Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
Flushing
Flushing is the practice of placing the ewes on an increasing plane of nutri-
tion — that is, in a slight weight-gain situation — to prepare for breeding. (It
is not as effective if the ewes are fat to begin with, and fat ewes may have
breeding problems.) Flushing can be accomplished by supplementing the diet
with grain, or better pasture, depending on the time of year you are breeding.
It is most productive when initiated 17 days before turning in the ram and
continued right up until he is introduced — then begin tapering off gradually,
for about 30 days. There seems to be no advantage to starting earlier. This
system not only gets the ewes in better physical condition for breeding; it also
helps to synchronize them by bringing them into heat at about the same time,
which prevents long, strung-out lambing sessions.
Flushing is also a factor in twinning, possibly because with better nour-
ishment the ewes are more likely to drop two ova. The USDA estimates that
fl ushing results in an 18 to 25 percent increase in the number of lambs, and
some farmers think it is even more.
You can start with ¼ pound (0.1 kg) of grain a day per ewe and work up to
½ or ¾ pound (0.2 or 0.3 kg) each in the fi rst week. Continue at that quantity
for the 17 days of fl ushing. When you turn in the ram, taper off the extra grain
gradually.
The ewes will probably come into heat once during the 17 days of fl ushing,
particularly if you have put the ram in an adjoining pasture. But it's best not to
turn in the ram yet — during their second heat, ewes drop a greater number
of eggs and are more likely to twin.
The ewes should not be pastured on heavy stands of red clover, as it con-
tains estrogen and lowers lambing percentages. Other clovers and alfalfa may
have a similar effect, though it tends to be weaker in these legumes. Bird's-
foot trefoil, another legume, doesn't have this effect at all.
Ewe Lambs
The exception to the fl ushing is the ewe lambs, if you decide to breed them.
They will not have reached full size by lambing time, so you would not want
them to be bred too early in the breeding season. Don't breed them until a
month or so after you've begun breeding the mature ewes. Breeding season
is shorter for ewe lambs than for mature ewes. Some breeds mature more
slowly, like Rambouillet, and some much faster, like Finnsheep, Polypay, and
Romanov.
