Tupping indoors

Stockwell

Member
Anyone tried it?
We’ve a flock of several Lleyn ewes, we single sire mate about 800-900 ewes and don’t physically have enough fields, nor enough grass wintering available on other local farms.
So thought I might try tupping them indoors on good silage and a little feed. Then turn them back out in late autumn in bigger groups to tidy up any grass before moving onto roots for the rest of the winter. Any thoughts appreciated
 
I assume you are pen mating ........i.e. using a teaser to identify those cycling and then take them to the allocated entire ram for servicing. If this is the case, each ram will serve hundreds of ewes as you will give him two jumps per ewe, whereas if he was free among a pen full of ewes he will serve the actively dominant ewes many times and may not serve the more shy if he has plenty cycling together, which can be a waste of his mating potential. If pen mating, don't run the ewe too far after. Let the wee boys to settle into their swimming race in which they fight each other like gladiators, i.e. the best man wins.

Feeding indoors should be no problem as long as the ewe flock has time to be adjusted to the change in management/diet, as a sudden change during the cycle before mating can lower the ovulation rate of the ewe flock when mating is in progress. But if they put on weight, each extra kg of body weight is worth about 2.1% more lambs at scanning, or over 1.9% more hitting the ground at lambing.

Once the ewes have had about 5 days since mating they can be taken safely outside and joined with a chaser ram, knowing that any change in diet shouldn't upset the implanted embryos.
 

Stockwell

Member
I assume you are pen mating ........i.e. using a teaser to identify those cycling and then take them to the allocated entire ram for servicing. If this is the case, each ram will serve hundreds of ewes as you will give him two jumps per ewe, whereas if he was free among a pen full of ewes he will serve the actively dominant ewes many times and may not serve the more shy if he has plenty cycling together, which can be a waste of his mating potential. If pen mating, don't run the ewe too far after. Let the wee boys to settle into their swimming race in which they fight each other like gladiators, i.e. the best man wins.

Feeding indoors should be no problem as long as the ewe flock has time to be adjusted to the change in management/diet, as a sudden change during the cycle before mating can lower the ovulation rate of the ewe flock when mating is in progress. But if they put on weight, each extra kg of body weight is worth about 2.1% more lambs at scanning, or over 1.9% more hitting the ground at lambing.

Once the ewes have had about 5 days since mating they can be taken safely outside and joined with a chaser ram, knowing that any change in diet shouldn't upset the implanted embryos.
Well what I really meant was to just pen them in their tupping groups of 60/1 ram and let them get on with it to be honest. Usually change the raddle every 7 days as well. Busy getting suckler calves ready for sale during tupping time (late October) so don’t want to be stuck in the sheep shed too much.
 

neilo

Member
Mixed Farmer
Location
Montgomeryshire
I’ve done it with small groups of sponged ewes at times, with one ram in a shed with 20 ewes (10 sponges pulled on day 12, the other 10 on day 14 to spread them a bit). Always worked as well as having them in a paddock tbh, but I’ve never tried it with bigger mobs.
I can’t see it would be much different to tupping them in small paddocks, if limited space is the problem, assuming feeding regime was settled and good enough.
 

Stockwell

Member
Cheers Neil,
It was more the feeding I guess I was most concerned about. Don’t want to lower the scanning percentage greatly by having them tupped inside instead of on plenty of good autumn grass
 

andybk

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
Mendips Somerset
Yes they tup ok , have done it i the past when i wanted to use an old ram that had arthritis that couldnt get about very well was , with 50 odd , just be a bit quiet moving them back out so embrios dont get absorbed from stress , most held ok in the end
 

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