1000 0 Meat includes lamb, mutton and live export Compiled by K Curtis, Source: ABS
What proportion of your clients sheep income do they generate from wool? A) 0 B) 1 C) 3 D) 5 E) 7 F) 9 G) Unsure 19% 29% 33% 19%
Lambs required to forego wool Meat Price $/kg Decreased ewe fleece value by $25 Extra lambs required to break even $3 >50 $4 >50 $5 37
We need to sustain turn-off rates We need to rebuild the ewe flock To do so, we must- Improve reproduction rates Improve lamb survival rates immediately Increase genetic gain in the commercial sector
Do you use Breeding values when selecting rams? A. Yes B. No 5 5
When selecting rams from your chosen stud you select them based on: A) How the ram looks B) How the ram looks and its raw wool measurements C) How the rams looks and its breeding values D) Breeding values only E) Stud master or agent selects my rams F) Unsure 5% 25% 35% 5% 15% 15%
Energy Product Labour and management
more wool finer wool more stylish wool better wool strength better wool length lower CV higher washing yield better structure less horns faster growth better muscling more lambs less wrinkle barer breeches less worms less dags better robustness less flystrike
That depends on: Your production system These are decisions only you can make and it is important that you do Your crystal ball
? It depends!!
Australian Sheep Breeding Values (ASBVs) ASBVs are available for all of the traits that matter to your back pocket They work There is money in it
breed your own its cheaper My clients don t ask for them My ram supplier doesn t have them
Do your clients have a goal or ideal sheep written down for your ewe flock (often called a breeding objective)? A) Yes 25% B) No 75%
Genetic Decision Support Tool
Good genetics is not an excuse for poor management Getting ewe nutrition right is important We need more lambs And we can get them by combining breeding and feeding.
To wean 1 more lambs on your farm, what will you do? A) Keep my adult ewes one year longer B) Lamb at 1yr old instead of 2 yrs C) Lamb more than once a year D) Select/buy more fertile sheep E) Improve breeding ewe nutrition
To increase lamb production on your farm, what will you improve? A) Conceiving more lambs B) More lambs surviving birth C) Higher lamb growth rates
Proportion (/100 ewes) Reproductive rate and ewe pregnancy status 100 80 60 40 20 0 Twin 80 100 120 140 160 Reproductive rate (foetuses/100 ewes) Single Dry
Lambs (/100 ewes) 160 140 120 100 20 more lambs born per CS 80 60 1 2 3 4 5 Ewe condition score
Farm Extra foetuses per CS Kendenup, WA +36 Coleraine, VIC +28 Launceston, TAS +28 Brookton, WA +26 Moora, WA +10 Dandaragan, WA +7
When selecting a ram what is the majority of your clients selection based on? A) Wool style- quality/colour B) Wool measurement- micron, CV, wool cut C) Size D) Visual carcase attributes E) Growth and carcase measurements F) Reproduction potential G) Labour saving/health traits (worms, flies etc)
ASBVs for Number of lambs born (NLB) or weaned (NLW) Huge range in sires Plus get other things going in your favour Growth, muscle and fat Wrinkle, face cover etc
Lambs Born per 100 ewes mated 150 140 130 15 lambs per 100 ewes mated 120 110 100 90 Industry Average Top 1% 80-2 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 Yearling Weight(YWT) ASBV (kg)
