Culling For Better Lambing Percentages

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 12, Issue 7, 16 December 1947, Page 3

Culling For Better Lambing Percentages

The culling of dry two-tooth ewes, and especially those which were not born as twins, can improve lambing percentages in a flock by at least four per cent., judging by the breeding records of a stud Romney flock in the Manawatu over 13 lambing seasons. ‘An analysis of the performances of this flock was made by R. A. Barton, of Massey Agricultural College, and his findings appear in the College’s sheepfarming book.

Mr Barton states that this increase of over four per cent does not seem large, but that it must be remembered that if the average of 25.2 per cent of dry two-tooths and been culled, the subsequent incidence of dead lambs (in their case 20.6 per cent) and dry ewes (18.5 per cent) would be materially reduced, as it has been shown that it is these ewes which contribute most to the rate of barrenness and dead lambs in the flock as a whole. Ewes in the stud flock which bred as twotooths showed throughout the rest of their breeding life an average lambing 17.8 per cent higher than from those ewes which failed to breed as two-tooths. The percentages for the two classes were 125.1 and 107.3 respectively.