By Jack Doherty
Early lamb mating has already begun to produce lamb for the easter market. Flocks that lamb in March will begin mating season shortly and mountain flocks will breed in November for lambing at the onset of herbage growth in April. The gestation length of sheep is 21 weeks (147 days) with lambs being finished at 12-14 weeks of age.
Breeding Management Principles to remember:
Ewes in good condition but not over-fat.
Ewes should be disease free & gaining weight. Reserve good grass field for mating `flushing`.
Use good quality rams and have enough of them – don’t expect rams to do excessive overtime. Typically, this is 40 ewes per ram.
Minimise stress in ewes and rams.
Check ram activity frequently & use marking device.
Raddling and using crayons can help identify breeding stock and batch them appropriately.
Liffey Mills have all your sheep breeding supplies for this season!
