SHEEP SCANNING RESULTS ARE IN Scanning for the 2015/16 lambing has been completed with a similar result achieved as last year, however some farms are achieving record results. Chief Executive Andrew Beijeman reports on the importance of this procedure.
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canning of sheep, or pregnancy diagnosis, is a process that tells us how many ewes are carrying a lamb and whether they are carrying a single lamb, twin lambs and in some cases triplets. It is the first chance to understand how well mating has gone, which reflects on how ewes were managed over the summer and autumn. Scanning percentage is the measure used to report mating performance. It is calculated by dividing the total number of lambs being carried by ewes, by the number of ewes at scanning. Another measure used is the percentage of ewes that are dry. The aim of mating is to have as few dry ewes as possible and a high number of twins, for example our highest performing flock at Tawanui has about 80% of ewes scanned with twins. A ewe’s live weight at mating, and her live wight change before mating has a big impact on fecundity (weather she carries singles or twins, or is dry). If a ewe is gaining weight prior to mating and is heavy, she is more likely to have twins. Conversely, if she is losing weight and skinny, she is more likely to either carry no lamb
at all, or a single lamb. This makes summer and autumn management of ewes really important. To manage this more effectively, we are doing a number of things to lift scanning percentage, which should see improvement over the coming years. These include: • Identifying lighter ewes in the lead up to mating and feeding these ewes to make them heavier. • Removing finishing lambs from breeding farms before mating so breeding farms can concentrate on lifting the weight of all ewes. • Increasing the weight of young stock to improve their lifetime scanning performance.
• Adjusting overall stock numbers so that remaining stock can be feed better, lifting whole farm performance. An increase in scanning is one of the big goals for 2015/2016. It is the first step in lifting the number of lambs born and farm profitability and we will report on developments in future AWHI issues.
Ewes at Scanning
Lambs Carried
Dry
6
0
Single
33
33
Twin
111
222
Total
150
255
Scanning % = 255/150 or 170% Dry % = 6/150 or 4%
TOITŪ TE WHENUA
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