FLUSHING EWES PRE TUPPING

FLUSHING EWES
The practice of increasing nutrient intake and body condition prior to and during breeding is called flushing. Its purpose is to increase the rate of ovulation and, hence, lambing rate.
The response to flushing is influenced by:
age of the ewe (mature ewes show a greater response than yearlings)
breed (prolific breeds are least responsive)
body condition (thin ewes respond more than those in above- average condition)
stage of the breeding season (greatest response is seen early and late in the breeding season).
Flushing is especially beneficial for thin ewes that have not recovered from previous lactation stress. There appears to be no response to flushing in ewes that are already in above- average condition.
It is best to flush ewes with condition scoring of 2 - 2.5 to increase their condition to 3 - 3.5. Ewes on a rising plane of nutrition drop more ova than ewes on a steady plane, i.e., condition scoring of 3 increased to 3.5. It takes about six weeks grazing on good pasture to improve the body condition of a ewe by one body score, and three weeks grazing on good grass to improve a half condition score. The following table indicates the required length of time necessary to bring ewes in below-average condition up to the ideal breeding condition.
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[@mcmurphy5]

Brilliant, you teach us more than any one else, I'm going to do this with my ewes this month. Thanks

[@CowleyHillFarm]

Haha you’ll smash it 👊

[@Jp12987]

Great Info again. Hope you have a good breeding season.

[@CowleyHillFarm]

Thank you James

[@ivandavidson5599]

Great video again Will, very educational for people new to the sheep game.

[@CowleyHillFarm]

Cheers Ivan !

[@NicksFarm]

Nice job Will 👍

[@CowleyHillFarm]

Cheers mate

[@johnsheahan7914]

great video once again will

[@dusanmakas2282]

Learning all the time👍I'll try flushing this year.In last video you had other dog was that Soph's?How they mix?

[@CowleyHillFarm]

Hi Dusan, yes that’s Soph’s Labrador. They get on fine but Josie can get a little too playful sometimes

[@paddy294]

Cracking video will. We used to flush some of our sheep when we had them. Good job

[@CowleyHillFarm]

Really helps doesn’t it paddy

[@simtrade6]

Поздрав из Србије од овчара 🇷🇸🇷🇸🇷🇸