D4-Lancaster Farming Saturday, October 1, 1988
SAN ANTONIO, TX A
herd-management program that
includes a breeding-soundness
examination of rams and the use of
vasectomized rams to prepare
ewes for breeding will significant
ly improve the profitability of a
lamb producer, according to Don
E. Bailey, D.V.M., of Roseburg,
Ore., executive secretary of the
American Association of Sheep
and Goat Practitioners (AASGP).
Bailey was one of several speak
ers representing the American Vet
erinary Medical Association
(AVMA) and three other national
veterinary organizations, includ
ing AASGP, at a meeting of the
Livestock Publications Council in
San Antonio.
Bailey estimated that instituting
breeding-soundness examinations
for rams would reduce the cost of
breeding per ewe from $lO-$l5 to
$3-$4, because producers would
not have to use as many rams per
ewe during breeding.
He said exposing ewes to vasec
tomized rams also can improve
reproductive efficiency by induc
ing ovulation before mating with a
fertile ram. Vasectomized rams
also are being used to identify
ewes that are not pregnant for
culling.
Intensive management practices
and innovative veterinary tech
niques can enable sheep producers
to double or even triple lamb pro
duction per ewe, Bailey said.
“Some farmers now produce
well in excess of 200 lambs
weaned per 100 ewes mated, and
the more ambitious are aiming to
produce one pound of lamb per
ewe per day over a 365 day per
iod,” Bailey said.
Sheep have a gestation period of
only rive months, but unlike cattle
or swine, they tend to be seasonal
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Herd-Management Plan Will
breeders, and most ewes lamb only
once a year, he explained. Some
ewes will lamb twice yearly or at
least three times every two years.
Another strategy is to induce
multiple births, he said.
Cross-breeding with certain
breeds can have dramatic effects
on flock reproductive performance
by extending the breeding season,
Dorsets for example, or by stimu
lating earlier onset of puberty and
increased ovulation rates, Finnish
Landrace, for example.
Breeding soundness evaluations
of rams are important, because
even temporary infertility can have
a dramatic negative effect on
reproductive efficiency. These
evaluations also assure the timely
culling of rams affected with vari
ous infectious diseases that influ
ence semen production.
New techniques now available
through veterinarians include a
pregnancy diagnosis that tells far
mers which ewes are pregnant and
how many fetuses each is carrying
to facilitate extra feeding of ewes
carrying multiple fetuses. Embryo
transfer and artificial insemination
are techniques with great potential
for improvement of reproductive
efficiency, but the sheep industry
has been slow to adopt them, often
because of technical problems,
Bailey said.
Other new techniques sheep
practitioners now are able to offer
producers include estrous induc
tion, synchronization- of cycles to
get all ewes in a flock lambing at
the same time, and induction of
parturition to control the timing of
deliveries. Two promising new
techniques now being used suc
cessfully overseas have yet to be
approved in the U.S.: use of
androstenedione as a vaccine to
increase the ovulation rate and
melatonin, a hormone that
advances the breeding season.
Bailey highly recommended
veterinary investigation of abor
tion outbreaks in sheep flocks, not
ing that several effective vaccines
or management changes are now
available to prevent recurrences.
“Upwards of 15 to 20 percent of
Equestrian
NUREMBERG (Schuylkill)
Ravens Run Equestrian Center, at
Valley of Lakes Resort near Hazle
ton, will hold a riding clinic con
ducted by renowned horseman Joe
Boyle on Sunday, October 2,
beginning at 2:00 p.m.
Boyle holds qualified judge
holding cards in American Paint
Horse, Appaloosa Horse Club,
Pinto, Palomino and POA. He also
is approved by the American Judg
ing Association. Classes to be
offered include horsemanship,
showmanship, western riding and
hunt seat. Admission to the clinic
is $5 for gallery seating and $25 if
horse and rider participate in one
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Increase Profits
all lambs bom die before weaning.
Once a veterinarian determines the
cause of these losses, it is possible
to reduce mortality significantly
by implementing preventive mea
sures,” Bailey said.
He said a sheep herd
management program can be
organized by seven distinct sea
Center To Host Horse Show
of the sessions conducted by
Boyle.
Ravens Run Equestrian Center
is a complete horse facility offer
ing boarding, training, showing,
lessons, sales, horse-drawn car
riages and sleigh rides. Additional
ly, the center, located just south of
Hazleton off Route 924, provides a
multitude of amenities for the dis
cerning horseman, including pri
vate secured facility, a new indoor
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sons in the sheep raising yean pre
breeding, breeding, pre-lambing,
lambing, post-lambing, fattening
in the pasture, and weaning. The
result of following a herd manage
ment program with the advice of a
veterinarian will be increased pro
fitability for the sheep farmer,
Bailey said.
arena measuring 60’ by 160’, a
new 40’ by 100’ bam that encloses
28 box stalls, 4,500 private acres of
trails, and an on premises tack and
feed store. Presently under con
struction is an outdoor riding are
na. For more information on the
riding clinic and facilities, tele
phone 717/384-4066, or write
Ravens Run Equestrian Center,
Valley of Lakes, Nuremberg, PA
18641.
READ
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