Leaving Certificate Agricultural Science Sheep Farming in Ireland

Leaving Certificate Agricultural Science Sheep Farming in Ireland Produced for IASTA by Humphrey Jones, St. Columba’s College

Introduction to the Sheep Industry n There are two distinct types of sheep farming in Ireland - hill/mountain sheep farming and lowland sheep farming. n And there is a lot of crossover between the two systems as hill farmers trade freely with lowland farmers. n The sheep industry relies on cross-breeding to produce good quality meat animals. n Cross-bred ewes account for 40% of the national flock. n Hill lambs are often sold to the lowlands to be "finished" (fattened for meat).

Introduction to the Sheep Industry - 2 Hill farming • Hill farming is an system of farming found in mountainous areas. • Sheep have access to wide areas of upland grazing, with few enclosures or fences. • The breeds are hardy and, by comparison with lowland breeds, they are often more lightly built. • They are accustomed to rough terrain and a harsh climate. Lowland sheep farming • The lowland sheep farmer rears sheep in enclosed lowland pastures, often on fairly fertile ground. • Some of the typical lowland sheep breeds that are used in Ireland are heavier than their athletic hill cousins. • They have been bred to lamb early, to produce fast-maturing lambs and sizeable, lean carcasses.

Classification of Sheep - 2 The Ewe Breeds n The female of these breeds are able to produce good quality carcases when crossed with a quality ram. n Examples include Galway, Blackface Mountain and the Cheviot. The Prolific Breeds n Ram breeds who give significantly more offspring than the Galway or other Ewe Breeds. n Examples are the Border Leicester, the Belclare Improver and the Blue Faced Leicester.

Classification of Sheep - 3 The Carcase Breeds n Include the Suffolk, Down Breeds and the Texel. n These are again Ram Breeds, which impart superior carcase qualities on their offspring. n They are also known as TERMINAL SIRES. n Terminal sires are lowland breed of ram, which is used to mate with crossbred ewes, to produce a decent lambs The Cross Breeds n Do not include mongrels. The result of systemised cross breeding policies to produce offspring baring all the best qualities. n They usually involve a prolific sire and an indigenous (normal) ewe.

Examples of Cross Breeds n Blackface x Border Leicester = Greyface n Blackface x Blue faced Leicester = Scotch Mule n Cheviot x Border Leicester = Half-breed n Galway x Belclare Improver = Improved Galway

The Main Sheep Breeds The Galway • Big, late maturing “Long Wool” Sheep. • Pure breed Galways are sold for Store Production as HOGGETS between Xmas and Easter of their first year. • When crossed with Suffolk the offspring then mature early. • Galway is a large, polled, white-faced breed noted for: • Prolificacy - The best managed flocks can achieve 200% lambing • Longevity – Can lamb up to 10 years old. • Moderate growth rate and ease of finishing • Excellent carcase & eating quality • Fine quality wool • Hardiness & ease of management

The Main Sheep Breeds The Blackface Mountain • All Blackfaces are horned, with black or black and white face and legs. • Sometimes known as Scotch Blackface, Kerry Sheep or just “Blackies”. • They are very hardy and thrive in harsh & exposed conditions. • Low lambing rate! Why? • Blackface ewes are excellent mothers. • They are good milkers and are able to yield a lamb crop and a wool clip even when on marginal pastures • When brought down to lowland farms, Blackface ewes become prolific dams (female).

The Main Sheep Breeds The Wicklow Cheviot • The cheviot is hardy, fairly prolific and a good mother. • Their feet are sound and not prone to foot rot • The cheviot produces ideal lambs for the French market. • Good quality fleece of wool. • More so a hill breed and not quite as hardy as the Blackface. • Usually crossed with a prolific breed for production of commercial breeding ewes. • Lambs from a suffolk ram are good quality and early maturing.

