Example: confidence

Sheep Production and Management

Sheep Productionand ManagementCooperative Extension ServiceCollege of Agriculture and Home Economics100 B-15 ACKNOWLEDGMENTP ortions of this circular are based on material in the SheepProduction Handbook (1996), and are used with permis-sion of the American Sheep Industry Association, Inc., Production , Education, and Research recommendations contained herein are generalrecommendations only. Contact your county Extensionoffice for recommendations specific to your .. 1 Choice of breed .. 2 Sheep Management systems .. 3 Selection and breeding .. 6 reproduction in Sheep .. 11 Sheep nutrition .. 15 Sheep health .. 25 General Management .. 32 The original manuscript of Sheep Production and Management waswritten by James M.

ics, nutrition, reproduction, and health. Commercial Sheep Production Many management alternatives are available to the commercial sheep producer. One major distinction among these alternative production systems is the sea-son in which lambing occurs. Fall lamb production . …

Tags:

  Management, Production, Sheep, Reproduction, Sheep production and management

Information

Domain:

Source:

Link to this page:

Please notify us if you found a problem with this document:

Other abuse

Transcription of Sheep Production and Management

1 Sheep Productionand ManagementCooperative Extension ServiceCollege of Agriculture and Home Economics100 B-15 ACKNOWLEDGMENTP ortions of this circular are based on material in the SheepProduction Handbook (1996), and are used with permis-sion of the American Sheep Industry Association, Inc., Production , Education, and Research recommendations contained herein are generalrecommendations only. Contact your county Extensionoffice for recommendations specific to your .. 1 Choice of breed .. 2 Sheep Management systems .. 3 Selection and breeding .. 6 reproduction in Sheep .. 11 Sheep nutrition .. 15 Sheep health .. 25 General Management .. 32 The original manuscript of Sheep Production and Management waswritten by James M.

2 Sachse, former Extension Sheep ManagementRevised byClay P. Mathis, Extension Livestock SpecialistTim Ross, Professor, Animal ScienceMany New Mexico livestock producers could profit byincluding Sheep in their farm enterprises. Sheep areamong the most efficient of all the domestic animals andhave been for thousands of years. Different from cattleand swine, Sheep are adapted to the most extremeenvironmental conditions. Sheep are very agile andgraze easily in the most rugged of mountain terrain,where cattle choose not to feed. Furthermore, somesheep breeds are well suited to survive on sparse desertrange that would not be used otherwise. Thus, sheephave the ability to convert the natural forage of theseextreme habitats into protein for human uses.

3 We use theproteins produced by Sheep in the form of wool can use practically all types of forage, includ-ing crop residue and even ditch banks. An abundance offorage is one key to profitable Sheep Production . Thesuccessful producer also must have a genuine interest inbusiness, Management skills, and labor to care for Advantages of Producing Sheep Sheep are easy to handle and generally require littleinput. Sheep Production does not require elaborate facilitiesand equipment. Sheep consume roughage as their primary feed. Sheep help control weeds. Sheep provide two sources of cash income: lamb andwool. Sheep require a minimum amount of supplementalfeeding. Sheep can provide a quick return on of Producing Sheep A Sheep enterprise must be well managed.

4 Sheep are subject to predation by coyotes, eagles,bobcats, lions, bears, domestic dogs, etc. Sheep require better fencing than do cattle. Internal parasites can create health problems whensheep are intensively grazed on irrigated of BreedThe most appropriate Sheep breed depends upon envi-ronmental conditions, the producer s desired manage-ment intensity, and personal preference. For acceleratedsheep Production , it might be necessary to use three ormore breeds to develop a ewe flock that exhibits accept-able levels of desirable traits. Accelerated flocks mustbe able to lamb out of season, produce large lamb crops,reach sexual maturity at an early age, and grow producers want to overwinter ewes for spring lambproduction, then local breeds such as range-raised, fine-wool ewes are an excellent choice.

