More ewes to rams could cut production costs
Upping ewe to ram ratio this coming breeding season could help producers cut production costs.
Making small changes to the number of ewes a ram is required to tup can have a big impact on costs, believes Catherine Nakielny of KN Consulting.
“Rams represent a significant investment for lamb producers,” she says. “As a result, optimising ram longevity and maximising their mating performance are key components of flock profitability.”
Ms Nakielny says there is no reason why producers shouldn’t adopt a high ewe to ram ratio, as long as rams are fit for work.
“A fit, healthy and fertile ram can serve at least 100 ewes in a single 17-day cycle,” she says.
“However in practice, because the fertility of a ram may be hard to guarantee, the decision on how many ewes to run for every ram is ultimately based on cost savings versus risk of reproductive failure.”
Good ram management pre-mating and optimum ewe group management can go a long way to improving ram mating capacity, she says. And ultimately, by maximising the number of lambs produced by each tup, production costs will be reduced.
“On a classic system with one ram to 50 ewes, simply increasing ewe numbers to 70 or 80 could have a significant effect on costs,” she says.
Assuming a ram is purchased for £600, lasts three seasons and is mated to 50 ewes a year, the cost for every ewe mated is £4. Using the same ram on 70 ewes a year leads to a saving of £1.10 a ewe.
Carrying out a ram MoT six weeks prior to tupping is also crucial to ensure rams are up to the job. Managing ram condition is also important to ensure stock is not under- or over-fit.
Now is also a good time to take another look at ewe condition and cull out any poor doers, believes Liz Genever, EBLEX beef and sheep scientist.
“Producers should assess ewe body condition score (BCS) now to ensure they are on target at tupping – that’s BCS 3.5 for lowland breeds.”
Dr Genever says ewes can be managed so they are condition score 3.0 at flushing, to gain half a condition score over the flushing period.
Flushing puts ewes on a rising plane of nutrition four to six weeks prior to tupping to encourage higher ovulation rates.
However, Dr Genever stresses that flushing is not a get-out-of-jail card for thin ewes. “Ideally, they should be on target prior to the flushing period. If you don’t address BCS before, they will be on the back foot throughout their pregnancy and can have depressed lamb performance.”
There is also no advantage of having overfat ewes (BCS >4.0) as ovulation rate can be suppressed, so their fertility may be reduced. Flushing should also be avoided in prolific breeds such as Lleyns or Aberdales.
