Sheep Industry News March 2024

Sheep Nutrition DARREN SEIDEL, Ph.D., Purina Animal Nutrition Changing your lambing calendar

I t’s finally springtime, meaning flocks everywhere are filled with new lambs and the excitement this season brings each year. While this is the traditional approach, many flocks are testing the idea of out-of-season lambing and the potential opportunities. During the past few years, consistent markets have made premi ums available for lambs outside the standard window. However, the transition to lambing outside of traditional timing isn’t as easy as flipping on a switch, and is far from a one-size-fits-all approach. Con siderations around nutrition, breeding, marketing and your region come into play. Take time to deliberately create an off-season lambing plan and ask lots of questions. Here are a few to get you started. HOW SHOULD MY BREEDING PROGRAM SHIFT? One of the biggest challenges with off-season lambing is getting ewes to cycle out of their natural time frame. Synchronization tools – like CIDRs – can help ewes cycle on a new timeline. Nutrition also plays a key role in getting ewes bred out of season. Sixty days before you’d like to breed your ewes, it’s time to get them in the proper condition. If the ewes are too thin, they will not respond to the synchronization effectively. A natural survival instinct for ewes is to not cycle at all if malnourished. Reproduction can also be more difficult if the ewes are over-conditioned. Fat deposition can occur in the udder, reducing the ewe’s milk production over time. Take a good look at your current conception rates. If they’re not where you’d like them to be, look for ways to improve before imple menting a significant change like nontraditional lambing. You might see a decline in your conception rates when you first start breeding out of season. However, ewes will acclimate to their new cycle as you continue to implement it. For this reason, it’s best to start with a small group of ewes to hone your new program before applying it to your entire flock. WHAT ARE THE HEALTH CONSIDERATIONS? There are tons. The most important rule of thumb is that repro ductive health doesn’t get off the ground without a good mineral program. To ensure your ewes are in top shape, feed a high-quality sheep mineral year-round. Off-season lambing can also create higher demands for forage, and there might not be any growing when you need it. Be sure to have ample supply and get it tested. It’s critical to understand the nutri tional profile of your forage so you can supplement accordingly. Ewes’ nutritional requirements must be met throughout every life stage

and, knowing nutrient requirements increase throughout gestation and into peak lactation after lambing is critical for off-season lambing programs. Supplements high in fat and protein can fill in forage gaps. As for the lambs born outside of normal timing, be sure to assess your vaccine and deworming programs. Dewormers are especially important during warmer months because parasites can create challenges that aren’t as common in traditional lambing times. This means lambs can be more susceptible, as well. Work with a veterinar ian to create solid lambing protocols with these extra considerations. HOW CAN I TAKE ADVANTAGE OF PREMIUMS? Dive into auction records for the markets you’d like to sell lambs through. Determine breeding dates by adding your finishing timeline, gestation and the 60 days of nutritional preparation ahead of breed ing. This can help you calculate when you’ll have the best opportunity to sell lambs based on your target market. Knowing your market end goal and working out a timeline ahead of that is the best way to set your ewes up for success. Feedlots may also have opportunities, especially outside their expected lamb influx timing. These cycles can be decades old, and they might be looking for ways to add more consistency. Locking in a market and creating strategic partnerships is crucial, as there’s inherent risk created if you have out-of-season lambs without a plan or locked-in price with a buyer. DOES LOCATION OR FLOCK SIZE PLAY A ROLE? Short answer: yes. Some locations – such as Midwestern or Eastern states – can have more opportunities due to weather patterns. West ern ranges will have additional considerations before implementing out-of-season breeding due to forage availability and labor challenges that can create bottlenecks. Flock size can also be a determining factor. Small flocks can be more agile to market demands and look for premiums since they don’t have massive numbers of lambs sold yearly. Some areas of the country are not keeping up with consumer de mand, and this creates room for growth or seasonal diversification. There are many ways to create successful out-of-season lambing programs. By working with your nutritionist, asking questions, start ing small and allowing your flock a year or two to acclimate, you’ll be on a path toward success. Visit PurinaMills.com/sheep-feed. Darren Seidel is a ruminant technical consultant with Purina Animal Nutrition. Contact him at dseidel@landolakes.com.

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