The Ewe

Feeding and Managing the Ewe Flock: A New Watch

The number of lambs sold per ewe mated in the breeding flock has a considerable impact on sheep operation profitability. This depends primarily on fertility, prolificacy (# of lambs), and lamb survival, mothering ability, milk production of the ewe and lamb growth rate. Optimal reproduction does vary by environment and management system – some sheep operations don’t want a lambing rate over 200...

Pregnancy diagnosis in the ewe.

A total of 378 ewe lambs were evaluated for signs of pregnancy using five methods of detection. The methods used were breeding mark, rectal-abdominal palpation, an intrarectal Doppler instrument and two ultrasonic devices, the Scanoprobe and Scanopreg (Model 738) for sheep. Accuracies of pregnancy diagnosis based on grease marks at mating vs lambing results were 65.7% in 1976 and 75.5% in 1977 ...

Topics in Ewe Syntax

Factors regulating ovulation rate in the ewe.

Our knowledge of ovulation rate is still very rudimentary, but that is not to say that little information is available. The literature contains a vast body of data on the subject (Cumming, 1977) but a general model, such as those that are now widely accepted for the control of the oestrous cycle (Baird & McNeilly, 1981) or of seasonal reproduction (Goodman & Karsch, 1981), is not available. The...

Altering ewe nutrition in late gestation: I. The impact on pre- and postpartum ewe performance.

The present study was conducted to examine the effects of offering a single diet rationed to 80% (80% ME), 100% (100% ME), or 120% (120% ME) of recommended ME requirements from d 119 of gestation to lambing, with concurrent changes in other dietary nutrients. The effects on pre- and postpartum ewe performance, including estimated milk yield and milk fatty acid concentrations, were monitored. Si...