Ewe flock annual mortality rate
- Thread starter Chev54
- Start date
Up in the hills a ewe will likely survive 7 to 10 years implying a mortality rate of 10 to 14 percent. Simple maths. It follows that the mortality rate on the holding will be determined to a large extent by the age at which old ewes are sold at market as well as by ground quality. Most hill farms are very depleted of trace elements and without supplements will experience high mortality rates and low fertility as well as great difficulty achieving rapid lamb weight gain. The message is that older ewes might be best culled vigorously, sad to say, and trace elements introduced annually and adequately. Mostly we have no idea why individual ewes die and routine autopsy is far too expensive to be helpful. Some diseases are relatively easily recognised but in the main finding a dead ewe on the place leaves one puzzled.
- Location
- North Wales
Is this another AI bot @Clive 's been hunting last night. Joined 38mins ago. Reply doesn't read just right.
Like where are the spellings mistakes
- Location
- Dumfries & Galloway
Resurrection.
Hilly
Member
- Location
- Scottish Borders.
I wish i had ewes that did 7-10 years what aload of shyt.
Skintagain
Member
- Location
- Perched on the Pennines
I have a couple of 10 year olds but I also have plenty shearlings that go to kill after first lambs
If anyone enjoys a podcast I was listening to the head shepherd podcast the other day where they interviewed a researcher on ewe wastage. Research done in NZ suggested ewe mortality throughout the year was 7-8% and replacement rate close to 30%. Certainly made me feel better anyway
Skintagain
Member
- Location
- Perched on the Pennines
Most shepherded flocks wouldn’t be to far off that. If we only lost 5% I would be extremely happy.
Skintagain
Member
- Location
- Perched on the Pennines
When we had more mules we got more deaths. They sacrifice them selves for their lambs
Northeastfarmer
Member
- Location
- Cleveland
The longer I keep sheep the longer I realise an auld ewe is graft
Hilly
Member
- Location
- Scottish Borders.
Defo , up here cant keep them past 4crop or it turns a disaster.
- Location
- Isle of Skye
Self perpetuating problem.
ringi
Member
But when the payment for draft ewes is good there maybe no reason to try keeping past 4crop.
Puzzled as to precise diagnosis. Septicaemia, bacteraemia, clostridiIal infection, secondary pneumonia, intraabdominal catastrophe, cobalt deficiency, thiamine deficiency, neurological illness of various types etc etc. it is sometimes possible to know the diagnosis with some certainty but most times the precise underlying cause of death is obscure. Post mortem will frequently help but not always and is expensive.
- Location
- Isle of Skye
Unless breeding own replacements.
ringi
Member
That depends on the relative cost of keeping a ewe lamb as a replacement compared to the cull value of a 4 crop ewe. But I would rather see culling based on kg of lambs from each ewe rather then a fixed age of ewe.
- Location
- Fife
Would require tagging at birth or DNA testing, both of which are expensive.
Using a raw kg weaned figure will favour bigger ewes. Weight of lambs weaned as a percentage of ewe weight at tupping is the better figure.