This document discusses how to improve ewe efficiency in sheep production. It defines ewe efficiency as measures like lambs born and weaned per ewe, pounds of lamb produced per ewe, and profit per ewe. The key factors that determine efficiency are size, longevity, lambing percentage, lamb weights, feed efficiency, and health. The document provides tips for improving these factors through selection, nutrition management, health programs, and data recording to establish farm-specific efficiency benchmarks.

1. EFFICIENT EWE
MANAGEMENT
SUSAN SCHOENIAN
SHEEP & GOAT SPECIALIST
UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND EXTENSION
SSCHOEN@UMD.EDU
WWW.SHEEPANDGOAT.COM
WWW.WORMX.INFO
2015 KHSI EXPO, INDIANA, PA

2. EWE EFFICIENCY
 What is efficiency?
 Why is it important?
 What determines
efficiency?
 How do you improve
efficiency?

3. WHAT IS EWE EFFICIENCY?
 Number lambs born per ewe exposed
 Number of lambs weaned per ewe exposed
 Number of lambs produced (marketed or retained) per ewe exposed

4. WHAT IS EWE EFFICIENCY?
 Pounds lamb weaned per ewe exposed
 Pounds lamb produced (marketed or retained) per ewe exposed
 Pounds of lamb produced per ewe body weight
 Pounds of lamb produced per acre

5. WHAT IS EWE EFFICIENCY?
 Profit per ewe
 Profit per acre

6. WHY IS IT IMPORTANT?
 Ewe efficiency is the driver of profitable sheep production
systems.

7. WHAT DETERMINES EWE EFFICIENCY?
 Size
 Longevity
 Lambing percentage
 Lamb weights
 Feed efficiency
 Other factors (?)

8. SIZE
WEIGHT & BODY CONDITION
Bigger ewes
 Have more lambs
 Have bigger lambs that reach target weights
sooner
 But … they eat more
 And . . . heavier weights may decrease efficiency.
Heavier, better conditioned ewes
 Start cycling earlier in the breeding season
 Have higher ovulation rates
 Have higher conception rates
 Give birth to heavier lambs
 Produce more milk
 Wean heavier lambs with higher survival rates

9. LONGEVITY
STAYABILITY, PRODUCTIVE LIFE SPAN
 An underrated trait
 Increased longevity . . .
 Decreases culling rates
 Reduces female replacement costs
 More market lambs to sell
 Puts more selection pressure on
replacement females.
 Results in higher age-related
performance
 Longer generation interval.

10. HOW TO INCREASE LONGEVITY
 Longevity is a moderately heritable
trait
33% Iran study
27% UK study
 No early life trait that facilitates
indirect selection
 Correlation with body weight
 Future - develop EBVs for longevity

11. HOW TO INCREASE LONGEVITY
 Determine primary reasons for death and
culling in your flock
 Don’t cull based on age
 Maintain high performing ewes in flock for
longer
 Select replacements from long-lived
parents
 Crossbreed to increase longevity

12. LAMBING PERCENTAGE
NUMBER OF LAMBS PRODUCED ÷ NUMBER OF EWES EXPOSED (21 DAYS)
 Primary factor determining profitability in sheep enterprise.

13. LAMBING PERCENTAGE
Composite trait
 Fertility
 Litter size (number lambs born)
 Ovulation rate
 Embryo survival
 Lamb survival
 Direct and maternal affects
 Perinatal, pre- and post weaning
Affected by many different
factors
 Genetics
 Nutrition
 Management
 Season
 Age

14. IMPROVING LAMBING PERCENTAGE:
FERTILITY (PREGNANCY RATE)
 Maintain healthy flock
 Proper ram management
 Use fertile rams with high libido
breeding soundness exam (BSE)
 Adequate ram power:
35 to 50 (mature ram) 15-25 (ram lamb)
 Monitor breeding activity
 Have ewes in good body condition at time of joining:
2.5 to 3.5
 Flush ewes with body condition scores < 2
 Provide good nutrition to ensure embryo survival
 Select replacements from ewes that lamb in early
part of lambing season
 Cull ewes that fail to breed in first heat cycle

15. IMPROVING LAMBING PERCENTAGE:
LITTER SIZE (NUMBER BORN) = OVULATION RATE + EMBRYO SURVIVAL
 Maintain healthy flock
 Have ewes in good body condition at time of
joining: 2.5 to 3.5
 Flush ewes with body condition scores < 2
 Proper nutrition to ensure embryo survival,
placental development, and birth of moderate-size
healthy lambs.
 Breed in fall and lamb in spring
 Maintain high-performing ewes in flock for longer
 Reduce lambing interval: accelerated lambing
 Select for litter size (H2=~10%)
Use ram with family history of multiple births
Select replacements from most productive ewes
EBVs for number born, number weaned

16. IMPROVING LAMBING PERCENTAGE: LAMB SURVIVAL
Timing
 At birth
 0-3 days
 3-10 days
 10 days until weaning
 Post weaning
Causes
 Abortion
 Dystocia
 Starvation
 Hypothermia
 Disease: scours, pneumonia, clostridial
 Digestive problems
 Internal parasites
 Predators
When and why do lambs die?

17. IMPROVING LAMBING PERCENTAGE
LAMB SURVIVAL (0-10 DAYS)
 Prevent losses due to abortion
biosecurity, vaccination, antibiotic therapy
 Have ewes in good body condition at time of
lambing: 2.5 to 3.5
 Proper late-gestation nutrition
 Proper lambing environment: dry, draft free,
clean
 Short lambing season
 Attended lambing, jugging
 Appropriate vaccination program
 Select for lambing ease, mothering ability,
lamb vigor, milk production.
 EBVs for number weaned.

