BreedingEweHoggetsL11

• Why breed ewe hogget (8-9 months)?

  Increased total lifetime performance and genetic gain, increase LP/year within the flock, better utilization of spring feed
• Why do farmers indicate they don't breed ewe hogget?

  Negative affects on 2-tooth LW & performance, more work, poor/varied hogget reproductive performance, require more rams
• Hogget lambing percentage: current levels still around 60%, hogget lambs account for 6% of total lambs weaned in NZ
• What should be done when setting monthly LW targets?

  Monitor LW, compare target to actual target weight by May 1st, off good quality feed at high allowances
• Achieving more than 65% of mature LW is a better guide for suitability for breeding than a liveweight target
• Ewe lambs should be shorn at least one month before breeding as this should encourage growth
• LW/CS minima: Ewe hoggets shouldn't be lighter than 40kg, a rough rule of thumb is every kg is worth and extra lambs weaned. CS should be 2.5 or higher.
• Expose hoggets to vasectomized rams (teaser) beginning 17 days before entire ram introduction. This should increase the % of hoggets cycling and % mated early in the breeding period. Ratio 1:70, short scrotum ram lambs aren't as effective as a teaser
• Which sheep breeds display the highest hogget breeding performance?

  East Friesian and Finn breeds and their crosses
• Why are hoggets bred a month after the main ewe flock?

  Allows more time to reach target weights. Ensures pregnancy and lactation occur in early spring rather than late winter
• What's the advantage to breeding hoggets at same time as main flock (if reached LW targets)?

  Lambs can be weaned earlier at a higher value and the young dam has more time to recover before re-breeding
• Hoggets are shy breeders, they display a less intense estrous behavior, less likely to seek/stand for the ram. Estrous tends to be shorter in duration than mature ewes, so more ram power is needed.
• Longer breeding = higher LP, but there will be a lot of

  Later born lambs
• Management plans during breeding include: Higher reproductive rates in smaller flat paddocks, lower ewe to ram ratios (i.e 1:70 rather than 1:1000), avoid use of ram hoggets. Consider sire size and breed type for potential dystocia issues.
• Why shouldn't farmers mix mature ewes with hoggets during breeding?

  Older ewes will take up the rams 'time'
• How much should a hogget still gaining (still growing) during pregnancy and lactation?

  Ideally at the weaning of her lambs she should weigh 53 to 55kg
• To maximize the weight of hoggets and their lambs at weaning they need to be gaining 130-150 g/d in total LW throughout pregnancy
• When should LW start?

  Breeding period
• When do gains have the bigges impact?

  Early pregnancy
• A hogget should be offered good quality herbage with pre-grazing masses in the range of 1400-1600 kg DM/ha and post-grazing masses above 1000 kg DM/ha for total LW gains throughout pregnancy. This may require a reduction in other stock classes or an increase in alternative feed sources.
• Mid-pregnancy shearing can be used with ewe hoggets, although a survival response in the lambs is dependent on the weather at lambing
• When should single and multiple bearing hoggets be separated?

  Late pregnancy and lactation
• Multiples on flatter more sheltered paddocks with higher pasture masses and lower stocking rates
• Avoid weaning lambs born to ewe hoggets later than 10 weeks of age as this will impact on the time the young dam has to recover her liveweight prior to two-tooth breeding
• Can ewe hogget breeding be used as a selection tool for two-tooths?

  Results suggests that hoggets that fail to lamb are likely to display poorer performance on average as a two-tooth than those that did lamb
• Should we cull those that fail to lamb as a ewe hogget?

  Yes, if they're of adequate LW, maybe no if they were light at hogget breeding
• Is there an effect of hogget breeding on lifetime performance?

  Generally, not if live weight targets in the first year are met and they are within 5% of target 2-tooth breeding weight
• Longevity in the flock isn't negatively affected if they meet hogget and 2-tooth LW/BCS targets - if they don't it can be
• Due to being pregnant as a hogget lifetime performance in terms of total lamb weaned is improved by 0.8 to 1.3 lambs (on average) if they are well managed
• Why might you want to use ram lambs / hoggets?

  Decrease the generation interval and thus increase genetic gain, cheaper source of rams??
• What does ram hogget management include?

  Need all the same test as a mature ram and need to be in good BC
• Hogget rams are less experienced and if being used for the first time can have difficulty with breeding
• What are some hogget ram management options?

  Use in teams, don't use with mixed aged ram teams, use smaller/flatter paddocks, lower ewe:ram ratios (30-50:1)
• Hogget rams can only be used for 17 days to minimize any negative affects on ram hogget liveweight and ewe breeding performance (i.e. follow up w/ older rams)
• Ram hoggets aren't ideal for use with synchronized ewes and young ewes