Is Performance recording worth it

[ni beilo nawr]

Really like the idea of selecting and culling on data. Just not sure if it's worth it on 300 commercial non registered lleyn.

 

[Al R]

More beneficial for the smaller compared to the larger flocks due to being able to do it at lambing and actually input record all of the data.
I know someone who had 600 ewes who went full EID and he said if he hadn’t have been selling the whole flock 2-3 years later he wouldn’t have bothered but he said the ewes were worth more as they had data behind them of what they’d previously reared etc.. 300 ewes is easily manageable to do full EID recording, be prepared that your culling rates will be higher and often getting rid of ewes by their third year which can have its downsides..

 

[AvonValleyFarmer]

Pen, paper and ear notchers

Definitely worth recording data for 300 ewes. Even if it's with the above.

 

[ni beilo nawr]

Pen, paper and ear notchers

Definitely worth recording data for 300 ewes. Even if it's with the above.

Agree its to easy to spend a fortune on Eid kit and software. When good management whats needed

 

[Woolless]

Pen, paper and ear notchers

Definitely worth recording data for 300 ewes. Even if it's with the above.

As above and use the best recorded tups you can afford to buy.

 

[HarryB97]

Definitley worth it but only focus on the key traits. We are all EID but I dont use it for performance recording just meds, weighing & deaths. Anything which has mastitis, barren or rears no lambs i mark red on the head (as they're sheaders) and they get culled. Anything which has ever been lame, needed assistance at lambing, or touched due to any issue or scanned anything apart from twins gets a blank purple tag in the back of their left ear so it's easy to see down the race, these all go to a terminal sire. Simple and straight forward system which doesn't involve me faffing around with our shearwell recorder and bits of paper etc.

 

[Nithsdale]

Presume you're a 'closed' flock, breeding your own replacements?

If you're not, it won't be worth it...


I'm very primitive. I run 2 flocks. Call them A and B.

A is the best ewes bred pure for keeping replacements from
B is the same ewes, but it consists of any I don't like, wouldn't want to breed replacements from. They go to terminal rams for fat lamb production.

Group A, mainly in the run up to and through lambing, if I have to do any work to the ewe. Struck, prolapse, feet, assisted lambing/difficulty, blown tits etc etc etc she is automatically demoted to group B and her lambs will be killed as fat, ending her line.

Group B, I consider all ewes to be on 2 strikes - 3 strikes and you're out, they get culled. Any issues i can't excuse, they get a tag (I don't record numbers, no eID used and rarely a pen and paper) which means cull at weaning. The only issue I don't mark against in this group is assisted lambings...

The only part where it can sometimes fail is if you get a poorer milking ewe who don't do their lambs so well, but on the whole it works fine for me

 

[neilo]

Really like the idea of selecting and culling on data. Just not sure if it's worth it on 300 commercial non registered lleyn.

Fairly easy to mark/tag problem sheep for culling, or to ear mark/notch twin lambs at birth as potential replacements.

Beyond that, I would think the Lleyn ‘Gold’ system has some merit as a simple performance recording system, where you record weight of ewes and compare it to weight of lamb reared, using a spreadsheet or a program like FarmIT. Obviously that necessitates recording lamb ids against their mothers though.

 

[Woolless]

Fairly easy to mark/tag problem sheep for culling, or to ear mark/notch twin lambs at birth as potential replacements.

Beyond that, I would think the Lleyn ‘Gold’ system has some merit as a simple performance recording system, where you record weight of ewes and compare it to weight of lamb reared, using a spreadsheet or a program like FarmIT. Obviously that necessitates recording lamb ids against their mothers though.

If the OP lambs inside it would be easy enough to do, I suppose. Tagging large numbers outside is a fair undertaking though.

 

[Nithsdale]

If the OP lambs inside it would be easy enough to do, I suppose. Tagging large numbers outside is a fair undertaking though.

The geek in my would like to record my ewes...


But there's no chance of it lambing outside. I'd waste my day trying to scan the ewes tag I'm also very much against tagging lambs so young

 

[Woolless]

The geek in my would like to record my ewes...


But there's no chance of it lambing outside. I'd waste my day trying to scan the ewes tag I'm also very much against tagging lambs so young

I do it by spraying ewe's number on her side. Often you can read tag anyway and I'll confirm that way if I can. I've had very little bother tagging lambs at that stage. Of course, it's all work and only really worth it if you're breeding tups and getting a premium for them. I found that this year that 90% of the work with the recorded ewes at lambing was tagging. Straightforward otherwise, as it should be.

 

[neilo]

The geek in my would like to record my ewes...


But there's no chance of it lambing outside. I'd waste my day trying to scan the ewes tag I'm also very much against tagging lambs so young

Aside from the pedigree ewes that are lambing inside and all recorded anyway, I always EID tag the lambs born to maternal rams (c.150-160 ewes) and record their birth weight and parentage on the Psion. I don't record any problems, they just either don't get tagged or lose their existing tag, becoming a killing lamb. I just read the dam's tag with the Psion, at the same time as I'm tagging. If the ewe isn't attentive enough to stand within reading range, I'm not sure I want to keep a replacement lamb from her anyway. I dare say that wouldn't leave many replacements if I ran more scatty breeds though.

 

[Ysgythan]

No

 

[Bury the Trash]

£1000 is about what a basic but good /reliable Eid setup will cost. depends if you've got that sort of money to spend of course,
couple of 'zaps' and clicks and you see which mother lambs have / vice versa .. linking is so easy and practically useful for various reasons ir


......but don't forget that setup will do other things to justify its cost it will keep all stock movements and Medicine book up together (and be good to show fa inspector ) and help to allocate / show costs of Meds , Feeds

 

[neilo]

No

Did you read beyond the thread title?

Surely, even you, will be recording parentage, problems, breeding traits, etc, even if you’re only ‘recording’ some of it in your head. Personally I record lots of traits, in addition to those given to Signet, which shape my breeding decisions every year. I’d be amazed if most other shepherds didn’t do likewise, even if they don’t consider it as ‘recording’.

 

[Ysgythan]

Did you read beyond the thread title?

No

 

[Ysgythan]

Surely, even you, will be recording parentage, problems, breeding traits, etc, even if you’re only ‘recording’ some of it in your head. Personally I record lots of traits, in addition to those given to Signet, which shape my breeding decisions every year. I’d be amazed if most other shepherds didn’t do likewise, even if they don’t consider it as ‘recording’

Yes, we use the Red Spot of Doom. I annotate the lambing sheets. We do Signet recording. For the pedigrees I have an XL sheet showing progeny sales. If I added a column on that for EBVs there would be no correlation between highest index and highest value of sales.

 

[Sandpit Farm]

Playing devils advocate, I would suggest that if you aren't recording and selecting (even if it is a simple system), why bother having a closed pure bred flock?

The benefits of a closed purebred flock are better flock health (hopefully) and the fact you can select and improve (which involves recording).

The benefits of a flying flock are hybrid vigour and you can maximise your return on slaughter lambs.

 

[Ysgythan]

Playing devils advocate, I would suggest that if you aren't recording and selecting (even if it is a simple system), why bother having a closed pure bred flock?

The benefits of a closed purebred flock are better flock health (hopefully) and the fact you can select and improve (which involves recording).

The benefits of a flying flock are hybrid vigour and you can maximise your return on slaughter lambs.

This is true.