CLF214 - - AGRICULTURE CORE CURRICULUM - - (200) Core Area: ANIMAL SCIENCE (210) Unit Title: DOMESTIC ANIMALS AND SOCIETY ______________________________________________________________________________ (214) Topic: ANIMAL PRODUCTION time taught in year 1 hour 2 ______________________________________________________________________________ Topic objectives: Upon completion of this lesson the student will: Learning outcome # (A-5) - Maintain an animal through a full production cycle. Special Materials and Equipment: Will vary by type of student enterprise. Evaluation: Grading of SOE, Record book, work sheets TOPIC PRESENTATION: ANIMAL PRODUCTION _____________________________________________________________ ACTIVITY: For a student to complete the task outlined in the learning outcome above, he or she must invest time outside of regular school hours. This is part of a student's SOE enterprise activities which should be carefully planned, monitored, and be included as part of the class grade. Instruction in SOE may be found in the SOE unit in core area 600. Along with referring to the above, use the following example, or an example of your own design, to help the student develop a full plan for the maintenance of an enterprise (project) through a complete production cycle. (NOTE: You may wish to consider substituting plants for animals or use other examples, depending on the priorities of your program.) Assignment: Remove the Planning Calendar from the California Vocational Agriculture Record Book. Using this calendar, the dates for your local fairs and/or auctions, and the attached "Example: Spring Lambing Program", have the students plan out the maintenance of a market lamb, from "conception" through "sale". Introduce the lesson in class, discuss your requirements and pertinent dates, and assign the work, due the next day (if not completed in class, it becomes homework). With additions or reference to the Sheepman's Handbook, the assignment could as easily be applied to a breeding ewe. NOTE THE INFORMATION NEEDED FROM THE FOLLOWING NARRATIVE IS LIMITED. Plan to assist your students in identifying the key elements they need to use the planning calendar and complete the exercise. _____________________________________________________________ I. Example: Spring Lambing Program A spring lambing program may be the most profitable for some farm flock operations. Ewes lambing in late February, March and early April should have a higher lambing percentage since they were bred when ovulation rate is normally at a maximum; there should be very little embryo loss due to heat stress and ram fertility should be unaffected by high temperatures. Normally, mild temperatures make lambing easier and there should be less death loss associated with weather conditions. Home grown roughages may be used for wintering the ewe flock, and grains, roughage, and in some cases, pasture for lambs. The objective of the spring lambing operation would be to produce slaughter lambs of market weight and condition to be sold during July and August. Spring lambing operations may interfere with the labor requirements of other agricultural enterprises. A. Flock Requirements 1. Ewes: Rambouillet, Columbia, Finnsheep, Targhee, Corriedale, Dorset, Hampshire, Suffolk or Shropshire type ewes from crosses between two of these breeds are suitable for a spring lambing operation. Some increase in lambing rate and milk production may bve expected from crossbred ewes. 2. Rams: Large meat-type rams from the sire breeds. 3. Replacement ewes may be raised or purchased. Replacements can be raised with less expense than in fall or winter lambing operations. If the replacements can be selected at 80-90 days of age, pasture can be utilized in their development thereby reducing feed costs. B. Feeding 1. Ewes may be fed properly supplemented silage and dry roughage in the drylot throughout the year with grain and protein supplement prior to lambing and during early lactation. 2. A pasture system may be developed to satisfy the nutritional needs of the flock during most of the year. Silage and hay supplements may be required during the winter months, and silage, hay and grain supplements should be fed prior to and during lambing. Pasture plants, if available in March and April, may have a very high water content. The ewe will be unable to consume enough of this "washy" forage to satisfy her nutritional requirements. Prior to and during lambing, the ewes should be held in drylot except where pasture quality is high. 3. Lambs should be creep-fed. Self-fed or hand-fed grain and good quality legume hay or pelleted rations may be used. In some areas some pasture could be used with the grain feeding program and may provide the sole source of nutriebnts in areas of extremely favorable pasture conditions. Lambs should not be pastured with the ewes. Lambs can be cut away from the ewes daily and left in drylot or grazed on pastures separate from the ewe. Pasturing of the lambs should not be started until lambs are eating grain well. C. Breeding Practices 1. Since ewes are bred in the middle of the normal breeding season when ovulation rate should be at a maximum, flushing, teasing or control of environmental conditions will have little effect on conception rate or length or lambing period. Ewes should be on good quality feed and should not be on a declining plane of nutrition. D. Lambing 1. Lambing rates should be high - 150-200 percent and intense care in a shed lambing program will help to reduce death losses. The drop band can be housed in a shed or penned close to the lambing shed. Ewes and lambs are placed in separate lambing pens 4' x 5'. Weather conditions normally allow assembling of ewes and lambs much more rapidly than in winter lambing operations. Ewes with singles and those with twins should be penned and fed separately. Ewes and lambs should be retained in small groups as long as possible. E. Weaning 1. Lambs should be weaned at 50-90 days of age. Ewes should be moved away from the lambs and the lambs left in familiar pens and feeding facilities. The lamb ration should not be changed at weaning time. If replacement ewe lambs are raised and have been selected prior to weaning, they may be left with the ewes an additional length of time or may be pastured separately. F. Shearing 1. Ewes lambed in the spring need only be sheared once a year - just prior to lambing. They should be tagged before breeding. 2. Rams should be sheared twice a year - before breeding and in the spring. 3. Lambs should be sheared about May 15-June 1. They will make more rapid gains during June and July. G. Health 1. Vaccinate all lambs for Type D enterotoxemia at about 6 weeks of age. Vaccinate replacement ewe lambs again after weaning. In areas where problems exist, sheep should be vaccinated as follows: a. Vibriosis - vaccinate ewes b. Tetanus - vaccinate ewes c. Type C enterotoxemia - vaccinate ewes d. Sore mouth - vaccinate lambs e. Bluetongue - vaccinate ewes 2. Internal parasites - Follow a planned pasture management program and drenching program for the ewe flock. Drench at least twice - before ewes are put on pasture and before breeding. Lambs on pasture require drenching as pasture and climatic conditions indicate. 3. External parasites - Dust, dip, or spray annually following shearing. 4. Docking and castration - All lambs should be docked at 1-2 weeks of age. All ram lambs should be castrated. H. Selection 1. If replacement ewes are purchased, there is little opportunity for selection. Purchased ewes should have good size, be sound and healthy. Twins should be purchased if they can be identified. 2. If replacement ewes are raised, they should be selected for: a. Multiple lambing - born as twin or triplet b. Growth rate to weaning 3. Rams should be large, sound and selected from flocks where production records are available. Select for pre-weaning and post-weaning growth rate. If replacements are raised, select rams born as a twin.