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Using lamb sales data to investigate associations between implementation of disease preventive practices and sheep flock performance

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  16 May 2019

E. Lima Open the ORCID record for E. Lima [Opens in a new window] ,
F. Lovatt ,
P. Davies  and
J. Kaler
E. Lima*
Affiliation:
School of Veterinary Medicine and Science, University of Nottingham, Sutton Bonington Campus, Leicestershire, United Kingdom
F. Lovatt
Affiliation:
School of Veterinary Medicine and Science, University of Nottingham, Sutton Bonington Campus, Leicestershire, United Kingdom
P. Davies
Affiliation:
School of Veterinary Medicine and Science, University of Nottingham, Sutton Bonington Campus, Leicestershire, United Kingdom
J. Kaler
Affiliation:
School of Veterinary Medicine and Science, University of Nottingham, Sutton Bonington Campus, Leicestershire, United Kingdom
*
†E-mail: [email protected]
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Abstract

Although the UK is the largest lamb meat producer in Europe, there are limited data available on sheep flock performance and on how sheep farmers manage their flocks. The aims of this study were to gather evidence on the types of disease control practices implemented in sheep flocks, and to explore husbandry factors associated with flock productivity. A questionnaire focusing on farm characteristics, general husbandry and flock health management was carried out in 648 farms located in the UK over summer 2016. Abattoir sales data (lamb sales over 12 months) was compared with the number of breeding ewes on farm to estimate flock productivity (number of lambs sold for meat per 100 ewes per farm per year). Results of a multivariable linear regression model, conducted on 615 farms with complete data, indicated that farms vaccinating ewes against abortion and clostridial agents and administering a group 4/5 anthelmintic to ewes (as recommended by the Sustainable Control of Parasites in Sheep Initiative) during quarantining had a greater flock productivity than farms not implementing these actions (P<0.01 and 0.02, respectively). Flocks with maternal breed types had higher productivity indexes compared with flocks with either pure hill or terminal breeds (P<0.01). Farms weighing lambs during lactation had greater productivity than those not weighing (P<0.01). Importantly, these actions were associated with other disease control practices, for example, treating individual lame ewes with an antibiotic injection, weaning lambs between 13 and 15 weeks of age and carrying out faecal egg counts, suggesting that an increase in productivity may be associated with the combined effect of these factors. This study provides new evidence on the positive relationship between sheep flock performance and disease control measures and demonstrates that lamb sales data can be used as a baseline source of information on flock performance and for farm benchmarking. Further research is needed to explore additional drivers of flock performance.

Keywords

sheepquestionnaireproductivityvaccinationhusbandry
Type
Research Article
Information
animal , Volume 13 , Issue 11 , November 2019 , pp. 2630 - 2638
Copyright
© The Animal Consortium 2019 

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Footnotes

a

Present address: Department of Epidemiology and Population Health, Institute of Infection and Global Health, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, L69 7BE, United Kingdom

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