OviCast

As we enter the risk period for blowfly on farms, Wesley Power, Veterinary Technical Consultant with Elanco Animal Health, joins Ciarán Lynch on this week’s OviCast.

Wesley starts with the risk that blowfly poses on sheep farms as well as the predisposing factors before he moves on to explaining the life cycle of the blowfly and how that affects control options.

He then discusses what control options are available and Wesley explains how they work. With many producers relying on topical applications as a control method they discuss the importance of correct application and how it impacts on product efficacy.

As the risk seasonal period for blowfly is quite long Wesley explains the need for repeat applications in certain systems before finishing up by encouraging farmers to consider treatment to prevent the blowfly on farms before strike occurs.

Watch the correct application method clip here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O7iFeI1eLok

For more episodes from OviCast, visit the show page at:

https://www.teagasc.ie/animals/sheep/ovicast-sheep-podcast

Farmers should consider examining the financial performance of their farm in more detail by completing a profit monitor and on this week’s OviCast podcast, Michael Gottstein Head of Sheep in Teagasc tells Ciarán Lynch why it’s important.

Firstly, Michael outlines how to complete a profit monitor and what information is required. He explains how the income and costs are classified and the difference in variable and fixed costs.

He then discusses how to use this information as an opportunity to examine and improve the business and it also allows a farmer to benchmark farm performance against others and set targets for the business.

Finally, Michael discusses possible investments that could be made to improve the business.

For more episodes from OviCast, visit the show page at:

https://www.teagasc.ie/animals/sheep/ovicast-sheep-podcast

Peadar Kearney from Co Louth who is running a high output sheep only system where measuring and managing play a key role, joins Ciarán Lynch on this week’s OviCast.

Peadar is also a participant on the Teagasc BETTER farm sheep programme and gives a quick recap on how lambing went this year, what has happened with the lambs in the interim and how he monitors lamb performance.

He moves on to discuss the grass situation on the farm and the growth rates in recent weeks. Peadar describes the grazing groups on the farm, his pre and post grazing management and the importance of achieving residuals and managing re-growths.

He then explains the grazing infrastructure, his paddock system and the use of temporary fencing and the role that has had in maintaining grass supply for his flock. Peadar also discusses the importance of grass measuring and using PastureBase in his system to give him the information to manage grass supply.

As Peadar is one of the participating flocks in the OviData programme working with Sheep Ireland, he finishes up discussing the kind of information they are recording on ewes for the upcoming 7 week weight.

For more episodes from OviCast, visit the show page at:

https://www.teagasc.ie/animals/sheep/ovicast-sheep-podcast

With lambing finishing up, this week’s OviCast podcast recaps on how well flocks have performed and where improvements can be made and to discuss this in more detail Ciarán Lynch is joined by Michael Gottstein Head of Sheep in Teagasc.

Michael starts by outlining why it’s important to take stock of how flock has performed during lambing when it’s fresh in our minds and complete a simple lambing review.

He discusses some of the key performance targets including issues around barrenness and ewes not rearing lambs and what follow up actions farmers can take before moving on to discuss issues around prolapse and the short and longer term actions that need to be addressed.

Michael also discusses flock health in particular antibiotic use in lambs and ways in which this can be drastically reduced. Sticking with the lambing theme Michael talks about the impact of nutritional and other contributing factors on lambing difficulty, the level of assistance during lambing and what strategies can be implemented to improve this situation.

The interview finishes up with Michael highlighting how addressing some of the simple management changes from now on can improve the outcome of next year’s lambing.

For more episodes from OviCast, visit the show page at:

https://www.teagasc.ie/animals/sheep/ovicast-sheep-podcast

Teagasc's B&T advisor Tom Coll joins Ciarán Lynch on this week’s OviCast to discuss some issues with lameness appearing in flocks at present.

Tom discusses how scald is the main problem in young lambs at the moment and what some of the predisposing factors are.

He highlights the need for early intervention and discusses treatment options. Tom puts particular emphasis on the importance of good handling facilities in tackling some of these issues on farms.

With many of his clients having invested in batch footbath facilities in recent years he finishes up discussing how this has helped reduce incidence of lameness in their flocks and some of the other benefits to this change.

