Brucellosis in rams is currently the subject of much discussion and is being blamed for low lamb marking percentages. For some sheep producers, this may be the case. For most, brucellosis will not be solely responsible for the low percentages. Why? The reasons lie in the nature of the disease and the fact that brucellosis … Read more
Queensland sheep producers understand the importance of: regular Worm Egg Counting (WEC) and monitoring, identifying what specific worms are present, and knowing which drenches are working on your property with regular Drench Resistance testing. With the closure of the Queensland Government Wormbuster Laboratory, there have been many people querying who else provides these services … Read more
Dear Leading Sheep Member, Understanding your wool test results allows you to get the best price possible for your wool. As members of the Leading Sheep South West Regional Coordinating Committee recently noted, ‘No longer can you afford, if you ever could, to simply harvest and sell your wool. You have to look carefully at … Read more
A simple ram health checklist The five ‘Ts’ – Teeth, Toes, Tossle, Torso and Testicles The importance of good ram management is often underestimated. Look after your rams and their ram paddock to keep them healthy and in good condition all year round! However, the last 7-8 weeks prior to joining is the most important … Read more
Scanning and feeding – it’s time to manage for more lambs You may be wondering “should I scan my sheep?”. Well, these are some of the things you should think about: Pregnancy scanning is a great management tool to help you improve your profits, particularly if you use the information to manage your flock differently. … Read more
Leading Sheep have been informed that some sheep drench retailers have been recommending drenching sheep every 6 weeks. This is labour intensive, wasteful, expensive, guaranteed to select for increased levels of drench resistance in the worm population resident on your property and if drenches are used for which the worm population is currently resistant, your … Read more
Many Queensland sheep producers have been lucky enough to attend the recent RamSelect days held at a variety of locations across Queensland including the most recent at Stanthorpe that was largely organised by Leading Sheep South Consultative Committee member Bruce Toms and featured the Dohne breed. If you have not had the opportunity and would … Read more
Below are some thoughts and comments from a fellow producer who is condition scoring sheep on his property. CONDITION SCORING EWES TO ACHIEVE MORE LAMBS INTERVIEW WITH DAVID FYSH ‘ACACIA DOWNS,’ LONGREACH Q1: What is condition scoring? A: Condition Scoring (CS) is an assessment which can be used to determine the nutritional well-being of ewes … Read more
After the rains comes the pestilence and pains… Sheep producers are now in their second, third or even their fourth good summer season in a row, following the recent high rainfalls and floods. Some issues for sheep producers to keep an eye on are: ram fertility and impacts for joining, fly strike and worms risk, … Read more
Timely Tips for Spring/Summer 2011 Given the high probability of above average long-term rainfall and the continuing La Niña conditions, producers need to watch out for conditions favouring high flystrike risk. It is best to be prepared well ahead of time so you don’t get caught out. During high fly periods, chemical availability and supplies … Read more