Managing your sheep flock after weaning
Most mid-season sheep flocks will have weaned their lambs by now. In this article, Richard Gill, Teagasc Athenry, focuses on managing lambs and ewes post-weaning.
Teagasc recommends weaning lambs at approximately 14 weeks of age. At this stage, lambs are no longer reliant on milk and can achieve excellent growth rates from high-quality grazed grass.
Managing lambs
Following weaning, lambs should become the highest priority grazing group on the farm. Teagasc research consistently shows that high-quality leafy grass is the cheapest and most effective feed available for lambs. Maintaining grass quality is therefore essential to achieving high liveweight gains and reducing the need for concentrate supplementation.
Lambs should be offered leafy swards and should be moved regularly through a rotational grazing system where possible.
Grazing lambs ahead of other stock will help maintain grass quality and ensure they have access to the best quality grass on the farm. Poor-quality, stemmy grass will reduce daily liveweight gain and delay finishing.
Monitoring performance
Regular weighing is also recommended. Monitoring liveweight gain allows farmers to identify underperforming lambs early and make informed decisions regarding health treatments, nutrition or drafting for slaughter.
Lambs approaching finishing can remain on the best-quality grass available. Where grass quality or supply begins to decline, or where lambs require an additional boost to reach slaughter weight, concentrates can be introduced.
Teagasc advises that meal feeding should complement, rather than replace, good-quality grass.
Lighter lambs should continue to receive priority grazing to maximise growth from grass as introducing concentrates to early can incur very high feed costs.
Parasites
Internal parasites remain one of the biggest causes of poor lamb performance during the grazing season. Rather than following routine dosing programmes, Teagasc recommends using faecal egg counts (FECs) to monitor stomach worm burdens and determine whether treatment is required.
Faecal egg counts provide an indication of worm levels within a group of lambs and help farmers avoid unnecessary dosing.
Reducing the use of anthelmintics where they are not required is an important step in slowing the development of wormer resistance.
When treatment is necessary, lambs should be weighed to ensure the correct dose is administered. Dosing equipment should be calibrated regularly and farmers should avoid repeatedly using the same class of wormer throughout the grazing season.
Mineral deficiencies
Trace element deficiencies can also limit lamb performance, particularly on farms where deficiencies have previously been identified.
Cobalt deficiency is relatively common on many sheep farms and can reduce appetite and growth rates in young lambs.
Lambs should be given a cobalt mineral drench every 2-3 weeks. Providing the correct mineral supplementation alongside good grazing management and parasite control will help maximise lamb performance after weaning.
Managing ewes
Immediately after weaning, the priority for ewes is to reduce milk production and dry these ewes off. To achieve this, ewes should be grazed on maintenance-quality grass for approximately one to two weeks following weaning.
Restricting feed quality during this period encourages milk production to decline and reduces pressure within the udder.
Once ewes have been dried off, the ewe flock should be assessed and culling should take place. Ewes should be considered for culling if they have poor teeth, chronic lameness, repeated mastitis, prolapse history, poor mothering ability, low milk production, difficult lambing history, poor fertility or recurring health problems.
Ewe condition
Body condition scoring should also be carried out on all ewes after weaning and ewes should be grouped accordingly. Thin ewes should receive priority access to good-quality grass to regain condition before the breeding season.
Improving body condition gradually over several weeks is more effective than attempting rapid weight gain immediately before joining.
Ewes that are already in optimal condition can be maintained on average-quality grazing, while over-fat ewes should be managed on tighter grass to prevent excessive condition. Achieving the correct body condition at mating is an important factor influencing conception rates, scanning results and overall flock performance for the coming year.
Planning for a successful autumn
Good management after weaning sets the foundation for profitable lamb finishing and a productive breeding season. Prioritising lambs on high-quality grass, monitoring stomach worms, maintaining an appropriate mineral programme and managing ewe condition will all contribute to achieving these targets.