animal sciences sheep
COOPERATIVE EXTENSION SERVICE, PURDUE UNIVERSITY, WEST LAFAYETTE INDIANA 47907
Sheep Production Calendar for Winter Lambs
Ft- E. Hudgens and J. B. Outhouse, Department of Animal Sciences and K. D. Johnson, Department of Agronomy
The purpose of this calendar is to outline management practices for each month based on a winter lambing program. The information provided should serve as a guide to help the sheep producer stay abreast of the changing management decisions that must be made on a daily basis. Important dates to remember are outlined below. These dates are the bases for determining when other management practices will take place. Actual dates for accomplishing each management practice may be moved forward or backward a few days to meet a specific situation or location.
Breeding Dates—August 1 to September 4 Lambing Dates—December 24 to January 27 Early Wean Lambs by March 15 Wean All Lambs by May 1 Market All Lambs by July 1
CALENDAR
JULY
Week One
•	Shear ewes and rams. This will help keep them cool.
•	Deworm ewes and rams then place animals on a pasture or paddock preferably where sheep have not been for at least 30 days. This should reduce reinfestation of internal parasites.
•	Give rams a breeding soundness evaluation. This includes an evaluation of body soundness, reproductive tract soundness and semen quality.
•	Clip pastures and rotationally graze.
•	Remove ewes from pastures with a high content of legumes (greater than 30 percent). Live legume plants can contain estrogentic compounds that will adversely influence the reproductive performance of ewes.
•	Trim and check all hooves of ewes and rams for signs of foot rot. This may be done in conjunction with shearing.
Week Two
•	Increase daily nutrient intake of each ewe (nutritional flushing) and ram. This can be accomplished by supplementing their diet with 1/2 lb./day shelled corn.
•	Provide fresh water and a salt-mineral mixtureto all sheep at all times.
Week Three
•	Cut hay for fall and winter feeding when growth warrants harvest.
Week Four
•	Weigh replacement ewes and rams between 180 and 240 days of age.
•	Complete the 210-day record portion of form ISPTP-2, “Indiana Sheep Performance Testing Program,” and forward for summarization.
•	Paint brand a large identification number on each side of all ewes. This will aid in the identification of ewes at mating. The paint used should be specifically manufactured for branding sheep.
AUGUST
Week One
•	Turn rams with ewes at night on August 1 but pen the rams in a cool area (less than 75°F) separate from the ewes during the day.
•	Use a ewe marking harness or marking paint on the breast of the rams. When the ram mounts the ewe during mating a mark will be placed on the ewe’s rump. An accurate breeding date can be recorded for the ewe.
Week Two
•	Record the breeding date for each ewe and approximate lambing dates can be calculated from these breeding dates.
AS-401