Gerlad Q. Fitch, Extension Sheep Specialist, Oklahoma State University
(Previously published by Oklahoma State University Extension: March, 2017)
Why 
do commercial producers crossbreed sheep-or any animal, for that matter? There are two reasons. First, no breed of sheep is best in all characteristics. If a producer combines the best characteristics of several different breeds, they have a chance to get a better combination than he could get with any one breed. This is called breed complementarity.
As an example of this, the Finnish Landrace sheep are extremely early maturing and have a very high lambing rate. They do, however, have relatively poor conformation, and the wool is of poor quality. Rambouillet sheep, on the other hand, produce excellent wool, but they do not have a high lambing rate and they are slow maturing. Neither of these two breeds excels in growth rate and carcass conformation. The meat breeds are also used to sire market lambs because they are growthier and produce excellent carcasses. The meat breeds are not well adapted to many conditions under which sheep are raised, however.
Another reason for crossbreeding is that Continue reading
your lambing and kidding season wraps up, we are hoping that you could help us better understand the prevalence of birthing assistance in small ruminants. Please take this quick survey to let us know your level of birthing assistance in your operation- even if it was zero. 
Extension in Licking County and the Licking County Sheep Improvement Association are providing a Lambing and Kidding School on Thursday, October 20th from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. There will be no fee for this class, but we do require registration by October 17th. Call 740-670-5315 to make your reservation. The location will be the Licking Valley Church of Christ at 158 Dayton Rd NE, Newark OH 43055.
practice of increasing nutrient intake and body condition prior to and during breeding is called flushing. Its purpose is to increase the rate of ovulation and, hence, lambing rate.
nutrition during breeding season is critical for improving lambing rates, but it can often be a challenge. When breeding for spring-born lambs, forages are declining in nutritional value while nutrient requirements for sheep are increasing. Fall lambing requires breeding when heat can challenge conception. Regardless of the time of year, it’s important to keep ewes and rams in mind before, during and after breeding season. Prior to and throughout breeding, many producers utilize flushing to increase ovulation rates. During the breeding season, rams are working hard to service ewes in heat while attempting to meet their own nutritional needs. Increasing the flock’s plane of nutrition continues to play an important role in ewes by reducing early embryonic death and helping rams recover after breeding.
it’s at the state fair or local livestock auction, a conversation that commonly occurs among producers revolves around the success rate of their breeding programs. In New Zealand during the late 1980s, a controlled internal drug release (CIDR) was developed and released for intravaginal release of progesterone (P4). Since then, estrous synchronization has improved on-farm production efficiencies that can assist in grouping lambing dates, breeding ewes out-of-season, or can serve as a crucial step in the implementation of artificial insemination.