Lambs Born per 100 ewes mated 150 140 130 120 110 100 90 Industry Average Top 1% 11 lambs per 100 ewes 80-2 -1 0 1 2 3 Yearling Eye Muscle Depth (YEMD) ASBV (mm)
Lambs born per 100 ewes mated 150 140 130 2004 120 110 100 90 80-2 -1 0 1 2 Yearling Fat depth(yfat) ASBV (mm)
Lambs born per 100 ewes mated 150 140 130 120 110 2004 2009 25 extra lambs or $40,000 farm profit 100 90 80-2 -1 0 1 2 Yearling Fat depth(yfat) ASBV (mm)
Wrinkly sheep are: Likely to cut more wool (Mortimer et al. 2009 etc) More likely to get breech strike (Greeff & Karlsson 2009; Smith et al. 2009; Richards & Atkins 2010; Scholtz et al. 2010) Take longer to crutch (Smith et al. 2010) Likely to wean less lambs (Dun 1964; Scholtz et al. 2010; Greeff et al. unpublished)
Breeding and feeding to improve lamb survival
Do your clients routinely body condition score / fat score your ewes? A. Yes B. No 10
Do you routinely pregnancy scan your ewes for the following? A. Wet/Dry B. Dry/Single/Twin (multiple) C. Don t pregnancy regularly
What are your normal lamb survival rates? A) >90 B) 80-89 C) 70-79 D) 60-69 E) 50-59 F) Unsure
Survival rate Ewes joined Scanned dry Scanned single Marked single Scanned twin Marked twin Total marked lambs Overall lamb survival 100 9 57 ewes (57) 34 ewes (68)
Survival rate Ewes joined Scanned dry Scanned single Marked single Scanned twin Marked twin Total marked lambs Overall lamb survival Common rate 8 single 5 twin 100 9 57 ewes (57) 46 lambs 34 ewes (68) 34 lambs 80 64%
Survival rate Target rate 9 single 7 twin Ewes joined Scanned dry Scanned single 100 9 57 ewes (57) Marked single 52 lambs Scanned twin 34 ewes (68) Marked twin 48 lambs Total marked lambs Overall lamb survival 100 8 Common rate 8 single 5 twin 100 9 57 ewes (57) 46 lambs 34 ewes (68) 34 lambs 80 64%
Lamb survival (%) 100 80 Single lambs (av. birth wt 4.9 kg) 60 40 20 Twin lambs (av. birth wt 3.7 kg) 0 0 2 4 6 8 Birth weight (kg)
Lamb birthweight (kg) Reproduction and fat 5.0 4.5 4.0 High nutrition 3.5 3.0 2.5-1 -0.5 0 0.5 1 1.5 2 Yearling Fat depth(yfat) ASBV (mm)
Lamb birthweight (kg) Reproduction and fat 5.0 4.5 4.0 High nutrition 3.5 3.0 Low nutrition 2.5-1 -0.5 0 0.5 1 1.5 2 Yearling Fat depth(yfat) ASBV (mm)
Lamb survival (%) 100 90 80 70 60 50 40 Single lambs Twin lambs 1 2 3 4 5 Ewe condition score at lambing
What are your average mob sizes for lambing? A) <100 B) 200 C) 300 D) 400 E) >500 F) Unsure
Lambs/day (range) Survival % low 0-16 99.1 Singles med 17-32 94.3 high 33-48 95.7 low 0-16 83.3 Twinner s med 17-32 80.0 high 33-48 63.0
Mob type Maximum recommended number/mob Twin bearing mature ewes 200 Single bearing mature ewes 400 Twin bearing maiden ewes 150 Single bearing maiden ewes 300
Ewe mortality (%) 10 8 6 4 2 Twin ewes 0 Single ewes 1.5 2.5 3.5 4.5 Condition score
Breeding and feeding to improve lamb growth
Days to 45kg 300 250 200 150 Single s Twins 55 less days to market 100 50 Industry Average Top 1% 0-2 -1 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Post Weaning Weight (PWT) ASBV (kg)
Lamb growth rate (g/d) 300 250 200 150 Single lambs CS3 at lambing CS2 at lambing Twin lambs CS3 at lambing CS2 at lambing 100 50 0 500 1000 1500 2000 2500 3000 3500 Feed on offer (kg DM/ha)
feeding to improve weaner survival
Weaner survival (%) 100 90 80 70 60 50 40 1.00 kg/month 0.75 kg/month 0.50 kg/month 30 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 Liveweight at weaning (kg) Critical liveweight = 18 kg for 48 kg SRW (4 mature weight) 4 of deaths from lightest 2 of flock
