Care and Management

Care and Management

Classing and Culling

• Classing and culling of sheep are very important for the development of a good flock. It helps to remove undesirable animals and breeding from those which are most approximating the ideal sheep.
• About 10-20 per cent culling should be practiced annually to develop a good flock. The flock size should be maintained by replacing culled ewes by ewe lambs born in the flock.

Maintenance of Records

• It is very essential to maintain the necessary records at an organized (experimental or commercial) sheep farm to know about the inputs and outputs. This helps in working out the economy of sheep production per unit of area and per animal.
• The major records maintained are livestock strength, breeding, lambing, shearing and wool production, mortality, purchase of animal feeds, medicines and equipments, and sale of animals and wool.

Identification

• The shepherds commonly practice notching or punching holes in the ears for identification of lambs.
• Tattooing is also satisfactory but is more expensive.
• Metal or plastic ear-tags with stamped letters and numbers are most suitable although they are relatively expensive and heavy for the ears of the smaller native sheep. These ears tags are applied with the help of a clincher/applicator.

Castration

• Surplus males are castrated to check indiscriminate mating but market demand most often favours the intact male.
• Castration is usually done by using knife, burdizzo castrator or elastrator.
• The elastrator method is the best as it is painless and bloodless. It involves placing of a tight rubber band around the root of the scrotum with the testicles below. The scrotum with enclosed testicles atrophy and slough off.

Dipping

• To control the ectoparasites, the sheep should be dipped a few weeks after shearing when they have grown sufficient new wool to hold the chemical substance.
• There are standard designs for sheep dips and there are many products effective against ectoparasites.
• A foot bath may also be provided at the entrance of the farm to prevent the spread of contagious diseases like foot-and-mouth disease and foot rot.

Shearing

• Shearing is done mechanically either with clippers, a pair of scissors or by power-operated machines depending upon the size of operations.
• Most flocks are usually shorn twice a year, i.e. March-April after the winter and September-October after the rains. In some states like Jammu & Kashmir and Rajasthan sheep are shorn thrice a year.

Pregnant, Parturient and Lactating Ewes

• Careful management of the pregnant, parturient and lactating ewes will have a marked influence on the percentage of lambs born and reared successfully. So, the following steps may be taken to afford proper attention to these animals.
• Do not handle the pregnant ewes too frequently.
• Separate the advanced pregnant ewes from the main flock and take effective care in their feeding and management.
• Extra feed during the later part of pregnancy (3-4 weeks before parturition) will be beneficial for the condition of the pre-parturient ewes which will help in improving milk production of ewes, birth weight and growth of lambs.
• Inadequate and poor nutrition may result in pregnancy toxemia, abortions and premature births of weak lambs.
• Bring lambing ewes into lambing corals 4-6 days before parturition and provide maximum comfort. If possible, provide soft, clean bedding and individual lambing pens.
• Watch gestation length, which ranges from 142 to over 150 days. Early maturing breeds have slightly shorter gestation period.
• Save parturient ewes from cold and chilly weather.

Care at Lambing / Parturition

An ewe about to lamb prefers to leave the flock. Ewe is often restless, the udder is often distended and external genitalia are in a flushed and flaccid condition. Generally, parturition is normal in healthy ewe. Still the following precautions may be taken during and after parturition.

Care of Lambs

The lamb should be taken care of the maximum extent during early period of life. This will also ensure better survival. The following steps may be taken for ensuring better growth and survival.

• Ensure proper suckling of lambs. Examine udders for blindness of teats or mastitis.
• Take care of indifferent mothers and arrange suckling of lambs by restraining such type of ewes.
• Provide creep feed (good quality hay with or without concentrate mixture) to suckling lambs in addition to suckling of milk from tenth day to weaning age.
• If possible, make available green leguminous fodder or fresh tree leaves to lambs to nibble during suckling period.
• Lambs may be ear-tagged or tattooed on the ear for identification (tattooing forceps and ear-tagging forceps should also be cleaned and sterilized at the time of use). Tail docking and castration may also be done in first week or so by placing elastrator (strong rubber band) at the inter-vertebral space and not on the vertebra.
• Alternatively, use sterilized and clean knife for castration and docking and resort to proper ligation and antiseptic dressing at the roof of scrotum with testicles before it.
• During castration, keep the lambs on perfectly dry, clean and hygienic site so as to minimize the risks of losses from tetanus.

Weaning and Care of Weaners

The management of weaners plays an important part in good sheep husbandry. The following steps are important in proper care and management of weaners.

• Weaning should preferably be done at 90 days, although in breeds with low milk production or where re-breeding is desired it can be done around 60 days.
• Supplementary feeding and good clean pastures for growing weaners should be provided.
• Weaned lambs should be drenched against gastro-intestinal parasites by first month; and vaccinated against enterotoxaemia and sheep-pox.
• Weaners should not be grazed on poor burry and thorny types of pasture since it could cause skin irritation, injury to the eyes and damage to wool.
• They should be protected against vagaries of climates and predation.