Length of joining
Rams should be joined with ewes for two 17 day cycles (5 weeks).
Extending the joining periods is not recommended on more intensively run farms, as this holds up the completion of important management events such as marking and weaning.
Consequences of extended joining include:
Delayed weaning, making it difficult for ewes to gain body condition (as seen in diagram 1)
Marking heavy lambs, resulting in greater chance of unacceptable welfare risks due to increased blood loss, poor mothering up and higher risk of infection
Long ‘tail’ in the lambs that results in more lambs failing to thrive as weaners and increased mortality
Lambs and ewes pick up high worm burdens from the lambing paddocks, which tend to be highly-contaminated.
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