Thanks! I've got some big fans on the list of things to price out before next summer. You're so right. This summer heat really set our flock back.

Me too!!

me too lol

LOL. My little pity party. I was in quite the mood last week... Thank you so much!

@@SandiBrock we are trying to move out to a farm but the flock that was on there previously had caseious so we will have to put off sheep for a while . Untill then I will continue to live vicariously through you lol . We all have rough weeks but life always goes on .hope things turn around for ewe

So frustrating! Caseious is a sneaky one too. I get flare-ups here and there and may start using the vaccination in my system.

Never fail! Always succeed! Love you!

You're too kind. Thank you for that. Sorry for my pity party!! LOL

Agreed. You are doing great Sandi.

THANK YOU!!! Interesting stuff here! We ended up doing a semen test yesterday with some interesting results... and maybe some answers. Going to vlog about it here shortly.

Me?

Me too!

Too

2022 August!!

Oct 2022 🎉

thanks Fiona!

Thanks so much!!!

LOL! I love watching them behind me when I'm editing... Its maybe my favourite part! I never catch them in the act when I'm actually working with them!

Forgot to add: 2 hrs after insemination: Introduce rams, leave in 5-7 days (1:7-10 ratio is goodif A.I'd) On the 17th day after insemination(19th day after PMSG) re introduce rams to the whole group. The rams will find the ewes that are re ovulating and jump them. Leave in for a further 5-7 days. You will have a second smaller lambing 2.5 weeks after the main group but you didn't waist the ewes cycle and you get more lambs. Success rate rises. Good luck Sandi. We are with you.

@@daltm79 I run 200 polypay ewes. lambing once a year, i breed in season. I flush for 2 weeks, and the following 2 weeks I synchronize the ewes with MGA. one lb. per ewe twice a day for 12 to 14 day's. on the 16th day I put 16 rams in for 7 days. I reintroduce the rams to the ewes on the 17th day of pulling the rams out. I will start breeding off season starting next year. I do like your method for off season.

@@munemrabadi4881 thank you very much.

I would love to come visit your operation! It sounds amazing! As for AI... I just don't think we can afford doing this many ewes... With my old system of breeding every 6 weeks, I could move those repeat ewes quicker through the system... that was a definite advantage of the system for sure.

Talked to my vet yesterday... Will likely be going back to the 21 day breed to give each ewe her second heat. Hoping that will help clean up my ballooning group of open ewes.

Great advise!

Totally.

Thanks Pam!! Always COFFEE!!! LOL

Live by that motto!!

Hey Michael! Thanks so much, yes... I too was on the two-heat system and had changed to only one heat this year.. kind of as an experiment to see if someday I could add induction at lambing time. However, after results just not good enough, I will be going back to that system. I'll have a detailed vlog about next steps soon!

Thanks Erich! I hope so... but even through my failure, we all get to learn something... so I guess that's a win? LOL

So right!! Thank you for the much needed reminder!

I think you're right. Many reached out to me on Snapchat and IG and said their cows missed also.

Had a good discussion with my vet yesterday and have a plan going forward... and semen testing the ram is first on the list!

Thanks Eddie! Had a good discussion with my vet, and he agrees we should start with analyzing the rams and then work backwards... starting with checking sperm.

That was my first thought... but I didn't like how the other group did significantly better... talked to vet yesterday and he agreed to start with analyzing rams. So we did the semen test last night.

@@SandiBrock and...? Was there a dud?

I think I messaged you... may keep the outcome a surprise on KZfaq for some content! LOL

I had to put the ewe down. It was a really bad break... I was also in the middle of lambing and knew I wouldn't be able to give her the attention she would need for additional care. It was honestly a management decision in this case, and I didn't want to be the reason she was in pain.

Hey Jessica! I gave the ewes that were with this group of rams another chance. Good thing, because most of them caught. I decide what lambs I want as replacements around week 16. They have to have the genetics I'm looking for, decent gains, aim for a twin, and overall conformation.

I was wondering the same! Whew!

00663326043watsab

Typically I would try to fix it... It was a bad break. Way out of my expertise, and I couldn't let it be in that much pain.

Yea ok your really good btw don’t feel down when something happens remember that everyday is a new day

Thanks so much Ashley.

