Review Your Sheep Records

Record-keeping is certainly not one of a producer's favorite tasks related to raising sheep, but it certainly is necessary. To maintain a good understanding of production practices, producers should review records on a regular basis. This includes not only financial records for tax filing, but also production records for evaluating the sheep in the flock.

One of the most important indicators of profitability in a sheep operation is the lambing percentage. There are a couple of figures to consider with the lambing percentage. First, compare the number of lambs produced to the number of ewes exposed to a ram. Prolificacy is the number of lambs born per ewe lambing. Other important figures are the number of live lambs at birth, the number of live lambs a month after lambing, and the number of live lambs at weaning. Compare these numbers to the number of ewes that lambed to calculate some percentages.

Set a goal to wean a 200% lamb crop, an average of twins, every year if you have the feed resources to support twinning. Yes, producers sometimes have years they would like to forget, but for Pennsylvania producers, it is essential to have ewes producing twins on a regular basis to maintain profitability. Producers might also want to take a closer look at the death loss. A good goal is to have the lamb death loss be 5% or less. Good mothering ability, good nutrition so that lambs are healthy and vigorous at birth, and good nutrition to support high quality and quantity of colostrum and milk are all important for producing lambs that are likely to survive to weaning age.

Weaning weight records are a very good evaluation tool. Adjust weaning weights to make a fair comparison between lambs born and raised as a single, twin, or triplet, as well as factor in differences in the sex of the lamb and the age of the ewe. Keep in mind that the highest weaning weights may not necessarily translate into profitability! Why not you ask? Consider the frame size of those lambs and their ability to thrive on pasture. Most production-type operations focus on pasture as their main, if not sole, source of nutrition for both mature ewes and replacement ewe lambs. Each operation needs to consider what size ewe best meets the nutritional resources on the farm, as well as the markets where those sheep are sold. I encourage each producer to set a production benchmark for adjusted weaning weight. Producers can go a step further and set a benchmark for adjusted post-weaning weight as well. This will help account for both ewe milk production as well as genetic growth potential in the lamb. As you set your goal, consider the production goals of the operation. What is the target age and weight to market lambs? What is an acceptable weaning weight range for lambs? As a producer focuses more on selection toward a benchmark, lambs should become more uniform in size and weight.

What other records should a producer evaluate? The annual cost per ewe can help determine a reasonable maintenance cost per sheep. Annual cost per ewe could also help evaluate flock size. Does the operation need to maintain the same number of ewes or expand to spread the fixed costs across more ewes? Records could also be used to consider efficiencies in feeding sheep. Should the operation own and maintain hay-making equipment, or would it be more economical to buy all the hay? Perhaps labor is a factor, and it would be more economical to consider hiring a custom harvester to make all the hay.

Each sheep operation has a unique set of resources that make that operation profitable. Each operation should conduct a thorough review of its records annually to identify areas for improvement in both production and efficiency. Record-keeping systems should be both easy to use and easily accessible. Records can be handwritten or computer-generated. The key is to collect useful information that will help make profitable decisions in the future.