Better Farm Update: Lamb management and culling

Frank Campion, Animal & Grassland Research and Innovation Centre, Athenry, Co. Galway reports on culling and the management of low-level BCS ewes.

The Teagasc BETTER farm flocks’ cull ewes have been marked throughout the year, and ewes will be checked for breeding faults again in the run- up to mating and be culled as necessary. The flocks’ target is to have a 20-25% replacement rate and, where possible, to cull poorer- performing ewes also from the flock. Culling on performance alone can be tricky for flocks building numbers, but for those with established numbers and breeding policies, this is an option and helps increase overall flock performance the following year.

The target ewe BCS at mating is 3.5, but in all flocks there will be variation in BCS between ewes. Another way the BETTER sheep farms are looking at this in recent years is by examining how many ewes were below BCS 3.0 at mating. The target is to have this number as low as possible, but at least below 10%, when the ram is joined. As presented in Table 1, the percentage below 3.0 can vary between years, as every year presents different challenges, so it is important that ewes are checked regularly and management is adjusted as necessary. This year is no exception as weather conditions have slowed lamb drafting and affected grass quality on the farms. It takes eight to 10 weeks for a ewe to regain one unit of BCS, so thinner ewes within the flocks have been identified and are getting preferential treatment. Any ewe that fails to regain BCS will be culled, and the remaining ewes will have their BCS checked regularly to ensure that they are on track for mating.

The target ewe BCS at mating is 3.5.

Table 1: Percentage of ewes in BCS <3.0 on the Teagasc BETTER Sheep farms from 2020-2022.

Also read: Identifying poor performing sheep in your flock

Also read: Managing ewe body condition