As sheep producers begin to wean lambs off their mothers, now
is a good time to assess the body condition of ewes ahead of flushing
and tupping.
Speaking to Farmers Weekly, sheep
specialists said the wet summer had created problems for producers in
terms of quality and availability of grazing, and the knock-on effect of
delays to silaging.
"There is plenty of grass about generally,
but it's been so wet and the ground conditions are not very good," said
SAC sheep and beef specialist Rhidian Jones.
"When the grass is
wet, it takes a bit more effort for the sheep to get the DM they need
and it doesn't do their feet any good - it creates lameness problems,
which affects their condition and ability to graze."
He said now
was the perfect time of year to wean lambs, offering a good chance to
sort through ewes and prioritise them for grazing.
This was
backed up by EBLEX beef and sheep scientist Liz Genever, who recommended
producers to sort their ewes into three different groups - thin, all
right and fat - dependent on body condition score.
"The biggest thing to think about is body condition
scoring sheep - flushing generally only works when sheep are on a rising
plane of nutrition, and it's the most effective when the sheep's body
condition score is slightly below target," she said.
Once sheep
have been sorted into groups, grazing priorities can be established;
priority must be given to the thinner ewes which needed to graze fields
which have 6-8cm of grass growth, she added.
Fat ewes can be put
on less favourable pasture where they will need to work harder to get to
the grass, and those which are about right on condition score (2.5-3)
need to be kept on maintenance, which is approximately 4-5cm of grass
growth.
"Post-weaning, some thin sheep might be that way because
they are young or because they have done a great job with their lambs,"
added Dr Genever.
"But when you go back in a month later to check
on the sheep, if these sheep are still thin then the decision is
probably taken to remove them from the flock."
She said producers
should continue to cull any sheep, post-weaning, which have bad teeth
or udders. "If they are not in the right body condition score by
flushing and tupping, you are always going to be chasing your tail."
