The Joys of Joining – Ewe Edition

Pre-joining checks are not only important to perform on your rams but also on your ewes. A pre-joining ewe check can be performed after you have completed your pre-joining ram check, around 4-6 weeks prior to joining. This will allow producers to assess if their ewes are healthy and fit to join prior to the rams going in. Additionally, performing this ahead of joining will enable producers extra time to make any management decisions to ensure their ewes have the best chance of cycling. For example, producers may need to increased condition scores or treat sick ewes.

Consider the following when performing a pre-joining check on your ewes:

1.       Ensure your ewes are in and can maintain adequate condition throughout joining.

• Aim for condition score 3 throughout joining and pregnancy.

o   Ewes with a higher condition score at joining are likely to conceive more lambs.

o   Ewes that maintain a higher condition score throughout pregnancy will have heavier lambs which have a higher chance of survival.

o   However, overweight ewes may have trouble conceiving.

2.       Inspect the ewe’s teeth, udders and feet

• Udder: Check for infection or deformity, as this may inhibit her lamb from suckling effectively and decrease its chance of survival.

• Teeth: Ewes should have a sound mouth to ensure they can continue to graze and maintain nutritional uptake.

• Feet: Ewes need to present with sound feet/hooves to reduce any risk of injury or issues when walking, standing for mating and carrying multiple foetuses. Trim feet if needed.

3.       Vaccinate and drench your ewes

• Ewes should be regularly vaccinated and drenched, to reduce the risk of ill health and enable them to be their healthiest at joining. Ewes under stress from a worm burden can present with signs such as weight loss and anaemia, which may have an effect on their chance of a successful joining and conception. Producers can conduct WEC tests on their ewes if they are concerned about the efficacy of their drenches.

4.       Shear your ewes prior to joining or a few weeks after the rams have come out.

• Shearing can cause stress to the ewe and reduce her chances of maintaining her pregnancy at an early stage.

• Shearing in the middle of joining can also reduce the chance for the ram to get to the ewe when she is at her peak ovulation if they are penned up in the shed.

When joining, it is also important to consider the following:

• Join maiden ewes and ewe lambs with a higher percentage of rams (2% recommended)

• Join for a period of 5-6 weeks

o   This reduces having a tail of lighter lambs at weaning.

• Get in early and book your pregnancy scanner on the day you put the rams in.

• Young rams should be placed into paddocks with older rams when joining as they are inexperienced. Alternatively, join the young rams to mature ewes.

Joining out of season?

For European breeds of sheep such as, Border Leicesters, Dorset, Suffolks, first cross etc. ewes can have up to two silent heats and therefore only have the ability to actually conceive in the last week of the joining period. To overcome this issue producers can put teasers in with the ewes two weeks prior to the rams going out. This will encourage the ewes to have their silent heats and be ovulating when the rams are put in.

Acknowledgement: Ramping up Repro and LTEM

Go to a Ram Joining Blog for more information