The Sheep Show Podcast with Jill & Andrew Noble

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Colostrum is the first milk a newborn lamb will receive from its mother.  A concentrated mix of vitamins, minerals, fats, protein, carbohydrates, antimicrobials, growth and immune factors.  It acts as a laxative, aids ewe and lamb bonding, provides energy for thermoregulation and acts as a vital source of immunoglobulins required for passive immunity against intestinal and respiratory pathogens.  Lamb morbidity and mortality has a significant impact on sheep production systems with the majority of pre-weaning losses occurring within the first two weeks of life.  Poor quality and quantity of colostrum in the first 24 hours plays a significant role in lamb death, disease, future growth and reproductive performance. 

Immediately postpartum, the lamb experiences an environmental and microbial assault.  Lambs have a small surface area to weight ratio, once exposed to the environment, they lose heat quickly and require a boost of rapidly usable energy to aid essential thermoregulation.  Cold, wet and windy conditions accelerate heat loss and add extra stressors.    Colostrum is vital to stave off hypoglycaemia and hypothermia as it is energy dense with fats, lactose and non-immune proteins necessary to generate heat. Approximately 150-290ml/kg of colostrum is required in the first 24 hours depending on weather conditions, ideally with 50ml/kg received immediately after birth (Banchero, 2015). 

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How do you know a ewe needs your help? What can we do if we see a ewe in labour? How long to wait before we glove up!? and What actually causes difficult lambing issues anyway- all is revealed in this episode! 

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Explore the 7 things to look for when you are buying a farm to run sheep on or if you are wanting to upgrade your farm or develop a plan for your farm for the future. 

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What was our pregnancy scanning results for 2023, what do we use the information for and what can your scanner tell you about the future - prepare to be amazed!!

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What do we need to know about sheep's conformation and style? What exactly do we mean when we say that a sheep has style? In this episode we explore what you need to know!

Conformation is the anatomy and skeletal function of a sheep. It impacts the sheep’s health, adaptability, longevity, and productivity. Conformation or structural correctness is made up of the following three aspects:  

·       The ‘Five Ts’ assessment methodology to visually and mentally summarise an animal or compare groups at a distance before even touching them

·       Soundness, structure, balance plus breed traits

·       Visual confirmation scoring the animal from 1-5. 1=best  5=worst

The Five Ts

The ‘Five Ts’ assessment methodology to visually and mentally summarise an animal or compare groups at a distance before even touching them.

o   Toes -  pasterns, fetlock, knees, hocks and leg profile

o   Teeth - at lip / mouth profile, jawline

o   Testicles - two well balance, noticeable, full and in a firm scrotum.

o   Teats - two, well placed with a slight outward tendency attached to a symmetrical udder not always seen in wool sheep but should be noticeable in short wool ewes

o   Type - the breed of animal. Knowledge of the unique breed standard features is also required

Soundness

A sheep should be able to move and subsist painlessly, efficiently, and productively throughout its life. The sheep should:

·       Be in good condition and healthy (environmental consideration needs to be given here too)  

·       Have sound feet

·       Stand squarely

·       Have all body parts in correct position, number, and condition especially the Five Ts as above

Structure

Structure is the way a sheep’s body parts are put together or arranged to form the whole animal.

Structural correctness is important for movement, fertility and longevity. For rams it is crucial for them to be able to mount and impregnate ewes plus potentially passing on genetic traits that maintain or enhance physical structure. For a ewe being structurally correct allows her to get pregnant, carry lambs full term, birth lambs and feed and wean them. Again, with the expectation is that her lambs will maintain or enhance genetic traits like femininity, udder development and teat placement.

Structural correctness includes:  

·       Growth potential

·       Volume/capacity or depth of body

·       Condition of the sheep (this is more environmental)

·       Legs

·       Back

·       Neck

·       Shoulder

·       Eye socket

Balance and Style

Balance in sheep deals with having appropriate portions of:  

1. Body width
2. Body depth 
3. Body length 

Sheep should be wide and deep at the rump and tight and trim through the forequarter with the largest volume of weight in the leg and loin.

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So you have jobs you need doing on your farm and you need to recruit an army with youth on their side. This episode will help you find, attract, select and keep young blood to your farm and sheep enterprise. Of course there are lots of other benefits  when we attract youth, especially for those young people who don't have a farm in their family or don't attend a school with a agriculture program.  Let's spread the sheep love to all ages and socioeconomic backgrounds I say!

In this episode you will meet Brooklyn Collocott from Young Farmers Australia on Instagram. Brooklyn has been working here at HVF for four years now. She is a year 10 student who is also studying Agriculture at Mary MacKillop College in Leongatha. 
And Tash Pollard is back! You might remember her from the Happy Hampies podcast. Tash is an Animal Science student from Federation University in Churchill, Victoria, Australia. She runs Blackpond Hampshire Down Stud based in Langwarrin Victoria and has completed her 12 day placement here with us on here farm. 

This was a very organic chat with the girls on how farmers and sheep breeders in particular can tap into the resource and energy that is youth. By doing so we give back as well as pave a positive future for sheep and agriculture in our communities. 

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Meet Tash Pollard from Blackpond Hampshire Down Stud as we explore the happiest sheep around!

https://www.facebook.com/blackpondhampshiredowns

 The Hampshire Down or Hampshire is a British breed of sheep. It originated in about 1829 from cross-breeding of Southdowns with the Old Hampshire breed, the Wiltshire Horn and the Berkshire Nott, all horned, white-faced sheep — these were native to the open, untilled, hilly stretch of land known as the Hampshire Downs. 

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How old is old when it comes to a sheep? Are they similar to other animals when it comes to aging them in human years? Is there a formula for calculating sheep years in human years? For the answer to these questions and more have a listen here! 

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All farms will have both capital and operational costs, obviously every farm is going to be different but the item will be similar if not exactly the same. So what costs do we have and what amount are they for us this tax year.
Another intimate expose of behind the scenes of our farm packaged up for all my sheep besties X

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Selenium is essential for life.  Selenium is needed for thyroid function and the removal of toxins from the body.  Even humans with low selenium struggle with joint problems – most often arthritis in the knees.  In livestock selenium also presents problems with movement.  Your sheep are going to have lambing issues and your babies are going to struggle if you don’t have enough of it in your animal feed and your soil. 
 Selenium affects the oxygen supply to the muscles.  Oxygen-deprived muscles are weaker and less elastic.  Lambs with severe selenium deficiency are diagnosed with “white muscle disease” – revealing that the muscle tissue lacks a strong oxygenated blood supply when selenium is an issue. 
 Selenium works in tandem with vitamin E – the sex vitamin.  Vitamin E is essential in all phases of reproduction, so you can see why Selenium and vitamin E deficiency will show up at lambing time. 
Learn all about these two amazing essential elements of your sheep's diet in this pod!

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