Why a 5 week joining period is recommended

Written By Sally Martin

Joining for 5 weeks is recommended as longer joining periods result in more complex management decisions and strategies. A mature ewe will cycle every 17 days. To maximise her chances of conceiving the rams should be present for two of these cycles (5 weeks). If joining occurs out of season, then joining may be extended to 6 weeks.

When the joining period is extended, the range in weaning weight will increase. Weaners with a low weaning weight have a higher risk of ill thrift and subsequent mortality. Ewe lambs that are weaned at heavier weights will be more fertile and will rear more lambs in their first joining.

Lambs should be weaned at 45% of the standard reference weight of your adult ewes. This should be approximately 14 weeks after the first lamb is born, giving the ewes 17 weeks to recover. Delayed weaning, when you have a longer joining period, makes it harder for ewes to get back to a body condition score of 3 ready for their next joining.

With an extended joining period, lambs that are feeding on pasture will begin to compete with the ewes for feed as they grow. They will also ingest more worms, especially in lambing paddocks which are often highly contaminated.

The benefits of a 5 weeks joining can be seen at lamb marking where there is a smaller range in age, which makes picking up the lambs easier, but also improves the welfare of the lambs as they are not having treatments when they are too old or too small. Having a narrower age spread can also assist with mothering-up as there is fewer small lambs.

Another helpful tool to condense lambing is to consider using teaser rams or testosterone injected wethers to assist with the cycling of ewes before adding the rams 14 days later. Check out our past blog on teaser rams/wethers.

Overall benefits for a 5 week joining and lambing

  • Smaller age range of weaners

  • Easier to manage as one mob

  • More time for the ewes to recover before the next joining

Challenges if you have a long joining (6 weeks +)

  • Harder to know when to provide age based treatments due to the range in age

  • Often the younger lambs are the ones you need to feed / manage more before they are sold

  • Harder to manager a large age range of lambs from weaning to selling

NSW DPI - PROGRAZE - Sheep Breeding Package is a great resource.

Sally Martin https://www.wyllagrove.com.au
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