Improving flock performance

Improving flock performance was the main theme at an open day organised by EBLEX, XL Vets and the Hampshire Down Sheep Breeders Association in Northumberland. Jeremy Hunt reports

John Blakey, Netherton Northside, Thropton, Rothbury buys no feed whatsoever for his flock of 700 Lleyn ewes since switching to lambing outdoors in May. It was a decision that was triggered by the rising cost of organic sheep feed given to housed ewes at lambing.

Before moving to organic, Mr Blakey overcame Mule ewe replacement costs by changing to a pure-bred Lleyn. And more recently introduction of Hampshire Down rams on about 100 ewes means he has prime lambs ready to sell by early August at 42-45kg.

And these changes have brought about significant savings for Mr Blakey. “We’re making massive savings because ewes get no feed at all. It’s purely a grass system. And in addition we save on all the costs tied up with labour and time associated with lambing indoors,” said Mr Blakey who turns rams out in December.

Ewes on this farm aren’t flushed and he runs in-lambs ewes “very tight” during the winter to conserve grass and red clover swards for spring and summer grazing.

Although ewes are lambing at a more favourable time of year in terms of grass and weather, lamb losses are higher than they were when the flock was housed – even though the flock is carefully monitored during daylight hours. Scanning results were 186% this year.

“It’s the only downside of the system but you can’t be there for every lambing like you can be with sheep inside,” added Mr Blakey who maintains even with higher lamb mortality the system is still more profitable compared with indoor lambing in March.

All lambs are sold deadweight but those by the Hampshire Down have proved the breed’s growth and carcass potential to the Blakey family.

“We use recorded tups and have been impressed at the growth rate. They are definitely a under-rated terminal sire and click well with the Lleyn.”

Flock Health

Ensuring bought-in rams undergo a quarantine period when they arrive on the farm – as well as a full programme of dosing – should be a strict part of the autumn management routine for every flock.

Vet John MacFarlane of Alnorthumbria Vet Group, said a 21-day quarantine period is often reckoned to be satisfactory but the length of the quarantine period depended on what vaccinations rams were going to receive.

“When rams are being jabbed for pasteurella and clostridial protection, the interval between the two jabs is four to six weeks. So 28-days should be the minimum in this case and even then the vaccine doesn’t give full protection for another seven days.”

He told farmers at the event that about 15% of sheep farmers quarantined new purchases – a figure that needed to rise considerably if risks of disease spread and health issues were to be avoided.

“All bought-in sheep this season should be wormed with the new orange drench. There’s no resistance among UK sheep to this treatment so it’s an important opportunity to provide cover for new purchases. Scab treatment should also be part of the autumn regime and all sheep in quarantine should be put through a foot-bath at least twice.

“But beware of routine trace element treatments. You don’t know what the trace element profile was on the farm where the sheep came from so it can be risky if you routinely dose,” said Mr MacFarlane.

Tups already on the farm should now be undergoing the “autumn MOT” and getting a vet to undertake a fertility test on rams can avoid unnecessary problems at tupping time.

“The ideal working condition for a tup is condition score 3.5 – 4 which may mean bought-in tups have to be slimmed down before being turned out. Do this carefully but equally make sure that tups on the farm are actually carrying enough condition. A working ram can lose 0.5 of a condition score per week during the tupping season so he needs to be carrying the correct amount of condition at the start.”

Hampshire Down sheep produce the fastest growing lambs of any breed to 13-weeks-old and it’s a reputation the breed has held on to in the face of competition from the continentals, Jim Cresswell, the Hampshire Down Sheep Breeders Association’s president told the Northumberland meeting.

“With 40% of the association’s members now involved in performance recording the breed has been able to achieve outstanding improvement in terms of growth rate and carcase quality. Some flocks have been recording for more than 35 years which has given the Hampshire Down a strong base on which to continue to improve and provide tups to produce hardy, fast growing and well-shaped prime lambs with increased muscle and leanness,” said Mr Cresswell.

In 2010, the average ram was 3.24kg heavier at scanning (approx 16 weeks) than the average ram in 1998. The top 5% of rams in 2010 were 6.35kg heavier, had 2.23mm more muscle, and 0.57mm less fat than the 1998 average which was the Signet Sire Reference Scheme base year.

“Figures from the Hampshire Down/SRS evaluation show breeders have made high genetic gains as a result of the their progressive attitude to selecting stock sires, using EBVs for commercially important traits and CT scanning to identify elite sires.

“There has also been widespread progeny testing of rams. Last year almost 70% of stock rams registered were from performance recorded flocks. Consequently the top 10% sires within the breed, compared with the average, have the potential to increase the weight of lean meat in the carcase to lift lamb returns by £4 to £5 a lamb – or £2000 for an average early lambing flock of 300 ewes,” said Mr Cresswell.

Steve Powdrill, EBLEX regional manager, said prime lamb producers would greatly benefit from following a batch of lambs through a slaughterhouse on a “live-dead” day at least once a year.

“Prime lamb prices have been good but it’s important for producers to strive for high quality and consistency – and it’s consistency that’s one of the areas that could be improved upon. Consumers must feel confident about the lamb they buy because we must not forget some white meat is extremely competitive in terms of cost and consistency.

“Following lambs through from hoof to hook should be something every sheep producer does once a year,” said Mr Powdrill.

Calls from the market for “bigger” lambs can send a dangerous message to producers. “Lambs without the genetic potential to grow more flesh will simply pile on fat if you attempt to get them bigger. Fat takes four times as much energy to put onto the carcase of a sheep than flesh.”

The price dip of earlier this season had caught out too many producers who could have had lambs sold at higher prices but held on with the aim of gaining kilos.

“The result was that the price fell and lambs that should have been sold ended up losing condition. Lambs were still on the ewes and competing with them for grass. We saw a lot of lambs with a fat dock but lean over the back – a clear sign of lambs dropping flesh,” said Mr Powdrill.