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NUMBER 06/18 3 November 2006 |
Handling sheep in ways which take advantage of their natural behaviour can markedly increase the speed, safety and efficiency of flock operations while reducing stress on animals and handlers alike, reminds the English Beef and Lamb Executive (EBLEX) in its latest Lamb Action for Profit fact sheet.
As seasoned lamb producers know, good handling facilities and practices can markedly reduce the time taken in routine operations like tagging, weighing, worming, dipping, vaccination, foot bathing and loading stock for movement, sale or slaughter. Equally, poor handling can easily result in carcase bruising and hide damage as well as having a negative impact on meat quality and, thus, direct returns to the producer.
'Better Returns from Effective Sheep Handling' reminds and advises producers to match handling facilities to stock type, numbers and requirements, making the most of features that encourage rather than discourage smooth stock movement. In particular, it points out that:
The new fact sheet recommends current handling facilities are appraised against these key behavioural considerations to identify where improvements are needed, stressing that if changes are needed in many cases they can be achieved both simply and inexpensively.
At the same time, it endorses dividing stock into small groups for handling, with group size matched to the capacity of the facilities available and maintaining established farm groups to avoid additional social stress.
Highlighting the extent to which handlers affect the way the animals they are handling behave, EBLEX suggests the nearness of the flock to flight can be gauged very effectively by monitoring the number of sheep facing the handler - the greater the proportion of animals facing away the closer the group is to flight.
Copies of Lamb Action for Profit Fact Sheet 14 are available free of charge to English levy payers from EBLEX on 0870 2418829 or by e-mailing info@eblex.org.uk. More detailed information and guidance linked to the factsheet can be obtained through the unique interactive website resource at www.eblex.org.uk.
These comments are direct quotes from EBLEX Sheep Scientist, Dr Liz Genever, who can be contacted on 01908 844243. Alternatively, ring your EBLEX Regional Manager or the Press Office on 01908 844166. Information is also available at www.eblex.org.uk
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NUMBER 06/11 7 July 2006 |
With pasture worm burdens building-up rapidly over the grazing period, good management will be essential this summer to maintain post-weaning lamb growth rates and avoid delays to finishing. Worming programmes will, however, need to be particularly well-planned and managed to combat the growing problem of anthelmintic resistance.
EBLEX warns producers that recent surveys indicate worms resistant to Benzimidazole (white) drenches are present on 80% of lowland farms with some resistance to all three broad spectrum classes of wormer now identified.
Combined with post-weaning stress, high July and August worm burdens can more than halve lamb growth rates from at least 125 g/day to as little as 50 g/day, seriously compromising the capacity for lambs to be finished early and economically enough off grass for the best autumn returns. What is more, the wet early season and current warm, moist conditions means worms are likely to prove especially damaging this season.
The rise in anthlemintic resistant worms means English flocks can easily make this situation worse by failing to plan and manage their worming as well as possible, increasing their immediate costs for little performance gain and making future control even more problematic.
To prevent lamb performance being compromised, while reducing problems from anthelmintic resistance, EBLEX recommends farmers use the new SCOPS guidelines that look to reduce the frequency and maximise the effectiveness of anthelmintic use. They advocate :
| · | Making sure all stock receive sufficient anthelmintic by drenching animals at the correct rate for the heaviest in the group, checking the accuracy of worming equipment and delivering the entire dose over the back of the tongue; |
| · | Avoiding rigid routine worming programmes which usually result in over-use of anthelmintics, increasing both costs and the risk of resistance development; |
| · | Worming only when necessary, using Faecal Egg Counts (FECs) to monitor levels of actual animal infestation over the season; |
| · | Checking the effectiveness of each anthelmintic treatment with routine FECs a set number of days after worming; |
| · | Weaning stock onto lower worm risk pastures in mid-season as part of a planned programme of grazing management based on pasture categorisation by risk level; |
| · | Keeping drenched stock on dirty pasture for a few days or leaving 10-20% of animals untreated to guard against populating clean or low risk grazing with resistant worms; |
| · | Choosing the most appropriate product for the target worm wherever treatment is needed, avoiding combined products, and using anthelmintics from different activity groups in sequence to reduce the selection pressure for resistance; and, |
| · | Monitoring current worming practice with a simple checklist as the basis for future improvement. |
| · | Quarantine all incoming sheep (including those coming back from other grazing) and treat with both a levamisole (yellow) and macrocyclic- lactone (clear) wormer. |
A useful worming checklist and practical guidance on better returns from planned worm control is available in the latest EBLEX Lamb Action for Profit Factsheet at www.eblex.org.uk.
These comments are direct quotes from EBLEX Industry Development Manager, Chris Lloyd, who can be contacted on 01480 482986. Alternatively, ring your EBLEX Regional Manager or the Press Office on 01908 844166. Information is also available at www.eblex.org.uk.
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NUMBER 06/12 24 July 2006 |
English sheep producers should safeguard next year's flock productivity by conducting a simple MOT on all their breeding rams in the coming few weeks, advises the English Beef and Lamb Executive (EBLEX).
A thorough check-over at least 8 weeks before tupping will identify over 90% of the problems that reduce ram performance. This gives sufficient time for body condition and health to be improved wherever necessary. It also enables new rams to be sourced, quarantined and acclimatised to the farm in time to replace any that prove beyond repair. All of which allows flock managers to ensure all tups go into the breeding season fully fit and fertile.
As well as ensuring the best overall flock fertility and compact lambing, good ram preparation improves profitability by increasing the average productive life of each tup, reducing the ram cost per ewe served. Indeed, extending the working life of a ram from three to four years is calculated to cut this cost by nearly 60p/ewe.
EBLEX suggests focusing on the four Ts in particular, in the ram MOT - Teeth, Toes, Testicles and Tone. Producers should take into account overall health and condition when considering culling or possibly retaining a ram for one more season as a back up.
Detailed guidance on preparing ewes as well as rams for tupping is provided in Sheep Better Returns Programme Manual 4: Target Ewe Management for Better Returns available free to English producers from EBLEX on 0870 241 8829 or www.eblexbetterreturns.org.uk.
These comments are direct quotes from MLC Sheep Scientist, Liz Genever, who can be contacted on 01908 844243. Alternatively, ring your EBLEX Regional Manager or the Press Office on 01908 844166. Information is also available at www.eblex.org.uk.