Intensive rearing a threat to tup virility

JOHN Vipond, sheep consultant with the Scottish Agricultural College, who last week received a top award for his communication skills in linking up between farmers and the scientific community, yesterday blasted many of the practices and systems carried out by most of those operating in the pedigree sheep world.

But, speaking at a workshop focused on improving the profitability of the Scottish sheep industry, he also said there were many benefits awaiting those who took on the challenges the industry was now throwing at them.

Later this month the first of the pedigree ram sales of the season take place and over the following eight weeks most of these pampered and cossetted tups will parade round the ring.

The problem is that when they get down on the farm and have to work for their living, their intensive upbringing catches up on them and they do not last the pace.

"We have been getting increasing numbers of complaints that tups only last a couple of seasons. It used to be that rams could work for four seasons but not now. After we looked into the problem we are sure much of it is due to feeding concentrates at an early stage in their life to push them on.

"Young tups are often susceptible to a whole list of veterinary problems from this early intensive feeding. These include lameness, cartilage problems, acidosis and arthritis."

While the buyer feels they have bought a big ram lamb, it is often carrying these inherent weaknesses and this will cost his owner dearly, according to Vipond, who added that the purchase of more naturally grown males as shearlings would provide a much more profitable option, especially if they also carried with them estimated breeding values (EBV). He reckoned that commercial producers could save up to 4 per lamb by moving from the use of the intensively produced ram lamb on to the more naturally reared tup with a good EBV.

This sum was based on the latter sheep having a longer working life and being physically able to cope with up to 100 ewes instead of the current figure of about 40 females.

The current low level of females being served by tups is also linked to the intensive rearing as these heavily fed rams tend to lie down more and this raises the temperature of their testicles and reduces their enthusiasm for their work, he stated.

Such an improvement in production efficiency would also help reduce the greenhouse gas emissions, he claimed as there would be less tups required and they would produce more lambs.

Vipond backed the one or two sheep producers in Scotland who are now selling rams that are naturally reared.