Prelambing/kidding managment of the ewe/doe

Question 1

management for pre-lambing/kidding

Answer 1

-gestation 147 days ewe/150day goats
-BCS part way through and adjust ration as needed
-shearing or crutching before lambing is helpful if facilities and wether permits

Question 2

when does most of the fetal growth occur

Answer 2

-70% happens in the third trimester so extra energy needed
-last trimester

Question 3

what is crutching

Answer 3

shearing around udder and rear end
keeps lambs from sucking on wool

Question 4

how does litter size effect birth time

Answer 4

the bigger the earlier usually

Question 5

early gestation nutrition

Answer 5

-first month of gestation on flushing ration
-gestational ration is lower energy than flushing

Question 6

late gestation nutrition

Answer 6

-needed for the last 6 weeks of gestation
-could be the same as the lactation ration

Question 7

things to keep in mind for late gestation nutrition

Answer 7

-test feed products fo know what you are woking with
-so if feeding by hand know the unit weigh for the year
-eg. bale of hay, pail of barley

-energy is going to be the limiting factor in late gestation
-needed for fetal growth
-udder development for lactation
-prevent pregnancy toxemia

Question 8

what can poor nutrition in late gestation result in

Answer 8

-small weak lambs/kids born
-higher mortality of lambs
-poor colostrum yield and quality
-pregnancy toxemia/ketosis

Question 9

what does over feeding in late gestation cause

Answer 9

-fat ewes more susceptible to pregnancy toxemia
-difficulties lambing
-too big of lambs/kids are hard to give birth too

Question 10

supplements and minerals that sheep need for late gestation

Answer 10

-selenium and vitiman E
-calcium

Question 11

selenium and vitamin E for late gestation

Answer 11

-important for reproductive performance and prevention of retained placenta
-if feeding mineral premix it should include sufficient levels

Question 12

calcium for late gestation

Answer 12

-requirements increase at the end of pregnancy and going into lactation
-low calcium intake can result in milk fever because of low ca in the blood
-present forages especially alfalfa, but if feeding grain silage need to supplement

Question 13

physical feeding areas of late gestation

Answer 13

-as ewes/does get wider make sure there is enough feed bunk space for all to eat
-goat code says to double bunk space for heavily pregnant does
-pregnant ewe lambs and doeling should be fed separately form mature ewes

Question 14

pregnancy determination

Answer 14

-return to estrus
-blood test
-real time ultrosonagraphy
-rectal abdominal palpation

Question 15

having a set breeding window

Answer 15

-have a set breeding window and remove rams at the end of that window
-not too long of the potential lambing window is too lang and you have to hold on to potential open ewes

Question 16

using retuning to estrus for pregnancy determination

Answer 16

-return to estrus:
-ram or teaser ram in with ewes after breeding window with the marker and any ewe marked is not pregnant

Question 17

blood test as pregnancy determination

Answer 17

-measures progesterone conc to detect pregnancy 18 days after breeding
-fails to detect non pregnant ewes accurately

Question 18

real time ultrasonagraphy and preg determination

Answer 18

-transducer emits sound waves that baounce back off various tissues to create image
-stand whicke being scanned
-needs to be contained for saftey
-trans rectal probe
-trans abdominal scanning is usually done between 45-90 days
-transducer is pressed against right flank in the non-wooly area in front of the udder and angled forwards towards the last rib on the opposite side
-can count fetuses

Question 19

transrectal probe for preg determination

Answer 19

-rectal ultrasound
-can detect as early as 20 days (20-40)
-hard to count fetuses
-ewe needs to be calm

Question 20

recatal-abdominal palpation for pregnancy detection

Answer 20

-ewes are sedated and positioned on their backs
-a palpation rod is inserted into rectum and the technician uses their free hand to palpate the abdomen
-rod brings the uterus closer to outer wall and try to identify solid masses as lambs
-66-120 days post breeding with 88% accuracy, accuracy increases to 100% after 120 days
-62% accurate for determining fetal numbers

Question 21

pregnancy and litter size determination advantages

Answer 21

-can cull or rebreed open ewes decreasing non-productive days
-feed accordingly ewes with singles vs ewes with triplets

Question 22

challenges of pregnancy and litter size determination

Answer 22

-any vets are allowed to provide commercial services
-cost 5-8$/ewe in alberta (most vets are have hourly rate provided you can scan enough sheep in an hour
-availability of a vet to come to your farm
-farmers can buy their won machine (cost depends on quality) then gain accuracy and experience
-pen space to sort and feed ewes accordingly once you know litter size

Question 23

canadas small ruminant ultrasound pregnancy assessment training and certification program

Answer 23

-in canada only vets can legally do ultrasound determination
farmers and employees of farmers can do their own flocks
-can sheep federation has implemented this training program because in other countries its alot easier and more common for greg scanning resources
-this program works with certified ultrasound technicians and has 2 levels of training:
-trained (theory based, intended only for those who want to do their own farm)
-certified (theory and practical componednt for those who want to offer custom services. complete apprenticeship programs and tests. once certified there is a grievence program so if preducers are unhappy with the skills they can file a grievance