5 Breeds of Sheep aregenerally classified according to the breed BreedsThe fine-wool breeds are chiefly Rambouillet andDebouillet. The fine-wool breeds can withstand heat,cold, and drought, and produce satisfactorily underharsh conditions. They produce a more desirable, finergrading fleece that is more uniform than fleeces fromother breed types. Additionally, they are more likely tobreed out of season than are many other BreedsThe medium-wool breeds are white-faced crossbreedsthat include the Columbia, Corriedale, and breeds are very productive when feed supply isample. However, their breeding season is more re-stricted than that of fine-wool Sheep , and their fleecesusually vary more in fineness of BreedsSuffolk, Hampshire, Dorset, Southdown, and Shrop-shire are some of the more common meat-type (ormutton) breeds, and they are best adapted to farm-flockproduction.

6 Except for the Dorset, these are more re-stricted in their breeding season than fine-wool breeds are commonly crossed with commercialwhite-faced ewes to produce market from these breeds lacks the fineness and oftenthe length of staple found in fleeces from the fine- andmedium-wool breeds. Quite often, wool from thesebreeds is discounted on the market because of poorpurity (they contain black fibers).Other BreedsOne breed with potential for use in accelerated Sheep - Production Management systems is the Finnish Lan-drace. The greatest and perhaps only contribution of thisbreed is its reproductive capability and early Landrace are small, white-faced Sheep thatproduce little wool.

7 Additionally, the carcass quality ofthis breed is somewhat below standard. Finnish Lan-drace are used in crossbreeding programs to increaselamb crop percentages and to initiate Polypay is Sheep breed developed at the Experiment Station in Dubois, Idaho. The breedwas developed from Finnish Landrace, Dorset, Targhee,and Rambouillet to optimize reproductive efficiencywhile maintaining growth and carcass ewes culled from the rangebecause of age usually are productive foranother two or three years under farm Management SystemsSheep can be produced under many Production systemsin New Mexico. Here are some things to consider whendesigning a Sheep Production system:Available forage.

8 Plan to make maximum use ofseasonal forage because feed costs often amount to 50 to60 percent of the total cost of producing lamb and consumption is the greatest during late gestationand lactation; producers may be able to reduce feedcosts by grazing ewes on pasture at these labor. When Sheep are added to otherfarming enterprises, it may be advisable, from a mana-gerial standpoint, to lamb when labor is not needed forother prices. Lamb prices normally fluctuate duringthe year, and it may be more profitable to produce lambsfor the expected high market. Typically, that is duringthe late spring and early of flock. Small flocks, from 10 to 50 ewes, oftenare not profitable because they tend to be poorly man-aged.

9 The primary reason is that mechanization is notfeasible, so return per hour of labor is not farm flocks generally are used simply to controlweeds on irrigation ditches or maintained as a Sheep ProductionPurebred Sheep supply genetics for the development ofcommercial Sheep Production systems. In general, de-pending on the breed and availability, it is more expen-sive to start a purebred Sheep business than a commer-cial one. Purebred Sheep are often more expensive toproduce, and more expense is involved in advertisingand marketing. Ordinarily, purebred Sheep are fed at ahigher nutrition level than are commercial flocks. Awell-fed purebred flock is more productive and moreattractive to prospective buyers than are Sheep main-tained on lower nutrition grow to maximum size, ewe and ram lambs mustbe born early.

10 On most purebred Sheep operations,breeding occurs in July and August. This usually resultsin a suboptimal lamb crop percentage because mostewes are more fertile during September and purebred Sheep operation produces stud rams,commercial rams, and replacement ewes, usually for aprice above their commercial value. Managing such anoperation requires a thorough understanding of genet-ics, nutrition, reproduction , and Sheep ProductionMany Management alternatives are available to thecommercial Sheep producer. One major distinctionamong these alternative Production systems is the sea-son in which lambing lamb Production . For fall lambing, an abundantsupply of fall and winter forage, small-grain pasture,alfalfa stubble, or other crop residue is ewes to lamb in October and November, breedthem in May and June.


Related search queries