- Location
- Isle of Skye
The flock will be 240% dead in six years time, not including culling.
Lifetime ewe cull rates
- Thread starter unlacedgecko
- Start date
That is exactly how I read it… but I’m just a simpleton
- Location
- Isle of Skye
Don't worry, my head is spinning now too. I thought I had it figured out a few minutes ago but then I lost it again...
- Location
- Fife
If there are 5 years in the study, and total on farm mortality is 40%, then that means an average of 8% per year.Don't worry, my head is spinning now too. I thought I had it figured out a few minutes ago but then I lost it again...
40 ÷ 5 = 8
You're confusing annual mortality with total study mortality.
Yes!
Tight ship 3%. 6.67% (assuming six years) is more than double. The allowances you made for bad weather/bad luck etc are catered for in the six year period of life, the 50% culled by choice and the 13,000 number. Seems highly inefficient and an opportunity lost. I appreciate the pov that the cull values may be very low but those dead ewes have taken the time and resources of a potentially productive ewe
I feel like we need a white boardDon't worry, my head is spinning now too. I thought I had it figured out a few minutes ago but then I lost it again...
- Location
- Cheshire
- Location
- Isle of Skye
Yeah sorry, I've got it now. The 6.6% annual death of one age group in one year is correct, so say that's there's 100 sheep per age group, sheep are kept until 6 so six age groups -600 sheep.
100 sheep and so 6.6 dead annually with 6.6% death rate
600 sheep and so 40 dead annually but still 6.6% death rate
Woolless
Member
- Location
- Berwickshire, Scottish Borders
To paraphrase darts commentary legend Sid Waddell, 'If this ewe mortality gets any more complicated, I'll have to get a slide rule for Christmas!'
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Now explain the offside rule…
- Location
- Isle of Skye
My triumph over percentages has left me exhausted, both mentally and physically so it'll have to wait till another day.
- Location
- roe valley
Iv a pedigree ryeland ewe that is 16 year old and still got all her teeth but she’s not managed a lamb for 2/3 years now, was my first ever sheep so she can stay as long as she’s is healthy
- Location
- roe valley
Thats the same for me just a pet now, she never had a problem getting in lamb but she was finding it hard to rear the lambs getting a bit light on the milk.
- Location
- Cheshire
I feel proper cruel now with you lot comparing pet sheep! Grandad had a pet hardy beulah. Bloody thing was ancient. Must have been 13-15 year old. Didn’t rear a lamb for the last 2 years of its life. But it would lead raiding parties of lambs around after weaning. Showed them all the weak points, all the gates. Bloody thing even climbed the 5ft wall from the yard up into Grandmas flower garden. Made a real mess. It went the week after. Made £65. Grandad hardly spoke to us for days afterwards!
So you should feel cruel! Should never come between a man and his old per sheep
- Location
- Cheshire
Selling it was kinder than what Grandma wanted done with it after it desolated her garden.So you should feel cruel! Should never come between a man and his old per sheep
When the National Fallen Stock Company first started, they were dumbfounded by the death rate among both sheep and cattle. It was about double the expected rate.
Which isn't surprising. If a farmer claims a 3% death rate, the true figure will be about 6%. It's one of the main ''Laws of Nature''.
Which isn't surprising. If a farmer claims a 3% death rate, the true figure will be about 6%. It's one of the main ''Laws of Nature''.
Global ovine
Member
- Location
- Central Otago NZ
After a quick look through annual land class data of sheep and beef farms in NZ for "Deaths, killed and missing" (as identified in business Annual Returns) the quoted paper seems much higher than any individual farms I have had data access to. This quoted report is from North Island Hard Hill Country (I do not know if it is in a Facial Eczema region, which can have devastating affects on deaths).
The nearest is South Island High (Mountain) and Hard Hill Country. Predominately Merinos and their derivatives averaging 5.2 - 7.1% pa.
NOTE: all figures involved; lambs tailed, sales, replacement and breeding stock present at commencement and end of the financial year.
The average size dog team on these larger grazing properties (pets included) is 0.8 dogs per 1000 sheep stock units. Therefore at least 200 sheep (old rams, thin ewes, non saleable sheep) would be slaughtered for dog tucker. Then there is house mutton. A 20,000 SSU property would support about 3 households, so at least 75 muttons would be slaughtered. The largest loss of sheep here is either Johnnes Disease in young ewes or pneumonia in old ewes , but only on some farms. Ewes are generally sold down country after 4 lambings.
South Island Improved Hill Country. Largely Romney or Romney derivatives.
3.7 - 5.3% pa. Note; average sheep flock 5670 SSU. Despite non shepherded lambing being the norm, losses at lambing time have been recorded as around 2% (prelamb shearing/or crutching tallies less those ewes present at tail docking).
South Island Intensive lowland Rolling. Largely Romney/Romney derivative/Composite.
3.1 - 5.0% pa. Deaths are of a similar profile to above, as more disease based deaths are encountered due to high stocking rates. Ewes are inspected at least once a day at lambing.
Most of these flocks are single operator flocks averaging 3820 SSU.
So in a 4500 ewe "average" South Island flock, ewes entering the flock as 2 tooths and kept for 6 lambings, about 25-28% would not survive to complete those 6 lambings. However there is much variability in the individual data.