We think of our farming year beginning in October, as we prepare for breeding. We pull the sheep off pasture in mid-October. In our area, a most important consideration is Giant liver fluke. Valbazen used on our vet’s recommendation, kills the adult liver fluke. The ewes are wormed as they leave pasture, and then again, 5 to 6 weeks later. The second worming will catch flukes which were immature in mid-October. Both wormings are done before turning in the ram.

We begin flushing the ewes for breeding in November, 2 to 3 weeks pre-breeding. We vaccinate against abortion diseases. By the first week of December, breeding decisions have been made. The sheep are sorted accordingly, and the appropriate ram turned in, or preparations for artificial insemination have been made. We use a single sire mating, and typically have 4 or more different breeding groups.

The rams are left with the ewes for 6 weeks. Corn is fed to the breeding groups until the rams are removed. Ewe lambs also receive some supplemental soybean meal. While the ewes go off grain when the rams come out, the ewe lambs continue to be fed, as they are still growing themselves.

Thirty days after the rams come out, the ewes can be ultrasounded. This will tell you if the ewes settled, and sophisticated machines can count fetal numbers. The sheep can be separated into groups bearing triplets or twins, and fed accordingly. Open ewes can be sent to market.

Six weeks pre-lambing, the late gestation ration balanced to our hay test is begun. We feed the sheep their grain twice a day, which has kept ketosis from being a problem. As soon as possible, we send the ewes out on pasture, in a quick rotation. They end up at the hay feeding fence but this activity of being out, rummaging around much of the day gives them a good workout, and helps to keep lambing problems to a minimum.

The ewes are kept in good physical condition year-round, to a score of 3 to 3.5. The demands placed on them throughout the year warrant it, and our lambs and milk production reflect this management practice. Sound, healthy sheep hold this condition score much better, with less supplements. It is important to feed the flock properly, and to be sure that they have adequate mineral and water supply year-round.

We schedule shearing about a month before lambing. We trim any long toenails then so we don’t have to tip the ewes up again pre-lambing. We vaccinate the ewes with Covexin-8 within the month prior to lambing. If one wants to vaccinate to control soremouth, this should be done not less than 8 weeks pre-lambing. OPP blood samples are more easily drawn from slick shorn ewes; about a month pre-lambing is a good time to do this test.

To best utilize our pastures, we lamb in late April and May, as our grasses are beginning to grow well. About 75% of our ewes lamb in the first cycle, and the rest lamb in the second cycle. We use what I call a “Modified pasture lambing system”. Most of the ewes are left on pasture with their lambs, we eartag the lambs and spray paint them with their eartag number for ease of identification. Navels are iodined, and lambs recorded. Some ewes will be brought in and penned with their lambs if we feel the bonding process warrants it. Ewes are wormed as soon after they lamb as possible. The milking flock cannot be wormed again until they come off line; the only exceptions are wormers called Rumatel, and Panacur which are approved for dairy cows. Worming quickly and leaving the lambs on for 30 days gives a withdrawal time for the wormer.

Mixing groups are made of 5 or more ewes, depending on their experience level. After we see that all is going well, these ewes and their lambs can be mixed with another group, and thus into the main flock of ewes and lambs.

Not only do our ewes raise triplets on pasture, they also milk well off pasture. The lambs are left with the ewe for 30 days, and are out learning how to forage from their mothers from the very beginning. The lambs typically weigh 30 plus pounds at weaning. At weaning, we vaccinate with an 8-way clostridial, as they will now begin to eat creep more heavily. Because the lambs are weaned at this early age, we offer an ad lib creep mixture for their first 60 days.

They don’t start eating any significant quantity until their 3rd or 4th week, as they are getting sufficient nutrition from their mothers. The creep recipe, which we mix on farm, changes according to the lambs’ age and NRC requirements. The lambs are provided with a free choice mineral containing a coccidiastat, which is not available to the ewes, as it is not approved for lactating dairy animals.

The lambs continue on pasture after their first 60 days on creep, by which time they have adjusted well. Ewe lambs to be retained for breeding are fed corn, as are lambs we will direct market. In September or October we typically sell the balance of the wethers as feeder lambs.

Proper dairy nutrition will result in good milk production, and lengthened lactations. The ewes being milked receive, in addition to their pasture diet, a whole shelled corn ration fed on the stand, about 1 1/2 pounds per day, or .75 lbs per milking. Barley or oats are other excellent choices if they are more economical than corn. The grain serves as a source of energy.

The pasture, a high quality birdsfoot trefoil, clover, and grass mix, provides protein, and tests about 18%. Additional soybean meal may be added as required. The amount of pasture consumed may need to be regulated. Dairy ewes in a forage based system during the flush of grass growth may not eat enough fiber to make sufficient butterfat. Our holding area is divided by a hay feeder from which the ewes can munch while waiting to be milked.

They can also eat from it after exiting the milking parlor prior to going back out to pasture. Milking at 6 and 6 cuts into the time when ewes would normally be out grazing, so having this fiber source available is working out very well. It also helps to keep the ewes standing after milking, allowing the teat sphincter to close. We utilize probiotics and yeast cultures in the diet at weaning or whenever stress could be a factor in reducing food intake.

A rumen buffer is offered free choice; if that starts disappearing too fast we need to determine what is upsetting their digestion. We monitor the physical condition of our ewes during milking to be sure that they are getting the correct amount of feed. Ewes who are getting fat are putting on weight at the expense of milk production. Water must be provided to the ewes; it must be clean, fresh, and plentiful. A water source is located in each paddock. An additional source is in the barn for ewes who are waiting to be milked.

Our first group of ewes usually goes on the stand on Memorial Day weekend, and we milk for over 100 days post weaning. More ewes are added to the milking string according to their lambing dates. As she comes on line, each ewe is tested for mastitis, using the California Mastitis Test, or CMT. We thus identify problem ewes immediately, and deal with them according to the individual situation. CMT’s are done weekly on all ewes, as well as an as- needed basis. Some ewes are tested more frequently based on their last CMT test.

This process is time consuming, but it is important to udder health, and to the production of a quality product. If the number of ewes being milked becomes quite large, we will CMT a sample of milk from each bucket at each milking, rather than the weekly individual test. One elevated ewe can raise the entire bucket’s test result, and she can usually be found quickly at the next milking. Obviously sick ewes are spotted as we inspect and clean udders prior to milking each morning and evening.