Age at Puberty

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Age at Puberty

• Age 5-7 months
• Factors Affecting
• Weight
• 70 Mature Size
• Exposure to Opposite Sex
• teasers
• Positive Plane of Nutrition
• Season of Birth
• Breed

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Breeding season decisions

• Which Month to Breed ?
• Labor
• other enterprises
• Facilities
• Markets
• Genetics
• October best
• How long to breed?

3
Breeding Season Management Mature Ewes

• 6 weeks pre-breeding
• Condition Score
• Flush thin ewes
• 3 weeks pre-breeding
• flush all ewes
• 3 weeks into breeding
• stop flushing ?

• Flushing options
• .75 - 1.25 lbs. corn or
• Soy hulls DDGS
• Fresh lush pasture
• Turnips or other brassicas
• Hay fields

4
Breeding Season Management Mature Ewes

• Body Condition
• 1.5 2.0 2.5 3.0 3.5 4.0
• Scottish BF .79 1.62
• Swaledale .78 1.33 1.40 1.56
• Mule 1.49 1.66 1.78 1.94 1.92
• Scottish Halfbred 1.48 1.70 1.83 2.17 2.02
• UK

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Breeding Management Ewes

• Precautions
• Legumes
• Excess Grain
• Breeding records
• marking harness
• paint/grease

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Breeding Management Ewe Lambs

• Must expose to become pregnant
• Flush or at least maintain nutrition level
• Teasers - Definitely
• Breed Separate
• shy breeders
• shorter estrus
• mature rams prefer mature ewes

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Breeding Separate

• w/ mature drylot
• no extra
• Beginning wt 83 85
• Ending wt 84 99
• Conception rate 0 74
• Montana State University

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Breeding Management Ewe Lambs

• Use young rams or smaller breed rams or high
  survival rams
• Minimize mating problems
• Geneticly smaller for less dystocia
• Breed later
• Producer observation
• Larger
• More productive
• Stretch ram power

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Breeding Management Ewe Lambs

• Breed later
• Ultra sound fetal scanning
• Generation interval
• Selection pressure on reproduction
• Cull open ewe lambs
• Early selection for reproduction
• Receive market price not ewe price

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Productivity

• Lambed
• 12 mo Open
• Number born 9.6 7.7
• Number weaned 7.5 6.0
• Pounds weaned 430 355
• 21 advantage over 6 years
• 11 advantage not counting year 1

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Factors Affecting Out of Season Success

• Ram libido
• Ewe age
• Ewe condition
• Genetics

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Accelerated Systems

• Advantages
• spreads labor
• smaller facilities
• uses facilities more
• uniform cash flow
• better env. for lambing
• utilization of pasture
• ram battery
• market uncertainty

• Disadvantages
• multiple lambings
• increased management
• increased cost of production
• shepherd burnout
• lower number born

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Accelerated Systems

• Every 8 months
• older weaning ages
• less mastitis risk
• not breeding in mid summer

• Star system, Cornell
• 7.2 month intervals
• young weaning ages
• poor production levels

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Once a year fall lambing

• Advantages
• better env. for lambing
• utilization of pasture
• better prices ??

• Disadvantages
• lower number born
• multiple lambings

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