Have you joined or thought about joining ewe lambs?

A recently started MLA Producer Demonstration Site (PDS) project – Optimising Ewe Lamb Joining Outcomes – is in the process of completing its first year of data collection with four host properties located near Wellington, West Wyalong, Young and Wagga Wagga.

The project aim is to demonstrate the decision-making process and additional management skills required to successfully join ewe lambs. 

The project is being run over four years from February 2023 to December 2026.

The first on-farm field day is planned to be held on Wednesday 21st February 2024 on a property near Junee.

The project team and host properties are capturing data at key times along the reproduction cycle to answer key questions such as “Is it worth joining ewe lambs?” and “What are the key targets and timing to make ewe lamb joining’s successful?”.

“There has been excellent interest in the project so far with 30 core producers attending the initial project meetings,” Sally Martin said.

“Over the four host properties we have been able to collect joining, pregnancy scanning, marking and weaning data on the 2022 drop ewe lambs.  In addition to this we are also collecting fleece data on the participating Merino flocks.”

Ms Martin said key findings to date were:

·         We are seeing similar trends across all the host properties when comparing body weight and conception.

·         Ewes which get pregnant as a ewe lamb are still able to grow and gain weight throughout their pregnancy through to weaning.

The field day will have a range of animals on display, including 2022 drop ewes that were joined as ewe lambs in 2023, 2023 drop ewe lambs that will be joined in 2024, and 2023 drop progeny out of the 2022 drop ewe lambs.

Discussion topics will include background on the project and discussions about:

• What is needed to get ewe lambs to joining weight and when should you join them (what month/age)?

• Demonstration site hosts will talk about their experiences; what has worked well; what have they been able to achieve to date; key learnings.

• Ram health; ram % and age of rams for joining – mature vs young

• Mob and paddock size – for joining and lambing

• How to manage lambs born from ewe lambs

• Ram genetics, what should you be targeting?

• How to get involved in the project?

 Project contact details:

Sally Martin - 0400 782 477 or hello@sheepmetrix.com.au  or Lucinda Eddy – 0459 438 494

To register for the field day on the 21st February 2024 - Link to flyer and to register