Sheep udder assessment at lamb marking

Summary

Udder assessment of breeding ewes at lambmarking is a useful skill to identify ewes that have successfully lambed and reared (‘wet’ ewes) and those with udders capable of rearing lamb/s from future joinings.

Knowing whether a ewe is ‘wet’ or has failed to lamb or rear (‘dry’) allows you to decide which ewes to keep, and which should be culled.

The reproductive efficiency of your flock can be significantly improved by culling the poor performers (i.e. twice dry or twice lambed & lost) and selecting ‘wet’ ewes to remain in the flock.

Topics include:

  • When to check udders
  • The ‘wet and dry’ technique
  • Identifying udder abnormalities
  • Udder assessment aids culling decisions
  • Udder checks improve reproductive performance



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Primefact 1289 First Edition

Published: Feb 2013