[Jacob-list] Breeding age

[Neal and Louise Grose]

Generally speaking, ewes that are under-sized will not breed at 6 months of 
age. We don't separate young ones, but use a limited breeding season. In 
order to have ewes lamb as yearlings, you generally have to breed them at 8 
months.

Except for Finns and their crosses which will breed as soon as they are 
weaned and have tripplets. Well, not quite. Almost.

Neal

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "ARTHUR PARTRIDGE" <aztreaz at earthlink.net>
To: "jacob-list" <jacob-list at jacobsheep.com>
Sent: Thursday, May 25, 2006 9:00 PM
Subject: [Jacob-list] Breeding age


> >I was hoping for some pro's and con's pertaining to breeding 7-8 month 
> >old
> ewes. Also the pro's and con's of utilizing a 7-8 >month old ram for
> breeding.
>>
>>Thanks in advance!
>>
>>Bill Hyslip
> ============
> Personally, I have decided to wait until the ewes are about a year and a
> half old; or at least one year.  Mine are rather small at 7-8 months, not
> fully grown.  I don't want to take a chance and stunt their growth.  It
> might be different for others though; maybe their sheep are full grown
> sooner than mine.  As for the "pro's", I heard that breeding a ewe early
> results in her having twins whereas waiting a year lessens the chances for
> twins.  I don't know if this is true or not, just something I heard or
> read.  I would appreciate any comments on that.
>
> As for the ram, I used a 7-month old ram last year and he was completely
> successful.  I did notice that he needed more time than my older ram.  I
> doubled the amount of time (2 months) the ram lamb was with the ewes, just
> in case.  It was a good decision because one lamb was born a month later
> than the others.  Maybe the delay was due to the ewe and not the ram lamb.
> Cathy
> Moscow, Idaho
>
>
>
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