Break out of Framesby Mary Jarvis * 1994, revised July, 1997 Entering the budding sheep dairy industry is becoming more intriguing to people who want to make a living from their farms. Sheep can be fairly forgiving of management lapses in other aspects of the industry, but in the DAIRY, you'll find that your management must be faultless. If not, your bottom line will suffer. Management can be broken down into 3 areas: Shepherd's Ability, Farm Infrastructure, and the Calendar Year. The system described below is excellent for domestic ewes and crosses of East Friesian. Very high percentage East Friesian ewes and purebred East Friesian ewes require an even higher degree of dairy management and they may require more feed to produce to their highest potential. Many entering sheep dairying have never milked an animal before; some may never have had sheep before. This has the unfortunate effect of making the first years "on-job training". Even if you have the most charming group of ewes imaginable, they can turn into sheep from hell when you try putting them on the stand for the first time. Learning sheep behaviour and proper milking technique will minimize the amount of stress for both the ewes and the milker. Some people just seem to naturally have "stock sense" while others really need to work on it. If you have no experience with animals, get your stock sense before you try to make your ewes do something they never would have thought of by themselves, like trapping themselves in a stanchion to have their udders manipulated. Stock sense means understanding sheep behaviour and making it work to your advantage. Proper milking techniques will maximize the amount of milk the ewe will give you. I try to handle the ewes' udders with the same consideration that I would like to be given if the udder were part of my anatomy. A firm yet gentle touch is essential. If an ewe is kicking, question how you are handling her before you label her unmanageable. A light, hesitant touch could be mistaken for a fly - something to kick at. Especially when training ewes, we follow a routine which lets the ewe know that we are behind her; by placing one hand on her upper rear leg we tell her we're there and about to handle her udder. We find that this reduces the stress our ewes experience. Udder massage is important in maximizing milk letdown. A gland in the back of the udder secretes oxytocin, a hormone which stimulates milk letdown. Proper massage of this area will often result in a second letdown of milk. Each ewe is an individual, with her own set of likes and dislikes, and her own quirks and fancies. The individuality of the ewe will have a bearing on the timing of her letdown. Some ewes "just gush milk" right away, and others can be "sleepers", who, with proper udder massage will surprise you with large quantities of milk. A forage based sheep dairy may require more in the way of infrastructure. Several groups of sheep move through different pastures at the same time. You need to plan for this. Fencing is an important management tool. To keep ewes separated from just weaned lambs, we have found that we need to have woven wire between them. Our very maternal ewes are intensely attached to their lambs, and do not want to be separated from their precious offspring. Electric fencing just doesn't do it, as the lambs, particularly, just squirt right through. We have re-fenced our entire farm with woven wire. This works wonders until ewes and lambs have adjusted to the idea of separation, usually about 48 hours. "Career girl" ewes may adjust sooner and easier. Ideally, weaned lambs stay on their accustomed pasture, out of sight and hearing of the ewes who have been pulled for the milking stand. We utilize rotational grazing; the milking flock does not rejoin the rest of the flock until the end of the season. Sufficient paddocks need to be provided to facilitate this practice. We figure a stocking rate of 3 ewes and their lambs per acre. We have 40 acres divided into 4 ten-acre paddocks divided by a central lane, and 20 acres of smaller paddocks, and a 40 acre wooded area which is permanent pasture. This usually allows enough areas to manage several different groups of sheep. Pasture plantings are an important part of our dairy management. Our farm is marginal farmland, with heavy clay soil. We needed to make planting decisions that would work with rotational grazing as well as fit our soil and our climate. Our growing season is very short (65 days) and we have 30 to 32 inches of precipitation annually. We chose birdsfoot trefoil for our legume, as it thrives in our more acidic soil, is winter-hardy, and doesn't cause bloat. We have established stands of semi-upright Norcen or Leo trefoil. They do well as pasture, and are also more easy to make into hay than the vining varieties. Our fields also contain red and white clover, orchard grass, brome, timothy, and quackgrass. This mix of legumes and grasses keeps our pastures productive all summer. Forage utilization is a major consideration in our management. We have a heavy snow cover due to "lake effect" from Lake Superior. Thus, winter pasturing is not possible. We winter our ewes on hay which we make. We feed round bales through a hay feeding fence. This virtually eliminates waste and results in cleaner fleeces. We test the hay yearly and feed supplements according to NRC requirements. Our facilities consist of a 1920's dairy barn where we have our milking parlor, and an area that is divided in half to make holding areas for staging ewes pre and post milking. This area is also used as winter shelter in times of severe storms. We shear there, and jug ewes at lambing time. A large milk room is attached to the barn, adjacent to the milking parlor. Our parlor we built large, to allow for expansion to two 12-place stanchions. We also use an old garage as additional shelter, and 2 three-sided 13 x 36 foot 3-sided loafing barns which face south.
