2006/N04 - Imrpoving Reproduction Rate

Summary

This Producer Initiated Research and Development site investigated increasing the number of scanned foetus which are sold by 12 months of age. This is influenced by conception rate, losses in-utero, lamb loss at birth, after marking and after weaning.
The potential lambs scanned was very close to the number of lambs born. The high loss of twin lambs is a combination of inadequate ewe nutrition in the last 3 weeks, weather condition impacting on the smaller lamb and ewe fat score being too low. These 3 factors work in combination.
The group concluded that:twin bearing ewes should be supplemented if pastures are below 1000 kgDM/ha during the last 3 weeks.shelter is a long term problem in their district and needs to be improved in this area.  During extreme conditions there needs to be more than shelter belts, shelter should ideally provide small areas that ewes they can be in and undergroup members experience indicated that twin bearing ewes should be lambed down in mobs of no more than 250 ewes per paddock.​