@@SandiBrock your welcome, thank you for letting me learn a bit about sheep,

thanks!

Awe, thanks!

I did her ultrasounds and the results this summer for many producers have been consistently lower than the last couple of years. It was just too hot in Ontario in July.

@@middlekingdomfarmrebeccapa5035 here in israel also. Interesting. By the by, what ultrasound scanner do you use?

@@daltm79 , I use an Oviscan 6 from IMV imaging (used to BCF from Scotland)

@@middlekingdomfarmrebeccapa5035 we use 2 BCF DouScan sacnners with Bug monitors+ 3.5TTL sector probe. and one EI Medical IBEX lite machine with glasses and sector probe. What monitors and probes do you use?

I am using a 3.5 probe and just the monitor that comes with the Oviscan. I have thought about going to a Bug monitor, but haven't made the leap.

This happened 9 months ago, she is put down already

No, its not economical. Vet would have to make a barn call. That's $$ Then the ewe would have to be sedated, more $$. Then an X-ray has to be taken to see the location and severity of the break, more $$. Then the cast has to be applied, more $$. After that another x- has to be taken to make sure the break is properly aligned so that it will heal properly, more $$. If not aligned, has to be recasted,$$. Then pain meds have to be given to take the edge off the pain to keep the ewe up and able to get to feed water, more $$. the vet then has to come back out to remove the cast later, more $$. before the cast can be removed yet another x-ray has to be taken to ensure that the Bones have healed properly, more $$. The vet bill for such an injury can get extremely large, very fast. For an operation such as this that has a bottom line, it's best to euthanize the to prevent undue suffering. And use the money not spent on large vet bills to keep the farm running and the multitude of other animals fed and maintained

Kara Ormonde gotcha. Thanks for the info!

@@Bugginsmama & EE RG Thank you! I was scanning the comments looking for the answer.

Hey there, thanks so much! Yes, this is what I have typically done, but switched to the one-heat breeding system this year to help tighten the lambing events. But, will be going back to this system. Just too many have missed. Will be doing a vlog on next steps where I will discuss this.

Hey Kurt! I haven't considered them... But great idea!

@@SandiBrock they are known for out of season breeding and also very prolific with triplets being the norm- the downside I saw with mine were they are pretty fine boned animal therefore I was going for a crossbred for better gain

Thanks!

Thanks!

I believe this group was a bad conception rate...

Wow. Ya, I'd need a whole lot more rams! LOL

Wow.

On flock I know has 20+ rams and they go in with 40 ewes at a time on a CIDR program. They get very good results out of season.

@@middlekingdomfarmrebeccapa5035 hi Rebecca, May i ask a few questions please? 1. How good is very good(results)? 2. How many ewes do they have over all? 3. How many lambing groups do they have a year? Thanks.

Those with low ram ratios (2:1 or 3:1) and CIDR groups are getting over 70% this year and in better years consistently get into the 80% range. They run large flocks, over 600 ewes and exposing about 150 to 200 in one breeding group (split into small groups for breeding over a few days/weeks.) They lamb five or six times a year so each ewe gets a chance to lamb on an eight month schedule.

The butcher.

AI in sheep is usually surgical and therefore quite costly.

Hey Dave! Rebecca is right... sheep have a pretty complicated reproductive tract that requires a vet and surgery to do AI. With this many animals, its just more cost efficient to use rams. Coming from a dairy background myself, this was one of my first questions also!

@@middlekingdomfarmrebeccapa5035 Hi Rebecca, we operate an insemination centre here, we got to the same conclusion. Lap AI is costly, time consuming and labor intensive. We inseminate cervical AI method(not shot in the dark)with fresh semen for sheep and goats. Trans-cervical as well for goats.. works for us😊

@@daltm79 transcervical was done here for a while in the 90s but success rates were not terribly impressive. What results do you get in season or out?

@@middlekingdomfarmrebeccapa5035 I should clarify, in goats we can get through the entire cervix via cervical AI method. We do not use the equipment and methods of the 90's, too slow and like you said... no great results where sheep are concerned. As for results.... every flock has its own indevidual result curve. Some places get upward of 75-85 percent some less, all depends on the flock and what programs they use.