We think of our farming year beginning in October, as we prepare for breeding. We pull the sheep off pasture in mid-October. In our area, a most important consideration is Giant liver fluke. Valbazen used on our vet's recommendation, kills the adult liver fluke. The ewes are wormed as they leave pasture, and then again, 5 to 6 weeks later. The second worming will catch flukes which were immature in mid-October. Both wormings are done before turning in the ram. We begin flushing the ewes for breeding in November, 2 to 3 weeks pre-breeding. We vaccinate against abortion diseases. By the first week of December, breeding decisions have been made. The sheep are sorted accordingly, and the appropriate ram turned in, or preparations for artificial insemination have been made. We use a single sire mating, and typically have 4 or more different breeding groups. The rams are left with the ewes for 6 weeks. Corn is fed to the breeding groups until the rams are removed. Ewe lambs also receive some supplemental soybean meal. While the ewes go off grain when the rams come out, the ewe lambs continue to be fed, as they are still growing themselves. Thirty days after the rams come out, the ewes can be ultrasounded. This will tell you if the ewes settled, and sophisticated machines can count fetal numbers. The sheep can be separated into groups bearing triplets or twins, and fed accordingly. Open ewes can be sent to market. Six weeks pre-lambing, the late gestation ration balanced to our hay test is begun. We feed the sheep their grain twice a day, which has kept ketosis from being a problem. As soon as possible, we send the ewes out on pasture, in a quick rotation. They end up at the hay feeding fence but this activity of being out, rummaging around much of the day gives them a good workout, and helps to keep lambing problems to a minimum. The ewes are kept in good physical condition year-round, to a score of 3 to 3.5. The demands placed on them throughout the year warrant it, and our lambs and milk production reflect this management practice. Sound, healthy sheep hold this condition score much better, with less supplements. It is important to feed the flock properly, and to be sure that they have adequate mineral and water supply year-round. We schedule shearing about a month before lambing. We trim any long toenails then so we don't have to tip the ewes up again pre-lambing. We vaccinate the ewes with Covexin-8 within the month prior to lambing. If one wants to vaccinate to control soremouth, this should be done not less than 8 weeks pre-lambing. OPP blood samples are more easily drawn from slick shorn ewes; about a month pre-lambing is a good time to do this test. To best utilize our pastures, we lamb in late April and May, as our grasses are beginning to grow well. About 75% of our ewes lamb in the first cycle, and the rest lamb in the second cycle. We use what I call a "Modified pasture lambing system". Most of the ewes are left on pasture with their lambs, we eartag the lambs and spray paint them with their eartag number for ease of identification. Navels are iodined, and lambs recorded. Some ewes will be brought in and penned with their lambs if we feel the bonding process warrants it. Ewes are wormed as soon after they lamb as possible. The milking flock cannot be wormed again until they come off line; the only exceptions are wormers called Rumatel, and Panacur which are approved for dairy cows. Worming quickly and leaving the lambs on for 30 days gives a withdrawal time for the wormer. Mixing groups are made of 5 or more ewes, depending on their experience level. After we see that all is going well, these ewes and their lambs can be mixed with another group, and thus into the main flock of ewes and lambs. Not only do our ewes raise triplets on pasture, they also milk well off pasture. The lambs are left with the ewe for 30 days, and are out learning how to forage from their mothers from the very beginning. The lambs typically weigh 30 plus pounds at weaning. At weaning, we vaccinate with an 8-way clostridial, as they will now begin to eat creep more heavily. Because the lambs are weaned at this early age, we offer an ad lib creep mixture for their first 60 days. They don't start eating any significant quantity until their 3rd or 4th week, as they are getting sufficient nutrition from their mothers. The creep recipe, which we mix on farm, changes according to the lambs' age and NRC requirements. The lambs are provided with a free choice mineral containing a coccidiastat, which is not available to the ewes, as it is not approved for lactating dairy animals. The lambs continue on pasture after their first 60 days on creep, by which time they have adjusted well. Ewe lambs to be retained for breeding are fed corn, as are lambs we will direct market. In September or October we typically sell the balance of the wethers as feeder lambs. Proper dairy nutrition will result in good milk production, and lengthened lactations. The ewes being milked receive, in addition to their