Scanning rates on target
Frank Campion, Animal & Grassland Research and Innovation Centre, Athenry, Co. Galway looks at the results from pregnancy scanning on some of the lowland BETTER sheep farms.
The scan rates and scanned litter sizes for the farms that have pregnancy scanned at the time of writing are presented in Table 1. Scanning and pregnancy rates have for the most part been acceptable so far based on the past performance of the flocks. Ewes were also body condition scored at pregnancy scanning and thin ewes were marked and separated for additional feeding.
A general check on flock health was also carried out, with the main issue being lameness. All ewes were foot bathed to reduce the spread of lameness prior to housing. Lame ewes were examined, the condition diagnosed and the appropriate treatment administered with veterinary consultation where necessary. If possible lame sheep were put into a separate group until cured to reduce the risk of spreading the lameness.
Table 1: Mature ewe scanning results from five of the lowland BETTER farms 2024/25
| Farm | Forde | Gavin | Keane | Moore | Cassidy |
| Location | Galway | Carlow | Wexford | Roscommon | Monaghan |
| Scanned litter size | 1.82 | 1.9 | 1.88 | 1.96 | 1.88 |
| Scanned pregnancy rate (%) | 93.4 | 98.8 | 96.6 | 97.3 | 91.8 |
| Scanning rate | 1.7 | 1.88 | 1.82 | 1.9 | 1.72 |