As pregnancy progresses flat rate feeding causes a gradual transition from positive to negative nutrient balance in the ewe, and in doing so enables her to adapt to deficits in specific nutrients, which may occur during early lactation. Clipping ewes Clipping of housed ewes in late pregnancy increases appetite and relieves heat stress resulting in the production of heavier lambs. It is generally found that heavier lambs survive better at birth and grow faster. Ewes at Hillsborough are normally housed and clipped 6 to 12 weeks before lambing. Ewes housed for shorter periods should not be clipped due to the risk of exposure resulting from insufficient wool growth by turnout.
Clipping allows ewe condition to be easily monitored and avoids the problem of wool blocking slats.
Handling clipped ewes in late pregnancy has not given rise to problems and no ill effects on ewes after turnout have been found. The level of concentrates fed will depend on the type and quality of the roughage, and on the expected litter size. Silage fed to ewes should be well fermented and have a high ME leading to a significant reduction in the amount of concentrates required. Body condition scoring before tupping ensures that all ewes can be managed to achieve a body score of 3 at tupping improving conception rate and reducing the risk of lambing difficulty. Body scoring is therefore a useful management tool helping, in particular, to minimise the risk of twin lamb disease.