18. IMPROVING LAMBING PERCENTAGE
LAMB SURVIVAL (10 DAYS UNTIL MARKET)
Pre-weaning
 Short lambing season
 Ewes in good body condition
 Adequate colostrum intake
 Strategic use of coccidiostats
 Good nutrition: supplement forage diet, as necessary to
meet nutritional needs for optimal performance.
 Creep feeding, if pasture or milk production are limiting
factors
 Appropriate vaccination program, usually CDT
 Select for number weaned.
 EBVs for number weaned.
Post-weaning
 Short lambing season
 Appropriate vaccination program, usually CDT
 Good nutrition to support optimal growth rates
 Strategic use of coccidiostats
 Integrated parasite management, including
targeted selective treatment using FAMACHA©
system, Five Point Check©, and Happy Factor
(performance).
 Predator control

19. LAMBS WEIGHTS AND FEED EFFICIENCY
Lamb weights
 Pre-weaning
 Pounds weaned
 Post-weaning
 Pounds marketed
 Days to market
 Market weights
 Carcass weights
 Market grade (?)
Feed efficiency
 Lbs. feed per lb. of gain
 Stocking rates
 Cost of gain

20. IMPROVING LAMB WEIGHTS AND FEED EFFICIENCY
Lamb weights
 Measure growth rates and calculate adjusted
weights and ratios.
 Select for pre- and post-weaning growth in your
own flock.
 Use rams documented to have superior growth
performance
On-farm performance testing
Central ram performance tests (PA, WV, VA)
 Use EBVs for weaning, post-weaning, and yearling
weights.
 Supplement forage diet for optimal performance.
 Crossbreed to improve post-weaning growth.
Feed efficiency
 Determine feed efficiency and cost of gain.
 Use rams documented to have superior feed
efficiency
West Virginia Ram Performance Test
 Hand-feed instead of self-feed
 Whole grains instead of processed grains.
 Improve pasture and grazing management
 Supplement forage diet for better forage utilization
and optimal performance
 Determine optimal ewe size for your production
environment.

21. OTHER FACTORS AFFECTING EFFICIENCY
 Parasite resistance
need for deworming/monitoring
 Hoof health
need for hoof trimming
 Hair coat
need for shearing
 Overall health and need for
treatment
 Behavior

22. KEEP/CULL TO IMPROVE EFFICIENCY
 Use parasite resistant rams
 Cull ewes that require (frequent) deworming or are
heavy egg shedders.
 Cull animals that require frequent hoof trimming
 Cull animals with re-occurring hoof problems.
 Cull animals that don’t respond to treatment for
hoof diseases.
 Favor animals with dark-colored hooves (?)
 Cull animals that require shearing
 Cull ewes that require assistance at lambing.
 Cull any animal that fails to thrive.
 Cull animals with behavior problems.

23. BREED EWE LAMBS TO INCREASE EFFICIENCY
 Ewes that are bred as lambs have a higher lifetime production that ewes bred for the first time as
yearlings.
 Breeding ewe lambs speeds up genetic gain.
 Evidence suggests that ewes that lamb at 1 year of age are better mothers at 2 years of age.

24. FACTS ABOUT EWE LAMBS
 Ewe lambs have higher nutritional requirements than mature
ewes, because they are still growing.
 Ewes lambs do not compete well with mature ewes.
 Ewe lambs cycle later in the breeding season than mature ewes
– and stop cycling sooner.
 Ewe lambs are less likely to seek out a ram
 Ewe lambs are in estrus (standing heat) for a shorter period of
time
 Ewe lambs have lower conception and pregnancy rates
 Ewe lambs have lower ovulation rates
 Ewe lambs produce less milk

25. TIPS FOR BREEDING EWE LAMBS SUCCESSFULLY
 Feed replacement ewe lambs for moderate growth so
they reach their target breeding weights (60-70% of
mature weight).
 Manage and feed ewe lambs separately from mature
ewes.
 Mate ewe lambs separately and after mature ewes
 Mate ewe lambs in confinement or small pastures
 Mate ewe lambs to ram of same breed or breed with
smaller mature size
 Jug ewes and lambs
 Creep feed lambs
 Wean lambs early

26. ESTABLISH BENCHMARKS FOR YOUR FARM
Trait Definition Goal
Fertility No. ewes lambing ÷ no. ewes exposed (21 days) 100%
Lambing percent No. lambs weaned ÷ no. ewes exposed > 200%
Percent triplet births Percent ewes giving birth to triplets > 33%
Birth weight Avg. birth weigh 8-10 lbs.
Lamb death loss Percent lamb deaths < 5 %
Pre-weaning ADG (Weaning weight - birth weight) ÷ age > 0.75
Pre-weaning ADG (Weaning weight - birth weight) ÷ age > 0.50
Lbs. lamb weaned Lbs. lamb weaned per ewe exposed > 150 lbs.
Efficiency Pounds of lamb weaned ÷ # ewes exposed >100%
Profit per ewe Income - expenses ÷ no. ewes >$150
Hoof growth Need for hoof trimming < 20%
Parasite resistance Need for deworming 0

27. THANK YOUR FOR YOUR ATTENTION.
ARE THERE ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS?
SUSAN S CHOENIAN
Sheep & Goat Specialist
sschoen@umd.edu
www.sheepandgoat.