Sheep Husbandry

Question 1

List mountain breeds.

Answer 1

Scottish blackface Swaledale Rough Fell Welsh Mountain

Question 2

List hill breeds.

Answer 2

Lleyn North Country Cheviot Clean Forest South Country Cheviot Kerry Hill Exmoor Horn

Question 3

List longwool breeds.

Answer 3

Border Leicester Blue-faced Leicester Wensleydale

Question 4

What is the purpose of half-breeds?

Answer 4

to bring some hardiness & good mothering ability into longwoll breeds while maintaining the high quality wool, milk production, and fertility

Question 5

List longwool breeds.

Answer 5

Border Leicester Blue-faced Leicester Wensleydale Tesswater

Question 6

How many lambs are expected yearly from a halfbreed?

Answer 6

two

Question 7

List terminal sire breeds.

Answer 7

Dorset Hampshire Down Suffolk Charolais Beltex Texel

Question 8

Describe the sheep year.

Answer 8

spring = lambing early summer = shearing summer = weaning autumn = tupping

Question 9

What is the gestation length of a sheep?

Answer 9

147d

Question 10

At what age does a lamb wean?

Answer 10

12-16w

Question 11

What is the purpose of scanning a ewe? When is it performed?

Answer 11

diagnose pregnancy & fetal number identify barren ewes 60-90d post fertilization

Question 12

At what age to ewes mate first?

Answer 12

18m

Question 13

How long is the oestrus cycle?

Answer 13

17d

Question 14

What are raddle marks/keel paint?

Answer 14

paint used to identify ewes that have been tupped applied to the venture of the tup

Question 15

What is a scanning percentage?

Answer 15

number of fetuses @ scanning/number of ewes tupped

Question 16

What are some major health issues experienced in the early summer?

Answer 16

fllystrike parasitic gastroenteritis

Question 17

How do you treat flystrike

Answer 17

dagging, shearing, topical antiparasitics

Question 18

How do you treat parasitic gastroenteritis?

Answer 18

antihelmentic drugs, grazing strategies, breeding for resistance/resiliency, nutrition

Question 19

How do you identify cull ewes?

Answer 19

tooth loss mastitis “thin ewe” chronic lameness

Question 20

Flock management in the autumn looks like:

Answer 20

scab control fluke control pre-breeding management

Question 21

What is a gimmer?

Answer 21

18m ewe 1st pregnancy basically a heifer

Question 22

What are the controlling forces for sheep farmers?

Answer 22

climate/weather relief costs (food, fuel, labour) prices (lambs, cull ewes)

Question 23

What is the role of a vet in sheep farming?

Answer 23

flock health advice & management lambings/caesareans/prolapses lame/sick tups lamb health issues (lameness, entropion) parasite control/biosecurity

Question 24

What does a healthy sheep look like?

Answer 24

alert clean/uniform fleece

Question 25

What does an ill sheep look like?

Answer 25

lameness thin reduced abdominal fill diarrhea coughing/difficulty breathing

Question 26

What are the birth-slaughter intervals?

Answer 26

4m for fat lambs 9m for short-keep store lambs 12m for long-keep store lambs

Question 27

What does short-day breeding mean?

Answer 27

decreased light hours = increased melatonin & GnRH = increased ovulation & sperm production

Question 28

True/False Tups are given 1 chance to tup ewes.

Answer 28

False they stay with ewes for 2 cycles

Question 29

What is the appropriate tup:ewe ratio?

Answer 29

1:50 1:20 for single-sire 1:10 for synchronized

Question 30

Why choose a mountain breed?

Answer 30

hardiness & affinity for otherwise non-productive land

Question 31

Why choose a longwool breed?

Answer 31

higher quality wool produce half-breeds

Question 32

What is a terminal sire?

Answer 32

pure-bred tup used on half-bred ewes for fast growing lambs with good carcass conformation not very hardy

Question 33

Explain flock types in the stratified system

Answer 33

Question 34

Explain the advantages & disadvantages of indoor vs. outdoor lambing.

Answer 34