With the breeding season kicked off on many mid-season lambing flocks, sheep farmers will be hoping for positive results when the time comes to scan their ewes.
After a good year for lamb prices, farmers will be hopeful that their rams will also bring positive results and that the 2021 breeding season will prove a success.
According to Teagasc, a ram can lose up to 15% of its body condition during a six-week mating season, so it is vital to maintain a ram’s condition throughout the breeding period.
A good way to see how well a ram is performing is by using a raddle either using a harness or paste. Rams that are raddled provide an indication of the number of ewes ‘tipped’.
By using a raddle, infertile rams can be identified early and removed straight away from the flock.
Unless a raddle is used, farmers must simply guess how their rams have performed until pregnancy scanning has been completed.
Farmers who have opted not to use a raddle may face the risk of ewes not going in-lamb, therefore reducing the productivity of the flock. This is particularly the case if rams were not switched between groups of ewes.
By using a raddle now, farmers will be able to identify any ewes that have not held to their first or second service – depending on how long the ewes and rams have been joined.
The use of a raddle can also reduce the number of empty ewes next spring. Alarm bells should sound if more than 15% of the ewe flock are being raddled towards the end of the breeding season, according to Teagasc.
If rams are still very busy after two weeks of mating, it could indicate a problem with fertility.
Raddling rams
If raddling a ram, it’s important to start off with a light colour and progress to using a darker colour as the breeding season progresses, so as to make light work for yourself.
By changing the raddle colour – every 14 days – a farmer can: estimate the date the ewe had mated with the ram, calculate the approximate date that ewe will lamb down and understand whether a ewe has been served more than once – which may be a sign of a problem with the ram.
It is better to have a team rather than just one ram during the breeding season. If a ram is infertile or gets injured, its important to have another ram at the ready.
Larger flocks will require more ram power anyway, rather than having just having one for the entire flock.