Maintain ewe condition between tupping and scanning

The importance of ewe condition before lambing has been known about for generations, writes Nerys Wright. But recent research has shown that poor ewe body condition score (BCS) has a longer-term impact on flock performance than first thought.

A relatively quick and simple way of assessing ewe condition is through body condition scoring (BCS), placing a hand over their back to determine the amount of fat cover, using a scale of 1-5, 1 being lean and 5 being obese.

See panel for current BCS targets throughout the year for lowland ewes.

Yes, I happen to be the author of this research – but don’t hold that against me. It was an AHDB funded project. For more information, visit their website – or, if you like a good read, search for my 400-page long thesis. Here are some key findings:

• Ewes that maintained condition from tupping to scanning achieved better scanning results. This contradicts the previous recommendation to allow ewes to lose half a condition score. However, maintaining condition and allowing the ewe to utilise it during lactation instead, resulted in heavier lambs at both 8-weeks post lambing and at weaning.

• The impact of ewe condition at weaning has an impact on scanning results in the next production year. Not only does it impact how many lambs a ewe has, but it also affects how heavy those lamb(s) are at weaning, 12 months later.

•   Ewe condition is cyclical, which means their prior condition and the journey to regain lost condition impacts future performance. This was evident in shearling ewes and affected their performance as first-time mothers.

• Once ewes are in-lamb, it is much harder to influence BCS without impacting lamb growth.

• Most farmers who responded to my survey reported that they thought BCS was important but
that having time to assess condition and the ability to manage those separate groups of ewes were the barriers to utilising it as a management tool.

Nerys Wright is an independent sheep consultant.
For more details, call 07891 187643 or visit sheepconsultancy.co.uk.