For more episodes from OviCast, visit the show page at:

https://www.teagasc.ie/animals/sheep/ovicast-sheep-podcast

Dr Orla Keane joins Ciarán Lynch on this week’s episode of OviCast to discuss Nematodirus in lambs.

Orla starts by explaining why it poses a risk for lambs in early spring, she explains the DAFM Nematodirus forecast and the implications that has for lambs this spring. She discusses the signs of infection in young lambs and the treatment options for this condition as well as discussing how the choice of treatment can impact the sustainable parasite control.

As this occurs at a similar time to possible Coccidia infection, Orla explains how this can also impact lambs, the clinical presentation of the condition and treatment options.

Orla finishes up by highlighting the need to use correct procedure when administering anthelminthic and highlighting the resources available on the Teagasc Website.

Find out more about anthelminthic resistance at:

https://www.teagasc.ie/animals/sheep/flock-health/anthelmintic-resistance/

For more episodes from OviCast, visit the show page at:

https://www.teagasc.ie/animals/sheep/ovicast-sheep-podcast

With the grazing season well underway, on the latest OviCast episode Ciarán Lynch catches up with Dr Philip Creighton who highlights the need to focus on grassland management for the coming weeks to maximise lamb performance.

They discuss the current grazing conditions on farms around the country and the impact opening covers has had on grass growth during March.

Philip moves on to discuss forming grazing groups and what impact that has on grass and animal performance. He then outlines the current grazing targets and the importance of achieving residuals to setup the sward for subsequent grazing rotations.

They move on to discuss fertiliser application for the second round to meet rising demand and finish up discussing target farm covers for the coming weeks.

For more episodes from OviCast, visit the show page at:

https://www.teagasc.ie/animals/sheep/ovicast-sheep-podcast

Tomás O’Leary who is farming outside Killarney in Co. Kerry joins Ciarán Lynch on this week’s OviCast.

Tomás who is a participant on the BETTER Farm Sheep Programme has always joined his ewe lambs and managed them alongside his mature ewes. He shares his experience on how to manage these ewes to achieve a high output.

He also discusses his selection criteria to ensure his replacement ewe lambs are suitable to join, ram choice and joining period length.

Tomás then detailed his scan result this year and feeding regime from housing right through to late pregnancy.

He discussed management around lambing time and plans for turnout and highlights why he supplements this group post lambing and how he manages them from turnout to weaning, highlighting the importance of monitoring their condition.

See more about his breeding policy here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DcuvJqj3FeM

For more episodes from OviCast, visit the show page at:

https://www.teagasc.ie/animals/sheep/ovicast-sheep-podcast

Dr Frank Campion joins Ciarán Lynch on this week’s OviCast podcast to talk about reducing the number of problem ewes.

As many of the problems seen in a flock occur during lambing, Frank highlights the importance of identifying these sheep for culling with a permanent means so that they don’t re-appear in the flocks for the coming year.

Frank discusses the reasons for culling in flocks but also the importance of recording the reasons why these ewes were culled. He outlines why it’s important to review these reasons to identify potential issues within the flocks and expands on this point with examples of the culling levels and variation seen in the flocks in the Sheep BETTER farms.

As culling is an ongoing process they finish up discussing other issues to target as the season progresses.

For more episodes from OviCast, visit the show page at:

https://www.teagasc.ie/animals/sheep/ovicast-sheep-podcast

Having a system in place to deal with surplus or orphan lambs is a must on many farms at this time of the year. On this episode of OviCast, Ciarán Lynch discusses this in more detail with Michael Gottstein Head of Sheep in Teagasc.

Michael outlines the various options for artificially rearing lambs indicating the pros and cons of each. They discuss training lambs onto feeders, batching according to age and group size.

As these are high cost systems, Michael outlines the weaning process, emphasising its importance in keeping the cost of the system down.

He also discusses the introduction of concentrate and provision of a fibre source and fresh water and finishes up highlighting the importance of hygiene and identifying poor performers and managing them separately.

For more episodes from OviCast, visit the show page at:

https://www.teagasc.ie/animals/sheep/ovicast-sheep-podcast