On hogget lambing

Press, Volume CXV, Issue 34000, 14 November 1975, Page 6

On hogget lambing

The pros and cons of mating ewe hoggets were discussed by Professor I. E. Coop, professor of animal science at Lincoln College. at the college field day recently. He said that the first cross Border - Corriedale hoggets, which were mated on the college’s Ashley Dene property were bought on contract and reared in the foothills and had fairly good body weights when they came to the college, so affording an opportunity for them to be put to the ram. If 50 or 60 per cent of them would produce lambs and these could be got away to the works before Christmas. he said that this meant eJitra money to the farmer. But there were disadvantages. The hoggets came into season a month later than the ewes and they lambed after all of the ewes had finished lambing. Because of this restriction the farmer could only afford to leave the rams out with them for a month; so that not all of them would be got into lamb. They had to be big enough and have enough weight to cycle, but if they

could be grown to a weight of 801 b plus it should be possible to get 70 to 80 per cent in lamb in a month of mating. But there were about 10 per cent of twins and this was a situation in which twins were not wanted. Quite a number of the lambs also did not survive, but it was possible to end up with 60 per cent of lambs and if a farmer was lucky he might get 65 or 70 per cent and he knew of people who had got 100 per cent of lambs from hoggets, but also a lot who had got only 30 or 40 ner cent. He had said that if it was not possible to get a 50 per cent lambing from hoggets then it was “not on.” He thought that the Southdown ram should be used with these young females because of the lighter birth weight of the lamb and the easier larpbing that resulted, and because it was desirable to get the lamb raised before the onset of drought. It was also necessary to provide extra feed and there was more work involved. And those hoggets which were mated and in lamb had a 10 per cent lower lambing at the two-tooth

stage as bodyweight in March following the hogget lambing was about 15 per cent lower. But the sheep that were got in lamb at the hogget stage were the inherently more fertile sheep and under favourable conditions where it was possible to provide the feed the effect of the hogget lambing could be reduced or minimised.

Mr N. G. Gow, who supervises the Ashley Dene farm, said that 800 ewe hoggets had been bought in at. the beginning of April and the 500 that were put to the ram averaged just on 1001 b.

This season with the twotooths weighing 1551 b at mating, he said that there was no penalty from hogget lambing. The hoggets this time had also been about 51b heavier at mating, and apart from their weight he said that a guide to their suitability for mating could be to put the rams out with them to decide which would mate. On this occasion, he said that a ram had been put out to every 40 hoggets. They had started lambing on September 25 and when up until recently 298 had lambed 275 lambs had been tailed from these hoggets. They were still lambing at the time he was speaking.