Australian Livestock Scanning Services Group - Sheep Site
The results and recommendations from 23 years of on-property R&D with commercial sheep and cattle producers. We specialise in precision scanning for pregnancy, twinning, and ageing of foetus in sheep and cattle and in helping to raise lamb survival and cow fertility in stud and commercial breeding enterprises.
mob: 0428 667 567, email: fowler.doug@bigpond.com
Ultrasound scanning of sheep
1. Use ALSSgroup to scan your ewes
ALSS group has a reputation for highly accurate scanning and in addition, there are many other reasons why we would like you to choose us to scan your ewes.
2. The profitability of scanning, how and when it is realised.
There are at least 14 different ways in which the profitability of your enterprise will be realized immediately following scanning and thereafter on an ongoing basis.
3. Services offered and scale of charges for scanning ewes
ALSS group offers an extensive range of services at competitive rates.
4. Six alternatives for scanning Ewes
Scanning to identify pregnancy/non-pregnancy or to identify ewes with singles or twins are only two of the options available when you decide to scan your ewes.
5. How and when to scan ewes
For accuracy rates exceeding 98%, how ewes are handled for scanning and when ewes are scanned depends on what the ewes are being scanned for.
6. Scanning to identify ewes with singles or twins
The decision not to scan for twins because there are too few of them can be wrong. The lower the twinning rate the more single lambs that there are to be kept alive by relatively simple management practices.
7. Benefits and pitfalls of scanning.
The benefits outweigh the pitfalls of scanning but the pitfalls can be costly. The procedures must be carried out carefully.
8. Optimise feeding costs - a feeding strategy for pregnant ewes
When you have scanned your ewes you will know which ewes to feed and how much and when to feed them.
9. Statutory and welfare matters
Non veterinary providers are free to scan sheep throughout most states in Australia, however, there are strict provisos concerning the provision of the service.
Major welfare issues surround the provision of the service.
Accuracy with sheep
10. Scanning accuracy
High scanning accuracy requires that the preparation and handling of ewes for scanning and the conduct of the scanning exercise be undertaken correctly.
ALSS group guarantees the accuracy of our work.
11. Ageing of foetus
Ageing the foetus enables identification of the sire responsible for the pregnancy and is the most important way to reduce the losses of single born lambs.
12. Handling and accuracy
The way in which sheep are handled for scanning can influence the likelihood of errors.
Get and save more lambs
13. An annual program for higher flock reproductive performance
In order to maximize the profitability of a breeding enterprise it is important to employ the correct manage-
ment practices and implement them in the right way and time.
14. Join the ewes according to known best practices
Joining involves more than simply putting the rams with the ewes. Some important considerations with regard to joining are discussed.
15. Get more of the better lambs with yard joining
Yard joining, the way in which it is possible to increase the number of ewes that get pregnant to "superior" rams, is discussed.
16. Get more lambs - select the most fertile ewes
Early reproductive performance is an indicator of the rest of lifetime reproductive performance. The performance of breeding flocks in which the most fertile ewes have been selected is discussed.
17. National lamb losses
The loss of new born lambs in the Australian sheep flock is massive, amounting to about one quarter of all lambs born. Benchmarks for lamb losses in different enterprise types.
18. How lambs die
Many factors contribute to the death of lambs in the period surrounding birth. The major causes of death among single and twin born lambs are discussed.
19. How to save new born lambs
The management practices required to save single born lambs is totally different from those required to save twin born lambs. The various practices are discussed.
20. Use hybrid vigour to increase lamb survival rates
Infusion of a new bloodline produces hybrid vigour which can increase or even decrease the reproductive performance of sheep. Pregnancy scanning is an ideal way to quickly learn the benefits or otherwise of a move in this direction. ALSS group will help you to implement an evaluation exercise.
21. Use bloodlines to increase lamb survival rates
In Merinos, the crossing of bloodlines can lead to substantial lifts in reproduction results. Compared with purebred mating, the simple crosses were four per cent more fertile and had a seven per cent increase in lambs weaned per ewe mated. When the "crossbred" females were mated, they had a further eight per cent higher reproduction rate than purebred females.
© 2015 Doug Fowler · Template design by Andreas Viklund · Implementation: Bill Pattie