The Main Sheep Breeds The Suffolk n The Suffolk is a hornless or polled breed, with a distinctive all-black head and black legs, and close-cropped white wool. n It is a dual-purpose breed for both meat production and wool. n But today it is the most commonly used sire for cross-bred lambs for meat. n A mature ewe can weigh 84 kg and a ram can reach 130 kg. n Very popular ram for production of fat lambs. n Impart excellent carcase characteristics to their offspring. n Important for early lamb production (born at Xmas and sold at Easter)

The Main Sheep Breeds The Texel • Originate from an island off the coast of Holland. • Introduced to Ireland in the 1960’s and 70’s. • The Texel is a white, hornless breed with crinkly wool and a very square stance. • The Texel is a hardy sheep that is capable of withstanding harsh winters. • Pure Texel and Texel cross lambs will suckle hard for milk as soon as they are born. • A mature ewe can weigh 85 kg and a ram 120 kg. • Low prolificacy but known better as a TERMINAL SIRE. • Very low lean to fat percentage.

The Main Sheep Breeds The Belclare Improver • New breed developed by Scientists in the AFT Institute in Co. Galway. • Made up from three lines of breeds. • The Belclare polled, white in colour with a good fleece, very sound feet and minimum mastitis problems. • Ewes are docile, have excellent mothering ability with a minimum of lambing difficulty and are capable of rearing three lambs if given adequate feed during lactation. • Daughters of your own ewe flock, sired by a Belclare ram are capable of increasing lambing rates by up to 30

Lowland Sheep Production Principles & Practice

General Breeding Policies - 1 n What happens if you find that your flock are inadequate and not good quality? n Do you replace them all? n Do you replace just the ewes? n It is cheaper and more effective to up-grade your flock by replacing the rams gradually. n One ram can serve up to 50 ewes. n What does the average Irish farmer look for when breeding sheep?

General Breeding Policy - 2 • Most Irish breeds will produce a good carcase in their lambs when crossed with a suitable sire (ram) so… • The most important thing to considered when choosing ewes is prolificacy. • The rate of lambing or the number of lambs weaned per ewe is the most important factor when considering the profitability of sheep production. • Every year the farmer should hope to up grade a proportion of his / her ewes by crossing with a prolific breed or else by replacing them with a more prolific ewe.

Stock Selection - Ewes n From the existing flock ewes should be replaced if they are not suitable for breeding. These include: n Age n Udder troubles (Lumps, mastitis etc) n Faulty Incisors (teeth) n Under sized ewes. n Lambing difficulties and bad mothering properties (low milk yield / rejection)

Stock Selection Ewes - 2 n Other reasons include: n Barren ewes. n Bad feet. n These ewes should be replaced by daughters of good mothers (hard to predict otherwise) n Do not use ewe lambs in the flock that have been sired by Suffolk or Texel. Why? n Prolific crosses should be given preference when buying in lambs.

Stock Selection - Rams n The ram is half the flock when you think of genetics so their selection is very important. n The ram should be pure bred and generally of the same breed as the ewe (depends on the use of the lambs). n The ram should be of a prolific or carcase breed. n If the ram was used the previous year and the ewe lambs are retained then he should be changed. Why? n Otherwise his daughters should be joined or served by another ram.

Flushing • Fertility of the ewes is greatly influenced by her diet and nutritional state. • The ewe should be gaining weight up to and during mating and should maintain this condition while the ram is with the flock (six to eight weeks) • This is achieved by Flushing. • Flushing constitutes moving the sheep onto rich pasture two weeks prior to mating. • Good after - grass is very suitable for this.

Flushing - 2 • If good grass is not available then concentrates will be required. • Flushing affects fertility in a number of ways: – It increases ovary activity to result in more heat periods. – It causes multiple ovulations (twins and triplets) • Ewes that had lambs the previous year should be “slimmed down” after weaning (Put on poor pasture or densely stocked) Why? • If they are not reduced in this way then they may be too fat at mating time or may not be able to put on the weight during the critical period.

Before Mating n Two weeks before mating the sheep should receive their winter dip (not before 15 th September) n Otherwise the sheep can receive the dip a few weeks after mating. n The whole flock should be dosed for intestinal parasites (worms). n The wool around the tail should be trimmed to facilitate service and avoid injury to the ram.

Before Mating - 2 n All ewes should have their udders checked for hardened lumps with serious cases being culled. n The whole flock should be walked through a FOOTBATH to prevent footrot trouble. Affected animals should be properly taken care of. n Flushing two weeks before joined by the ram.

