A2B-Lancaster Farming, Saturday, March 16, 1991 Accelerated Lambing (Continued from Page A 1) have instituted at their Hawk Mea dow Farm puts a 400 lambing per cent goal well with reach of their ability to obtain it. “One of the easiest and least understood methods of increasing profits from sheep is to use acceler ated lambing or STAR system,” said Mende. “This system of breeding and lambing was deve loped some years ago by Brian McGee of Cornell University. ‘The basic concept of acceler ated lambing is that you turn the ram in at fixed intervals during the year. While this extends the lamb ing season, it also means that you will get more lambs per year from each ewe.” Hawk Meadow Farm was stocked with 12 ewes snd a ram eight years ago. Some of the origi nal individuals are still in 200 head flock that is now managed on the accelerated lambing program. Mende says many people who come to the farm to buy ewe lambs express an interest in the acceler ated program, but they often say they don’t understand how to do it. Mende says in their program, there are five breeding and lambing sessions each year. Breeding and , m "iiP rfT* PRO-CUT ALFALFA VERY HGH DISEASE RE3STANC6 PLUS RESISTANCE TO APHIDS PRO-CUT IS VERY LEAFY AF© IS BECOMING A FAVORITE AMONG DAIRYMEN W OUR AREA PROCUT IS OUR MOST POPULAR ALFALFA VARIETY BECAUSE OF ITS QUALITY STANDS. What Will Your Stand Look Like 3 Years From Now? Plant Pro-Cut High Disease Resistance ammm CHEMGRO P.O. Wtim, State Strwt Mm fum/rnt, fA j?#*e SEEDS t-«*MeMW»(Ciiow) lambing coincide. Approximately one-third of an established acceler ated lambing flock will lamb dur ing a particular session. You capi talize on the ewe’s innate ability and don’t need to alter light cycles, use progesterone sponges, teaser rams, or any of the multitude of gimmicks people say you need to use. The chart with this article shows the breeding and lambing intervals. To get started, (if you do not already have sheep), buy ewes or ewe lambs from an accelerated lambing flock. Choose lambs sired by a ram who is a proven out-of season breeder and sires multiple births of healthy lambs year round. Ask to see the flock production records. Choose ewes that have a history of unassisted births, milk production to raise twins with an average daily gain of at least .65 lbs. per day from birth to 100 days. Look for lambing intervals of 175 to 240 days, and a lifetime lambing average of greater than 300 percent. Mende says that if you already have ewes, don’t sell them, but put them on the STAR system and cull with abandon. You will have to decide what MU AG Rl “ INCa The Construction Professionals Needed your culling criteria should be. This will change as the flock’s pro ductivity improves. To get started, save ewe lambs only out of your top-producing ewes. Ewes must lamb by 14 months of age. Cull any that don’t lamb in this time frame. Out of the ewes that have lambed by 14 months, cull those that do not lamb by 11 months later. Out of those that remain, cull any that do not lamb eight months later. At the end of two years, cull any mature ewe that has not lambed at least three times within that two year period. What you are trying to do is to establish a flock that will consis tently lamb at least every eight months. With time and strict cull ing, lambing intervals can be shor tened to 6.5 to 7.4 months. For the STAR system to be most profitable, the ewes must consis tently have multiple births. Th Mendes say their Finn cross ewes can produce eight or more live lambs in two years, but the increased profits from these ewes are only attained with more work. “The biggest reason people abandon accelerated lambing is because their ewes don’t perform,” Mende said. “And the reason they don’t perform is because the she pherd tries to feed them the same as he would a once-a-year lambing flock. On an accelerated lambing schedule, there is no “flushing.” Ewes must be kept in breeding con dition at all times.” To be kept as a replacement in the Hawk Meadow flock, the Thanks and Congratulations MR. & MRS. LUKE A. SNYDER On Their New Machinery Storage Building • 5376 Sq. Ft. Floor Area • 14 Ft. Sidewall Height • Timber-Column Construction R.D. 4, Ephrata, PA 17522 • (717) 354-4271 Serving The Agricultural Industry For Over 20 Years lambs must be from ewes that have a 400 lambing percent. Even breeding stock sold to commercial flocks must come from ewes with a 300 lambing percent. In the future, the Mcnde’s hope to have two alternating commer cial flocks on the STAR accceler ated lambing system. This would give them a crop of lambs every month. And their altament goal is to be able to cull at the 300 to 325 lambing percent range. “Over the last three years, arti cles on profitable sheep raising in * Change in dates due to Christmas sales falling around ** Gestation length of 135-148 days * * * FEATURES BUILT BY Breeding Lambing Weaning Possible Session Sessions** Date*** Markets -1 1/1 to 1/31 5/15 to 5/28 8/1 *2 3/15 to 4/14 7/23 to 9/9 10/13 *3 5/1 to 6/5* 9/13 to 10/31 12/5 *4 8/8 to 9/7 12/21 to 2/2 3/8 =5 10/20 to 11/19 3/4 to 4/16 5/20 12/15-18 Lambs can be weaned when they are 5-7 weeks old without too many problems drying off the ewe. Earlier weaning means special handling and feeding of ewes and lambs and this equates to work and money. Go by the length of lactation (at least six weeks), milk production, and condition of the ewe and not by the weight of the lamb(s) Hothouse Christmas fat lamb Easter fat lamb Breeding stock (breed in January) Christmas lightweight Easter lightweight Feeder to • Double Slide Door w/Bottom Guide and Anchor • Painted Steel Siding w/Screw Fasteners • Galvalume Roof w/Screw Fasteners Lancaster Farming have been few and far between,” Mende said. “Most of these articles are long on theory and short on practical know how, written by extension special ists and veterinarians who earned their degrees in the lab and not in the barn. ‘Those who elect to try acceler ated lambing will find it works and can increase profits,” Mende said. “The more you work with the sys tem, the more you will find you want to optimize it to yield higher profits.” Let Our Experience Work For You For All Your Farm Building Needs, Large Or Small A, 3 A, B C. 0, £ 0, F, G 0, G
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