2004 Master Sheep Producers - Michael, Dee Dee, Sulley & Chance Merwin
Our goal is to make lamb production our sole business. We estimate it will take 800 to 1000 ewes to do this and we currently have 500. Presently I have a summer off farm job.

To lamb 800 or 1,000 ewes a year we must divide them up into 3 or 4 sub-flocks, because otherwise we would have to expand our facilities. We currently lamb in January and March. Previously, when our numbers were greater we also lambed in September and May. We are strongly considering lambing in September and November, January, March and not May, because we can get more lambs to market in the upper half of the annual lamb price cycle.

We feed our own lambs until the top 5 or 10 percent of a lambing group have reached yield grade 2 and then we ship, at one time, all of the group to a feedlot near our market. The feedlot operator sorts for yield grade 2=s every other week and take them to market.

For a family to manage the work-load for this many ewes requires throwing all the feed pails away and use mechanized feeding and watering systems. We use fence line feed racks, automatic waters and self-feeding.

Lambs are self-fed from on creep at 2 days of age until finish on an all grain diet. Feed them like pigs. Never let the rumen develop.

We shed lamb the ewes and grow the lamb in a minimum protection area. We would like to feed the lambs in a hoop-bar someday, where there is plenty of air movement and shade. The capital to build ewe numbers comes first.

The jugs have a water-tube and self-feeder with alfalfa pellets. The water tube has flowing water to keep it clean and from freezing. The self-feeders in the jugs are filled before lambing. There is enough feed in them to last throughout a 21-day lambing period.

The drop bunch at night is divided into 15 to 25 ewes per pen to reduce the chance of miss mothering. We do not check them at night.

The families are in bunches of 65 to 85 ewes and fed on a fence-line feed rack with a baby lamb barrier at the back of the feeder to keep lambs in the pen. The drop bunch is let out of the lambing barn 2 times a day to eat at a fence-line feed rack. All other ewes are in shelter-belt protection during the winter.

Lambs are weaned between 6 to 7 weeks of age. At 5 to 6 weeks the ewe=s feed is reduced to straw to reduce milk and force lambs on creep feed.

Ewes are taken away from the lambs rather than the lambs away from the ewes. This keeps the lambs in a familiar environment until after the weaning stress period.

Lambs start to market at 4 months of age and are all sold in 5 2 months. Present feed conversion from birth to finish is 3.5 lbs. of feed to 1 pound of gain and our goal is 3 to 1.

Replacement genetics selection is for DNA test RR, twins and milk, while maintaining a 170 lb. average ewe weight with a 3 condition score. Terminal sire genetics selection is for over 1.15 lb. per gain per day on no more than a 70% concentrate diet; the sire=s dam weight must be 230 lbs. or greater and his rib eye area at 145 pounds must be 4 square inches or greater.

Teaser rams are used 14 days prior to intact rams and intact rams are left with open ewes for 17 days or one cycle. It shortens each group=s lambing time to 3 weeks. Conception ranges from 75% to 85% and twins at 75% to 85%. Our goal for twins is 100%. Ewes that do not breed in one group get moved to the next. Open ewes after 3 exposure cycles are between 3 and 4 percent of the total ewes exposed. The opens are always culled.

From start of lambing of one group to the start of lambing for the next group is 68 days or 4 estrus cycles. This gives us 47 days to rest; time to performance test production; wean and get the new lambs on finisher between groups.

Ewes in the maintenance period of their reproductive cycle are limit fed. If they are on pasture we keep them in a small holding area and let them out for 1 to 2 hours a day depending upon their needs and quality of the pasture. Then they are locked up again with just water and salt until the next day. If we want to be gone we leave them locked up 2 days or get dad to come and let them out the prescribed length of time.

Lambs are self-fed whole corn and a pellet supplement. We contract the corn and supplement from our local elevator. They blend and deliver it into our self-feeders.

Ewes are fed high quality alfalfa hay-ledge from 4 weeks pre-lambing through lactation. The ewes are fed barley as a supplement to the alfalfa hay-ledge. The amount of barley ranges from a 2 pound per day in the last trimester to 2 pounds per day while lactating with twins at side.

We contract tillage, planting, harvesting, hauling and grinding of forages. We do not raise any grain. All grain is purchased delivered to the farm or put in our self-feeders.

We feed bales in bale feeders. A feed wagon with a scale is used to feed hay-ledge and grain in fence line feeders or bottom-less feed bunks.

We appreciate the opportunity to share with you and we invite you to come to our sheep camp. We like to meet other sheep producers and we love to talk about kids and sheep.