The type of reproductive management system you choose should compliment your farm resources (land base, facilities, labour etc). The table below gives a brief outline of the advantages and disadvantages for the most common types of management systems.
Grass Lambing
(April-May)
Potential Advantages
- Lower feed costs: Peak nutritional needs during lactation and lamb growth are met by grazing
- Lower lamb mortality: Warmer weather during lambing and outdoor housing means fewer lambs lost to hypothermia and illnesses such as pneumonia
- More ewes/person: Management is relatively simple during the year and less labour is required at lambing
- Reduced housing: A warm barn for lambing is not needed
- Less reproductive management: Breeding occurs in the late fall when sheep are naturally most fertile. Breeding at other times of the year will restrict you to specific breeds of sheep and/or intensive management of the reproductive cycle.
Potential Disadvantages
- Deworming costs increase: Anytime manure is in close contact with feed (i.e. feeding on the ground and grazing) there is an increased likelihood of worm infestation. Worms must be controlled, particularly in young animals, as heavy infestations will rapidly decrease profitability.
- Decrease in selling price: As this is the least labour intensive type of production system, the majority of producers in Ontario lamb at this time of the year. Therefore there is a large increase in number of lambs marketed in the late summer and fall. As economic laws dictate, price generally decreases when supply increases.
Winter Lambing
(Jan-Feb)
Potential Advantages
- Improved market potential: Lambing at this time of the year will allow producers to take advantage of the large Easter market for new crop lambs and market larger lambs before the large lamb supplies in fall.
- Lower worm loads: Control of feeding sites should reduce the level of worm infestation, improving nutritional efficiency and lamb growth, while decreasing de-worming costs.
- Moderate reproductive management: For winter lambing, ewes must be bred in the late summer or early fall. A number of breeds with long reproductive seasons will naturally begin cycling by this time of the year.
Potential Disadvantages
- High lamb mortality: Even with good management and facilities, death losses can be as high as 15% of the lamb crop.
- Increased housing costs: A snug barn is essential.
- Higher feed costs: Ewes must be fed high energy rations to maintain lactation and lambs not sold for Easter must be fed for growth (not on pasture).
- More health problems: Even with excellent management, disease losses in animals housed indoors are generally heavier, as the close contact between animals facilitates the spread of diseases. If ventilation, sanitation, and stocking levels are substandard, very high losses may occur.
- Fewer ewes per person: Management and labour are higher relative to spring lambing (feeding, keeping animals clean, and closely monitoring lambing).
Multiple lambings per year
Accelerated Lambing (individual ewes lamb 3 times every two years OR five times in 3 years-Cornell ‘Star’ Program)
Potential Advantages
- Year round supply of lambs: There is great potential to supply lamb during the winter months and for the Christmas and Easter markets.
- Price stability: With an increase in the number of marketing dates and the potential to supply diverse markets, there is less risk of being dramatically affected by price fluctuations.
- Lower lamb mortality: With two warm weather lambing seasons and one cold weather season, overall lamb mortality is decreased relative to once/year winter lambing
- More lambs marketed/ ewe/year: Greater returns are possible per ewe.
- Reduced lambing space: Relative to once/year winter lambing, less barn space is needed as 1/3 to 1/2 of the flock is lambing at a given time.
Potential Disadvantages
- Intensive management: Year round lambing requires year-round attention to management.
- Higher feed cost/ewe/year: Although more lambs are produced per ewe, the cost of keeping the ewes productive is also greater. Ewes must be fed at a high level of nutrition for longer periods of the year, and cannot be allowed to lose condition between lambings.
- Housing costs: Although only a percentage of the flock will be lambing at a given time, there still must be insulated barn space for winter lambing.
- Ewe longevity and health: There may be more udder and health problems with ewes on accelerated lambing programs.
Author: Bill McCutcheon, Former OMAFRA Sheep Specialist
