Culling too many old ewes backfires on flock rebuilds, expert warns
A sheep consultant warns that culling too many old ewes hurts flock rebuilds. Older ewes have better pregnancy and weaning rates.
Sheep farmers are selling older ewes to slaughter at high prices. Sheep farmers are trying to rebuild flocks at historic lows.
Dr Gordon Refshauge, a sheep consultant, says this strategy damages long-term sustainability. Healthy older ewes have higher pregnancy rates and larger litters.
They also have better weaning rates than younger replacements. As producers cull more older ewes and add younger ones, the reproduction rate declines.
In self-replacing flocks, selling ewes that fail to conceive just once removes animals needed for long-term breeding gains. Most failures are due to non-genetic reasons, not faulty genetics.
If these ewes got a second chance, selection accuracy would improve. For example, in a shedding breed operation, you can rejoin non-pregnant ewes in eight months or less.
This allows culling only of those that fail twice.
- Sheep Metrix
- Refshauge's affiliation
- over 50 percent
- Non-Merino lambings
Why it mattersFarmers chasing quick profit may accidentally shrink their flocks. They remove animals they cannot afford to lose. This sets back rebuilds by years.
AustraliaAustralian sheep farmers rebuilding herds need to rethink culling practices or risk undoing their flock expansion at the worst time.
✓ Claims checked against the source and corrected before publish. checked 4 d ago