Weaner survival (%) Post-weaning growth and survival 100 80 60 40 23 kg 18 kg 13 kg 20 0 0.00 0.25 0.50 0.75 1.00 1.25 1.50 Growth rate (kg/month) Critical growth rate = 0.5 kg/month Safety margin >1.0 kg/month
Management at weaning and during summer/autumn Wean at 13-14 weeks and ideally at 4 mature weight Imprint feed prior to weaning and consider fodder crops Target supplements to at risk weaners draft out tail Monitor liveweight or condition score and feed for 1 kg/month over summer/autumn to maximise survival Water, worms, flies and vitamins & minerals
Metabolisable energy and weaner growth WEANER GROWTH MANAGER - Metabolisable Energy (ME) 60kg SRW Ewe Table 1. ME Requirements (MJ/Day) Table 2. ME Intake (MJ/Day) LW gain Liveweight (kg) 20kg Weaner LW 30kg Weaner LW (g/h/d) 20 25 30 35 40 Digestibility Digestibility 0 4.9 5.8 6.6 7.4 8.2 FOOscz 8 7 6 55% 5 45% 4 FOOscz 8 7 6 55% 5 45% 4 50 7.3 8.4 9.5 10.5 11.3 3300 15.2 14.3 10.7 8.1 7.6 6.1 4.2 3300 18.4 17.3 12.9 9.8 9.2 7.3 5.1 100 8.8 10.2 11.4 12.5 13.5 2800 14.6 13.7 9.9 7.5 6.9 5.4 3.5 2800 17.6 16.6 11.9 9.0 8.4 6.5 4.2 150 10.2 11.8 13.2 14.5 15.5 2300 13.6 12.5 8.7 6.6 5.9 4.6 2.8 2300 16.5 15.1 10.5 8.0 7.2 5.5 3.4 200 11.7 13.4 15 16.4 17.5 1800 13.0 10.6 7.3 5.6 4.8 3.6 2.1 1800 15.8 12.8 8.8 6.8 5.8 4.4 2.6 250 13.1 15 16.7 18.2 19.4 1500 12.4 9.2 6.2 4.9 4.0 3.0 1.7 1500 15.0 11.1 7.5 5.9 4.9 3.7 2.1 300 14.6 16.6 18.1 19 19.7 1300 11.5 8.1 5.4 4.3 3.5 2.6 1.4 1300 13.9 9.8 6.6 5.1 4.2 3.1 1.8 1100 10.1 6.7 4.5 3.5 2.9 2.1 1.2 1100 12.3 8.1 5.4 4.3 3.5 2.6 1.4 800 7.5 4.7 3.2 2.5 2.0 1.4 0.8 800 9.1 5.7 3.8 3.0 2.4 1.8 1.0
Metabolisable protein and weaner growth WEANER GROWTH MANAGER - Metabolisable Protein (MP) 60kg SRW Ewe Table 5. Metabolisable Protein Requirements Table 6. Metabolisable Protein Intake g/head/day LW gain Liveweight (kg) 20kg Weaner LW 30kg Weaner LW (g/h/d) 20 25 30 35 40 Digestibility Digestibility 0 34 37 41 44 48 FOOscz 8 7 6 55% 5 45% 4 FOOscz 8 7 6 55% 5 45% 4 50 49 52 56 59 63 3300 186 174 123 79 71 49 28 3300 215 200 142 92 84 58 34 100 64 67 71 74 77 2800 175 164 110 69 61 41 22 2800 201 189 128 81 71 49 27 150 80 82 85 88 91 2300 159 145 91 58 49 33 17 2300 183 167 106 68 57 39 20 200 95 97 100 103 105 1800 148 116 70 46 36 25 12 1800 171 134 81 54 44 29 15 250 110 112 114 117 119 1500 137 96 57 38 30 20 10 1500 158 111 66 45 36 24 12 300 126 128 129 131 133 1300 124 80 47 32 25 17 8 1300 143 93 55 39 30 20 10 1100 103 63 37 26 20 13 6 1100 119 73 45 31 24 16 8 800 68 40 25 18 13 9 4 800 79 47 30 21 16 11 5
Feed value of grain Energy (MJ ME/kgDM) Protein (% content) Oats 8 11.5 5.5 13 Lupins 13 14 27 35 Barley 11.5 12 7 13 Wheat 12 13.5 7-15
Pre-LTEM Post-LTEM % Change Farm size (ha) 1295 1316 +2% Stocking rate (dse/ha) 11.4 13.0 +14% Lambing % (Crossbred) 111 125 +13% Lambing % (Merino to Merino) 75 83 +11% Lambing % (Merino to Other) 84 94 +12% Ewe mortality % 4.9 2.8-43%
Pre-LTEM Post-LTEM Assess pasture quality and quantity 26% 91% Condition scoring ewes 4% 94% Joining length 5 weeks or less 28% 7 Pregnancy scanning ewes for multiples & separate 18% 71% Regularly calculate the ME balance of ewes 2% 82%
Distribution of LTEM producer groups 63
Breeding and feeding for more lambs 1. The game has changed 2. Breed them well 3. Feed them well 4. Get your clients into LTEM / HPW