Synchronised Breeding • A ewe's reproductive activity is controlled by photoperiod (the number of hours of daylight). • In temperate climates, when day length becomes shorter and temperatures become cooler, this change triggers the ewe's brain to release hormones to begin the reproductive process. • Sometimes it is very useful to have all your lambs being born around the same time. • Synchronised Breeding policies can achieve this! • Synchronised breeding also allows for lambs to be born earlier than normal as heat can be induced! • Earlier lambs would be available for the Easter market and would get a better price.

Synchronised Breeding - 2 • Synchronised breeding is carried out by “sponging”. • Sponging is a process whereby a hormone impregnated sponge is inserted into the ewes vagina. • When the farmer wants to induce heat, the sponge is removed. • If all the ewes are sponged, then all the lambs could be born within a few days of each other. • This does mean that the farmer will have more work in a short period of time!

Oestrous & Pregnancy • During their fertile period, ewes will come into oestrus (heat) every 17 days until they are bred or their fertile period is over. • Only during oestrus will a ewe allow a ram to mate with her. • The duration of oestrus is 24 to 36 hours. • The gestation period of sheep is 5 months less 5 days! • Since ewes are only pregnant for five months, it is possible for ewes to give birth to lambs at an interval of every six to eight months. • However, annual lambing (every 12 months) is most common.

Oestrous & Pregnancy - 2 • Ewes usually give birth to 1 to 3 lambs at each birth. • Twin births (two babies) is most common in wellmanaged flocks, though first time mothers are more likely to have single lambs. • Ewes produce their largest litters of lambs when they are between 3 and 6 years of age. • Lambs are usually 5 kg in weight when born, but twins may be only 3. 5 kg.

Mating n The ram should be in good forward condition but not fat. Why? n Fatness reduces activity and fertility while poor condition may leave him weak and emaciated at the end of mating. Raddling n Rams should be raddled daily with a suitable marker or a marker harness fitted. WHY? n So that served ewes can be separated. n To check for ram fertility i. e. repeat services.

Mating -2 n The rams may need to be hand fed as they would generally not eat much during mating. n After mating (six to eight weeks) the ram is removed from the ewes and placed in a separate paddock with the other rams. n He must gain weight before the onset of winter.

Note: Mating Ewe Lambs n Ewe Lambs are lambs that are 1 year old and are being served for the first time. n Ewe lambs can be served in their first year provide the weigh 50 kg at mating time. n It is advisable to put all the ewe lambs in one paddock with a ram to themselves. n The ram should be mature and definitely not a ram lamb.

After Mating n The foetus grows very slowly during the first three months or pregnancy so the feed requirements are generally low but good feeding should be maintained for the first six weeks. n The feeding over the second six weeks can be reduced slightly n Look out for foot problems. n Administer winter dip if not already carried out.

Late Pregnancy • During the last two months of pregnancy, the unborn foetus grows very rapidly and the ewe’s udder development increases accordingly before the onset of lambing. • Because of this growth and development, the nutritional demands of the ewe increases also. • This is called STEAMING UP! • BUT there is a small problem. • Because the foetus is growing so rapidly inside the ewe, there is little room available for the digestive system of the sheep.

Late Pregnancy - 2 n The answer is a more concentrated diet. n Fodder beet or turnips are useful or the use of meals and nuts. n Six weeks before lambing, the meals should be introduced, 250 g a day at first and gradually increased to 750 g a day. n Ewes with twins should be fed more accordingly. n There is a scanning technique to determine whether or not a ewe is carrying twins.

Late Pregnancy - 3 n What happens if ewes are under fed? ? n Serious problems occur if the ewe is underfed. n Twin lamb disease, which can prove fatal for the ewe and lambs. n Too much feeding can also prove problematic. How?

Late Pregnancy - 4 n Over fat ewes can also develop twin lamb syndrome and over feeding can also cause the foetus to grow too quickly and cause lambing problems. n Ideally, the ewe should be of good size and have enough nutritional reserves (steaming up) to ensure enough milk is available for her lambs.

Care Before Lambing • Two weeks before lambing the ewe receives a “seven in one” or “eight in one” booster injection against clostridial diseases. • The ewes should again dosed for intestinal parasites (worms) • The wool around the tail should be removed or trimmed. • In addition the wool around the udder should be trimmed.