pasture diet, a whole shelled corn ration fed on the stand, about 1 1/2 pounds per day, or .75 lbs per milking. Barley or oats are other excellent choices if they are more economical than corn. The grain serves as a source of energy. The pasture, a high quality birdsfoot trefoil, clover, and grass mix, provides protein, and tests about 18%. Additional soybean meal may be added as required. The amount of pasture consumed may need to be regulated. Dairy ewes in a forage based system during the flush of grass growth may not eat enough fiber to make sufficient butterfat. Our holding area is divided by a hay feeder from which the ewes can munch while waiting to be milked. They can also eat from it after exiting the milking parlor prior to going back out to pasture. Milking at 6 and 6 cuts into the time when ewes would normally be out grazing, so having this fiber source available is working out very well. It also helps to keep the ewes standing after milking, allowing the teat sphincter to close. We utilize probiotics and yeast cultures in the diet at weaning or whenever stress could be a factor in reducing food intake. A rumen buffer is offered free choice; if that starts disappearing too fast we need to determine what is upsetting their digestion. We monitor the physical condition of our ewes during milking to be sure that they are getting the correct amount of feed. Ewes who are getting fat are putting on weight at the expense of milk production. Water must be provided to the ewes; it must be clean, fresh, and plentiful. A water source is located in each paddock. An additional source is in the barn for ewes who are waiting to be milked. Our first group of ewes usually goes on the stand on Memorial Day weekend, and we milk for over 100 days post weaning. More ewes are added to the milking string according to their lambing dates. As she comes on line, each ewe is tested for mastitis, using the California Mastitis Test, or CMT. We thus identify problem ewes immediately, and deal with them according to the individual situation. CMT's are done weekly on all ewes, as well as an as- needed basis. Some ewes are tested more frequently based on their last CMT test. This process is time consuming, but it is important to udder health, and to the production of a quality product. If the number of ewes being milked becomes quite large, we will CMT a sample of milk from each bucket at each milking, rather than the weekly individual test. One elevated ewe can raise the entire bucket's test result, and she can usually be found quickly at the next milking. Obviously sick ewes are spotted as we inspect and clean udders prior to milking each morning and evening. We weigh the milk production of each ewe at least monthly during the morning and evening milking. This is just one part of our record keeping routine. Our enrollment in the Volunteer Scrapie Certification program also requires good records. Sheep dairying isn't for everyone. Dairying definitely increases your workload and the amount of time spent with your sheep. It takes patience, hard work, a sense of humor, commitment, long-range planning, and faultless management. We have found, however, that through selection of suitable stock and progressive management, a low input, sustainable, forage based system of sheep dairying can greatly maximize the dollar return per ewe. I hope you find something here helpful - HAPPY MILKING!
Mary Jarvis (affectionately known as Mare) lives with her husband, Rusty, at Groveland Farm in Poplar, Wisconsin. Mare was Secretary and Treasurer of the OPP Concerned Sheep Breeders Society for 7 years. The Society decided to take advantage of the Groveland Farm web site to publish a fact sheet on Ovine Progressive Pneumonia and some other helpful materials. Mare has written numerous articles about sheep dairying for industry magazines over the years, and lectured at sheep conferences. When the Jarvis' were still milking sheep, they won awards for Milk Quality, and they basically wrote the Quality section of the Wisconsin Sheep Dairy Cooperative's manual. Mare is still a director of the Maremma Sheepdog Club of America, the breed association for the livestock guardian dogs that they raise. Rusty was a board member of the Wisconsin Sheep Dairy Cooperative, serving as a Vice President. His focus was Quality Control. He also served on the Endangered Species Committee of the American Sheep Industry Association for 4 years, with the timber wolf as his major focus. They raise Est A Laine Merino sheep, llamas, Maremmano-Abruzzese livestock guardian dogs, and Border Collies. You can email Mare at grovelandfarm@superiorwi.com or visit their website for more information. All Animals owns all rights to this article and the photos. You may link to the article (not the photos), but you may *not* copy it, nor reprint it anywhere else. You may print the URL which is www.all-animals.com/manage.html Advertising | Site Design | Site Hosting | About Us | Home | Email |
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