What do you cull for?

[Benn]

In an Outdoor lambing flock ,
What do you cull for?

Thinking getting bit tighter on reason to cull the following so far,

Bad feet ,anything other then scald.
Fly strike
Small pelvis
Anything doesnt rear a lamb
Anything that doesn’t get in lamb
Prolapse


unsure if following to cull for below,

•Triplet where have to give a hand lambing.
•Triplet where only rear two lambs to weaning.
•twins one lamb born dead.
•ewe that aborted at least one lamb.
•any twin ewe that looses a lamb to weaning.
•body condition score constantly above 3.5 and below 2.5

 

[spin cycle]

getting out

 

[Estate fencing.]

getting out

I thought getting out was your main reason to select your replacements.

 

[twizzel]

Your list plus:
Anything crazy
Anything that aborts
Anything that repeatedly gets stuck on its back
Mastitis

Am at about 30-40% cull rate for my small flock but can’t afford passengers and without a dog anything batsh*t crazy just winds the rest of them up.

 

[Benn]

Forgot mastitis id cull for that

 

[Nithsdale]

I've decided as I've almost 30% more Gimmers going into the flock this year, I'm putting an extra tag in every single ewe I dislike.

Come weaning they're all going cull along with the usual culls. No it's, no buts. Fert and feed prices I'm happy to run a few less ewes for a year or 2, and I'm sick of some which do good lambs, but are often questionable condition wise or are lame.




Cull anything which has no lambs after lambing - whether lost them or chucked them.
Cull the empties at scanning.
Cull prolapses
Cull dodgy bags
Cull bad teeth
Cull bad do-ers
Cull constant escapees
Cull repeat fly strike
Cull dirty arses
Cull poor milkers


That's just off the top of my head

 

[Northeastfarmer]

Anything that looks at me funny

 

[S J H]

In an Outdoor lambing flock ,
What do you cull for?

Thinking getting bit tighter on reason to cull the following so far,

Bad feet ,anything other then scald.
Fly strike
Small pelvis
Anything doesnt rear a lamb
Anything that doesn’t get in lamb
Prolapse


unsure if following to cull for below,

•Triplet where have to give a hand lambing.
•Triplet where only rear two lambs to weaning.
•twins one lamb born dead.
•ewe that aborted at least one lamb.
•any twin ewe that looses a lamb to weaning.
•body condition score constantly above 3.5 and below 2.5

With the second from bottom, does that mean that you cull any singles aswell?

Also for the abortion one, if I can get lambs adopted onto them, I’m inclined to give them another go and hope theyre immune next year.

 

[Frank-the-Wool]

Why would you cull for Flystrike?
If you are in an area where it can be bad then just use a preventative, not the sheeps fault.
If they get on their back persistently they usually cull themselves.
Bad teeth/mouths.
Saggy udders.

 

[Ffermer Bach]

In an Outdoor lambing flock ,
What do you cull for?

Thinking getting bit tighter on reason to cull the following so far,

Bad feet ,anything other then scald.
Fly strike
Small pelvis
Anything doesnt rear a lamb
Anything that doesn’t get in lamb
Prolapse


unsure if following to cull for below,

•Triplet where have to give a hand lambing.
•Triplet where only rear two lambs to weaning.
•twins one lamb born dead.
•ewe that aborted at least one lamb.
•any twin ewe that looses a lamb to weaning.
•body condition score constantly above 3.5 and below 2.5

remember trying to breed for too many traits at once, makes things harder, maybe lambing problems, flystrike and at scanning anything not in lamb goes would be my aims.

 

[Ffermer Bach]

Why would you cull for Flystrike?
If you are in an area where it can be bad then just use a preventative, not the sheeps fault.
If they get on their back persistently they usually cull themselves.
Bad teeth/mouths.
Saggy udders.

I am sure I have read not only on here but elsewhere too, that to a certain degree it is a heritable trait. I will add, that I try to only keep replacements that have a clean back end, so tending to breed for non daggy sheep anyway.

 

[Frank-the-Wool]

I am sure I have read not only on here but elsewhere too, that to a certain degree it is a heritable trait. I will add, that I try to only keep replacements that have a clean back end, so tending to breed for non daggy sheep anyway.

It is to a degree down to wool type, but in certain areas we get sheep struck on clean areas on their backs and sides.
Had 3 lambs this week I had put skins on all got maggots!! Don't think it was their fault.

Merinos they have been breeding out wool in the crutch to reduce the risk of Flystrike.

 

[Benn]

With the second from bottom, does that mean that you cull any singles aswell?

Also for the abortion one, if I can get lambs adopted onto them, I’m inclined to give them another go and hope theyre immune next year.

Last batch is thinking is it a good idea culling for,not what i do cull for.
Thinking more along line if twin looses one is it to do with not enough milk/quality colostrum at birth,

 

[Woolless]

Big teats. Had a ewe last whose two lambs died because her tears were too big and they couldn't get on before they perished. For some reason, she was only dropped into the B flock rather than sent packing. Result, two dead lambs this year as well .

 

[Ffermer Bach]

It is to a degree down to wool type, but in certain areas we get sheep struck on clean areas on their backs and sides.
Had 3 lambs this week I had put skins on all got maggots!! Don't think it was their fault.

Merinos they have been breeding out wool in the crutch to reduce the risk of Flystrike.

I thought I was breeding resistance to worms by only keeping replacements that were clean, but someone said, no you are just breeding non daggy sheep, which is equally a good thing. In fact I have read, that truly worm resistant sheep take so much energy to resist the worms that their growth rate is not too hot, where as breeding to do OK with worms but keep looking at growth rates is a far better aim.

 

[Benn]

Why would you cull for Flystrike?
If you are in an area where it can be bad then just use a preventative, not the sheeps fault.
If they get on their back persistently they usually cull themselves.
Bad teeth/mouths.
Saggy udders.

Have wool shedders here,

If its not due to a cut from barb wire etc that causes the strike ,then its a reason to cull.

 

[Benn]

Big teats. Had a ewe last whose two lambs died because her tears were too big and they couldn't get on before they perished. For some reason, she was only dropped into the B flock rather than sent packing. Result, two dead lambs this year as well .

Thats another one here for when one twin lamb died sure because she has one side which has a massive teat,

 

[Al R]

It is to a degree down to wool type, but in certain areas we get sheep struck on clean areas on their backs and sides.
Had 3 lambs this week I had put skins on all got maggots!! Don't think it was their fault.

Merinos they have been breeding out wool in the crutch to reduce the risk of Flystrike.

We can get maggots from March-November due to humidity and warmth, it is very very rare a lamb/ewe gets maggots on/around the bum area, 90% would be middle of the back and shoulders, fat ewes especially the sweat sits in the pond between the shoulders
I cull any that get flystrike but I don’t spray ewes only lambs, usually once they’ve had flystrike once the scabby flesh stinks and attracts more flies so they get culled.

Most of the reasons above, teeth, prolapse, awkward, feet if treated twice (almost moving to a first offence cull policy now)
If a ewe has 2 dead they get culled.

Next year If a ewe comes in from the fields to the shed she’ll be culled.
If a ewe needs any individual attention and not a flock/group treatment they will be culled.

 

[Dry Rot]

I remember this question came up amongst us student at college. An Australia student said they culled anything that had to have a hand put on it. I always thought that was the ideal.

 

[puppet]

Anything with a black face and horns