Lambing • The gestation period of the sheep is 147 days (5 months less five days). • The birth weight should be 5 kg’s for single and 3. 5 kg’s for twins. • As ewes approach lambing, they become restless and often lie on the ground scratching themselves. • They should not be interfered with if possible at this stage but it is advisable to coax them into a lambing pen or jug! • What are the advantages of a pen?

Lambing - 2 n In the pen the ewes can be watched at all times and any lambing problems dealt with. n Before birth, the water bag should show clearly. This means birth is about an hour away. n If birth does not happen an hour after the water bag has shown, then the lamb probably is in an abnormal position in the uterus (womb) n The normal order of birth is head first, with the chin resting on the forelegs i. e. the forelegs first n The lamb may be pushed in if this position is not seen at the initial stage.

Lamb Care After Birth • Immediately after birth, the nose and mouth of the lamb is cleared from mucus. Why? • The naval is cut or carefully pulled to a length of 7 – 10 cm and then dipped in iodine or another disinfectant. • The ewe will usually lick the lamb clean and dry. • This actually stimulates blood circulation in the lamb and warms it up. • If the ewe does not lick the lamb, then the farmer or vet should rub the lamb with clean straw. • A heater is often needed in a lambing pen.

Lamb Care After Birth - 2 • It is very important that the lamb drinks as soon as possible. • The importance of colostrum must be stressed. (Ewe or stomach tube) • If there is no milk, then colostrum from another freshly lambed ewe can be used or cow’s colostrums. • Cow’s colostrum can be frozen and stored for emergencies. • After the birth of the lamb (about two hours) the after birth should arrive.

Lamb Care After Birth - 3 • This is the placenta, which provides the connection between mother and off spring in the womb. • Lambs should be left with their mothers in individual lambing pens until properly “mothered on”. • This usually takes about three days then they can be put together with the other newly lambed sheep.

Lowland Sheep Production Lambs from Birth to Slaughter

First Weeks After Lambing • Tail docking is carried out in the first week of the lamb’s life. • This involves removing the lamb’s tail. • All lowland sheep have their tails docked / removed but some farmers just remove the ewe’s tails only. • In addition, all ram lambs not intended for breeding are CASTRATED. • Castration and tail docking are performed with the same tool – the “elastrator”.

First Weeks After Lambing - 2 • This tool stretches a special strong rubber ring so that it can be placed around the tail or the scrotum! • This stops circulation in those areas and they eventually just fall off!!! • In this time (after lambing) the ewe’s appetite also increases dramatically and she drinks a lot of water. • Concentrates should be used until good grass is available for the lactating ewe. • Then precautions should be taken when on good grass against grass tetany. • Grass tetany is caused by low Mg levels in the grass.

Weaning the Lamb off Milk • Lambs are weaned at 12 – 14 weeks old unless already sold for slaughter! • They should be dosed before moving onto fresh pasture, and then every three to six weeks. • The lambs should be kept on clean / good quality pasture all the time. • The ewe is placed on poor pasture. Why? • So that they are “dried up” and so that they will not be too fat when flushed the following year. • Vaccination of the lambs should take place regularly against clostridial diseases. (Initially after 6 weeks and then every six weeks) • Creep feeding should be used to feed the lambs.

What is Creep Feeding? • By the time the lambs are 10 days old, they will have access to a creep area for creep feeding. • A creep is a pen that is fenced so that young animals can enter but adults cannot. • Creep feed is feed given to young nursing lambs. • The lambs will also have access to fresh water, high quality hay, and minerals in the creep area. • This allows for the lambs to get the all the food they need but still have access to their mother if not properly weaned.

Shearing & Summer Dip n Lowland sheep are shorn before the end of May. n If wool production is important to the farmer, then particular attention is given to the date of shearing and the shearing is done when the wool rises (weather dependant) n Sheep should not be sheared if their stomachs are over full or when they are in heat.

Shearing & Summer Dip • Two weeks after shearing the sheep receive their summer dip. • This is to prevent “fly strike”. • This refers to the blowfly or the green bottle fly, which lays its eggs in the fleece and maggots grow quickly. • Six months after lambing the booster injection against clostridial diseases is administered.

Sheep Diseases Symptoms & Treatment

Sheep Diseases n As species, sheep are much better adapted to life on hills (their natural habitat). n Therefore, keeping them on lowland farms causes health conditions that would not otherwise arise. n Specifically, lowland sheep suffer more from maggots, internal parasites and footrot. n The main reasons these conditions arise on lowland flocks are climate and stocking rate.

