Download LIVESTOCK PRODUCTION - Spencer

LIVESTOCK PRODUCTION
Chapters:
 31- Sheep Breeds & Breeding
 32 - Goat Breeds & Breeding
 36 - Feeding & Managing Sheep &
Goats
Spencer Agricultural Education
Curriculum 2012
Chapters 31, 32, & 36: Sheep and Goat
Breeds, Breeding, Feeding, & Management
Unit Objectives:
 Identify major U.S. breeds of sheep and goats
 List production requirements for sheep and goats
 Identify genetic abnormalities and diseases associated
with both species
 Explain importance of goats worldwide
 Know genetic abnormalities
Major Breeds in the United States
(557)
 Ewe breeds: Merino, Rambouillet, Finnsheep
 Ram breeds: Suffolk, Hampshire, Cheviot
 Dual-purpose breeds: Dorset, Columbia,
Lincoln
 Synthetic breeds: PolyPay
 ID characteristics: horned/polled, wool cap,
face color, size
Major Breeds in the United
States (665)
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Milking Goat Breeds:  Other Goat Breeds:
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Toggenburg
Saanen
Alpine
Nubian
LaMancha
Oberhasli
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Angora
Cashmere
Meat/Boer
Pygmy
Importance of Goats (666)
 Produce meat, milk, and hide
 Usually more economical than dairy cows due
to size and eating habits
 Popular due to efficiency
Breeding Sheep (561)
 Seasonal estrous—Fall season
 Puberty normally reached at 5-12 months of
age
 Factors affecting reproduction:
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Selection & Crossbreeding: bred to lamb at 1 yr.
old—mature sooner than purebred
Age: mature (3-7 yrs.) ewes are more fertile and
raise lambs better
Breeding Sheep (563)
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Factors affecting reproduction continued:
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Light: decreased day length increases estrus and conception
Temperature: high temperatures can cause sterility in rams
and embryonic death in ewes
Health: disease, parasites, lack of feed, imbalanced ration
can reduce lamb production
Synchronization and AI: synchronized through hormones,
obtain estrus out of normal season
Estrogen in feed: can cause low fertility, test hay and
pasture for estrogen levels
Breeding Sheep (564)
 Breeding methods: hand mating or pasture
mating
 Highly heritable traits: mature body size,
yearling type score, face cover, skin folds,
clean fleece yield, staple length, loin eye area,
fat weight, gestation length, retail cut weight
Inherited
Abnormalities/Diseases (568)
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Dwarfism: recessive gene – lethal – rams & ewes
should be culled
Entropion: turned in eyelids, animals should be
culled or require surgery
Overshot jaw or parrot mouth: decreases grazing
ability, should be culled
Undershot jaw: see above
Rectal prolapse: common in black face sheep, heavy
feeding & lush pastures can promote it
Inherited
Abnormalities/Diseases (568)
 Wool blindness: selection against trait
 Blue tongue:
 Spider syndrome: suffolk, outward bending of
limbs from knees
 Johnes disease (goats): serious problem for
goats, unthrifty, emaciated & unproductive
 Causeous lymphadenitis: nodules in the lymph
area, difficult to control
Inherited
Abnormalities/Diseases (678)
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Caprine Arthritis Encephalitis: affects central nervous
system of young kids—partial paralysis
Echtyma: sore mouth—contagious to sheep &
humans, vaccines can be used
Enterotoxemia: all ages susceptible, avoid feeding
excess milk or grain
Goat pox: lesions on mucous membranes and skin,
not prevalent in U.S.
Tetanus: infects wounds and causes death, annual
boosters control the disease
Production Requirements (573)
 Pastures: grass and legume combination most
desirable
 Fencing: sheep are escape artists—best to use
electric fence or woven wire
 Corrals/chutes: for grouping and sick animals
 Shelters: sheep don’t suffer from cold
Production Requirements (574)
 Lambing equipment
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Lambing jugs: 4’ x 4’ pen to raise lambs until they
are strong enough to be with others
 Feeding equipment
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Creep feeding: provides concentrates to growing
lambs
 Feed storage
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Dry
Types of Producers (576)
 Purebred breeder: need more feed than
commercial
 Commercial slaughter lamb producer
 Commercial feeder lamb producer
 Commercial feedlot operator
Feeding Sheep (578)
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Mature pregnant ewes require nothing more than
lower-quality forages during first half of pregnancy
Second half of pregnancy will require grain and
alfalfa hay
Water supply must always be available as sheep can
be highly susceptible to thirst
Energy is also important in sheep rations
Rams should be healthy, not fat
Around lambing time, grain allowance should rise for
ewes
Handling Sheep (581)
 Never catch sheep by the wool as it can cause
bruises
 Best way to catch a sheep: grab flank then
under chin
 Sheep are particularly gregarious creatures—
they prefer to move in groups rather than alone
Handling Sheep (582)
 Lambing preparation
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Crutching: tagging; shearing wool from dock,
udder, & vulva regions
Post birth: castrate and dock lambs
 Shearing—usually in the spring
REVIEW
 Read Chapter 31
 Do Chapter 31 Questions 1-18
 Read Chapter 32
 Do Chapter 32 Questions 1-16
 Read Chapter 36
 Do Chapter 36 Questions 1-11