How much does a ewe cost? Improving the lambing rate of pen-raised ewes and handling miscarriage
Sheep, also called domestic sheep or white sheep, are woolly four-legged ruminant animals. They are one of the most widely raised types of livestock and one of the farming projects with broad prospects. So roughly how much does a ewe cost? How do you improve the lambing rate of pen-raised ewes? What should you do about miscarriage? According to the livestock trading market in Duge Township, Huidong County, Liangshan Prefecture, Sichuan, the price of mountain ewes is 20 yuan/kg, non-pregnant ewes are about 1300 yuan, and pregnant ewes are about 1500 yuan.
How do you improve the lambing rate of pen-raised ewes?
1. Increase body weight before breeding
The body weight of a ewe before breeding is closely related to its fertility. For every 5 kg increase in breeding weight, the twin lambing rate can rise by 9%. According to trials by relevant units, ewes weighing less than 40 kg before breeding have an estrus conception rate of 68% and all give birth to single lambs; those above 40-61 kg have a conception rate of 73%-100% and a lambing rate of 100%-150%.
2. Exogenous hormone injection method
When a ewe is in estrus, inject a prolificacy agent; injecting 1 ml of twin-lamb agent per ewe can increase the probability of the ewe giving birth to twins by more than 50%, and the effect is even more obvious in ewes with a low degree of improvement.
3. Improve the nutrition of rams and ewes
Nutritional status has a great influence on the fertility of sheep. Keeping ewes in above-medium body condition year-round allows them to develop normally. Therefore, the routine feeding and management of ewes should be strengthened to meet their needs for various nutrients. On this basis, short-term flush feeding should also be carried out before breeding, which not only ensures normal estrus in ewes but also increases the number of ovulations and the twin rate.
The nutritional level of breeding rams has a great influence on the conception rate and lambing rate of ewes. For this reason, during the breeding season, the feeding of breeding rams should be strengthened, and it is best to feed breeding rams a complete-price feed. In this way, breeding rams have higher libido, a larger semen volume, greater sperm density and stronger vitality, the eggs released by ewes are easier to fertilize, and the twin rate is also higher.
4. Select and retain prolific breeding sheep
The number of lambs a ewe produces is also related to heredity. Practice has proved that retaining ewes born as one of three or four lambs for breeding gives the highest lambing rate; retaining ewes from twin births for breeding gives the next highest lambing rate; retaining ewes from single births for breeding gives the lowest lambing rate. Therefore, prolific ewes should be selected and retained for breeding.
5. Use the multiple insemination method
Timely multiple insemination is one of the ways to promote multiple births per pregnancy and improve the reproductive rate. Sperm survive in the uterus of a ewe for about 9 hours. If a ewe ovulates two or three eggs, they are not released at the same time. In order to fertilize all the eggs, multiple inseminations can be carried out in the middle and late stages of estrus to improve the conception rate. In production practice, methods such as repeat mating, double mating and mixed semen insemination are often used. Actively carrying out artificial insemination can give full play to the role of excellent breeding rams.
What should you do about miscarriage in ewes?
1. The causes of miscarriage in ewes are extremely complex. Infectious miscarriage is mostly seen in brucellosis, campylobacteriosis and trichomoniasis. Non-infectious cases can be seen in uterine malformation, placental necrosis, fetal membrane inflammation and polyhydramnios, etc.; internal diseases such as pneumonia, nephritis, poisoning by toxic plants and salt poisoning, etc.; surgical diseases such as trauma, cellulitis and septicemia, etc. Long-distance transport with excessive crowding, uneven supply of water and grass, and feeding frozen and moldy feed can also lead to miscarriage.
2. In cases of sudden miscarriage, there are generally no characteristic signs before giving birth. In slowly developing cases, the ewe shows poor spirits, stops eating, has abdominal pain and lies down and gets up, strains and bleats, and amniotic fluid flows from the vulva; after the fetus is expelled, it becomes slightly quieter. If the cause is the same within the same flock, miscarriages will appear one after another until the affected ewes have all miscarried, and only then will the situation stabilize. Trauma-induced disease can cause hidden miscarriage in sheep, that is, the fetus is not expelled from the body, the dissolved matter is discharged outside the uterus, or fetal bones remain in the uterus. Due to differing degrees of trauma, the injured fetus is often expelled within several hours or several days because of bleeding and detachment of the fetal membranes.
3. Focus on strengthening feeding and management, pay attention to the prevention and treatment of infectious diseases, and adopt effective prevention, treatment and health care measures according to the causes of miscarriage. For ewes that have already expelled a premature or dead fetus, no special treatment is needed, but feeding should be strengthened
4. For treating miscarriage in ewes, the use of sheep immune peptide (UK Kaino) combined with medication has a very good effect. Treatment plan: immune peptide + concanavalin + cephalosporin, used continuously for 2-3 days.
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