Sheep Diseases - 2 • Maggots are prevented on hills because the harsh conditions simply do not allow them to thrive. • Footrot is controlled on farms because sheep’s hooves are naturally stronger due to more use and wear. Maggots / Fly Strike • Maggots are the larvae (young) of the blowfly or the Green Bottle Fly. • The fly is attracted to odours in the fleece, and they lay their eggs on dung–soiled wool.

Sheep Diseases - 3 n Fly strike can be prevented by n Dipping in the Summer n Trimming excess wool around the tail n Tail docking n Grazing management (to prevent scour) n An affected sheep is usually quite restless and scratches the affected area frequently. n The area may appear green and wet. n Maggots should not be ignored and can often be fatal!

Sheep Diseases - 4 Worms n Nearly all sheep carry intestinal parasites / worms. n The older / more mature the animal the less worms. n This is because older animals develop a certain immunity to worms. n Worms can only be controlled effectively with both drugs and good pasture management. n All sheep should be dosed regularly and pastures managed as to prevent the spread of worms.

Sheep Diseases - 5 Liver Fluke • This is a “flat worm” which can cause death to sheep or simply reduce thriftiness and lower the quality of the carcase. • Both worms and liver fluke cannot reproduce inside the sheep (host) so the number of larvae eaten determine the extent of the disease. Footrot • Footrot is a very serious problem on Irish Farms. • Footrot is caused by a bacteria, in fact many different types of bacteria.

Sheep Diseases - 6 n Footrot causes lameness, serious pain, reduced food intake, in-activity and can lower fertility in rams. n You can spot an affected sheep by seeing them kneeling down while grazing.

Sheep Disease - 7 Bluetongue: • Bluetongue is an insect–transmitted, viral disease of sheep, cattle, goats, and other ruminants. • It is particularly damaging in sheep; half the sheep in an infected flock may die. • A bluetongue virus infection causes inflammation, swelling, and haemorrhage of the mucous membranes of the mouth, nose, and tongue. • Inflammation and soreness of the feet also are associated with bluetongue. • In sheep, the tongue and mucous membranes of the mouth become swollen, hemorrhagic, and may look red or dirty blue in colour, giving the disease its name. • Bluetongue viruses are spread from animal to animal by biting gnats. • Animals cannot directly contact the disease from other animals.

Sheep Housing & Handling Winter Housing: • The provision of winter housing is important in intensive lowland sheep production. • In-wintering sheep rests pastures, prevents poaching and encourages early grass growth in spring. • It also makes management at lambing time easier. • Sheep are normally housed in simple structures in small groups.

Sheep Housing & Handling - 2 Sheep Handling Unit: • A sheep handling unit is required in the farmyard by all sheep farmers. • It should contain a Collecting Pen, Storage Pens, a Footbath & Race and a Dipping Unit. • A collecting pen is used for collection and sorting of the flock. • Storage pens are used to shear the sheep, have their feet pared and treated for worms etc.

Sheep Housing & Handling • The foot bath & race is obviously for footbathing to treat foot rot. • And the Dipping Unit is used to administer the summer and winter dip.

Wool Production & Quality • Wool fibres are modified epidermal cells. • Wool fleece yields vary between 2 kg and 4 kg each year and contains hairs (kemps) and wool fibres. • Wool fibres are solid while kemps are hollow. • Ewes, hoggets and withers (castrated males) are shorn whereas lambs destined for slaughter are not. • Shearing normally takes place in June. • Wool Quality is determined by how fine the wool fibre is. • Most wool fibres in Britain and Ireland are between 40 – 50 μm. • Merino Wool is only 15 μm.

The Bradford Scale • The Bradford Scale is used to measure wool quality. • It is defined as: • The number of hanks of yarn, each 510 m long, that can be spun from 450 g of wool prepared for spinning! • Don’t worry about it. • Know that anything over a Bradford Scaleof 60 is defined as Merino, between 40 & 58 is Crossbred and below 40 is Carpet! • Merino wool is used for top quality wool products. Crossbred wool is used for tweed and carpet, well for carpet!

Useful Video Links • Lambing Live • Condition Scoring Sheep • Schmallenberg Disease