ANSC 4406 Sheep and Goat Production Final Exam

ANSC 4406 Sheep and Goat Production combined study sets

clothing, staple length, french combing

What are the three length categories of wool?

weight, yield, staple length, average fiber diameter

List the four most important traits that affect the value of wool

color, crimp and condition

What three characteristics determine the character of wool?

-water

-energy (carbs and fats)

-protein

-minerals

-vitamins

What are the 5 nutrient requirements in basic livestock nutrition and feeding?

Energy (fats and CHO)

What is the most limiting nutrient?

green feedstuffs, converts carotene to vitamin A

What is vitamin A?

get from sunshine

What is vitamin D?

from forage

What is vitamin K?

works with selenium to prevent white muscle disease

what is vitamin E?

1. breeding

2. gestation

3. lactation

4. lambing

5. dry period

What are the five yearly nutritional requirements?

2-3 weeks

How many weeks before breeding should you flush ewes?

a 4 month period after lactation and lambing

What is the dry period stage?

starvation

What is the leading cause of death for lambs?

2-3 hrs after birth (30 mins after birth blood sugar level declines to half)

After birth, when should lambs nurse?

low blood sugar

What is hypoglycemia?

provides antibodies to help shape immune system (lambs needs to consume within 12 hrs of birth)

What does colostrum do?

1. 1 week before weaning remove all grain and feed roughage only

2. 1 day before weaning remove all feed and water

3. On weaning day- no feed and water

4. 2-5 days- no feed, only water

5. After day 5-slowly increase hay intake

What are the proper steps for early weaning?

Early weaned lambs

Fall and winter born lambs

Twin lambs

Late season

Drought

When to creep feed?

18%

What is the protein content of an early creep diet?

16%

What is the protein content of a 60-90 day post weaning diet?

12%-14%

What is the protein content of an older post weaning diet?

A) Toggenburg

B) Nubian

C) Alpine

D) Saanen

Which is the most productive dairy goat breed?

meat

What category of goat breed is the fastest growing?

Boer

valuable commercially when crossbred, heavy and big boned, feed efficient but require higher level of nutrition

produces more fiber, produces both mohair and cashmere

How is a fiber goat more elite than a fine wool sheep?

Cashmere goat

Which type of goat has secondary hair gown during the winter and shed during the spring?

a luxury fiber, soft, fine, white, but is more labor intensive

Why is cashmere more valuable?

What sheep have a long breeding season?

Fine wools

Hair Sheep

Romanov

Finn Sheep

Dorset

What sheep breeds are medium length breeders (when day length shortens in the fall)?

Black face breeds

Columbia

Corriedale

What 3 breeds are short season breeders (later in fall and seasonal breeders)?

Long wool

Cheviot

Shropshire

When do ewes reach puberty?

5 - 12 months depending on season

Name the length of a ewes estrous cycle, length of estrous, and gestation

Estrous cycle: 17 days/Range 14 - 20

Estrus: 20 - 42 hours/Avg. 30 hours

Gestation: 143 - 152 days/5 months

Why would a producer choose to use a "once per year" lambing scheme?

Conventional

Lamb when you want them to

Easiest and simplest

Uniform Age Group

Least Number of Lambs

Why would a producer choose to use a "continuous" lambing scheme?

Maximum Number of Lambs

Never take bucks out

Lambs born year round

Low management

What are the disadvantages of a "twice per year" lambing scheme?

Early post-partum infertility

More labor intensive

Why are hormones used in lamb operations?

A) Use to synchronize sheep

B) Increase ovulation rate and cause multiple births

C) Induce puberty

D) Cause cycling during anestrus period

E) All of the above

What is the importance of progesterone in lambing operations?

Progesterone is used to synchronize estrus

Best way to synchronize ewes and why must you?

use of a CIDR and females must be induced into estrus

What is the importance of estrogen in a lambing operation?

Produced by follicles

Grow = Increase

Jump start system faster

Highest just before and during estrus

Prepares uterus for pregnancy

Try to stimulate ovulation

What are the two gonadotropins used to induce ovulation?

A) PMSG

B) Estrogen

C) HCG

D) Progesterone

E) None of the above

You plan to AI all your ewes in two months. You remove a CIDR in the ewes after 15 days and check heats with a teaser ram. After removing the CIDR, what injection will you give to induce ovulation in the ewes?

A) PMSG

B) Estrogen

C) Antibiotic

D) Progesterone

E) None of the above

What are the benefits of utilizing artificial insemination?

Access to better genetics

More offspring out of elite sires

Increases rate of improvement

Storing of genetic material

International movement of important genetics

Ability to breed out of season

Shorten lambing/kidding season

Bio-security

What are the 3 methods of AI used in sheep and goat production?

Vaginal AI: depositing semen vaginally

Trans-Cervical AI: depositing semen in uterine body

Laparoscopic AI: semen injected directly into the lumen of each uterine horn

What factors influence the success rate of artificial insemination?

Efficacy of programming

Female health

Semen quality

AI technician skill

What is the goal of embryo transfer?

To get more offspring out of elite females

T/F: Good embryos produce elite offspring even without a good recipient

False

T/F: Donors and recipients must be synchronized 3 weeks prior to the donor flush

True

Heritability

fraction of observed traits expected to be transmitted to the next generation

Low heritability is?

less than 20%

Medium heritability is?

between 20% and 40%

High heritability is?

greater than 40%

Rate of Improvement

(heritability x selection differential) / generation interval

reduce the generation interval by breeding ewes and rams at a younger age.

A farmer wants to improve his herd of Rambouillet in three years. Normally, he breeds the ewes at 1 year old and bucks at 2 years old. The farmer bought a ram with better genetics and will keep the best lambs as replacement ewes. What is another way the farmer can improve his herd?

You want to become a sheep farmer, what traits will you consider to improve your profit margin?

A) adaptability and reproductive performance

B) growth rate and carcass

C) wool quality and yield

D) all of the above

E) two of the above

What traits are considered when selecting ewes?

A) Adaptability and longevity

B) Reproductive performance and mothering/milking ability

C) Wool production

D) All of the above

E) Two of the above

What factors are considered when determining a ewe’s reproductive performance?

conception, lambing, and weaning rate

What factors are considered when selecting rams?

growth rate (most important)

fertility

aggression

type score

freedom from genetic defects

A rancher decides to improve the staple length of her Debouillet herd, so she culls the rams with lower staple length and keeps the best ewes for three generations. After these generations, she gets a slightly better profit for her lamb’s staple length. This is an example of what selection practice?

A) tandem selection

B) independent culling levels

C) index

D) economic selection

E) none of the above

A rancher decides to improve his herd of Angora goats by breeding the calmer goats that grow quicker. He decides to cull the smaller goats and the ones with horns. After breeding the first generation, half are born with horns, so he culls those too. He continues to cull the goats that do not meet his new standards. Eventually, the rancher’s goats are all calm and have an improved growth rate. This is an example of what selection practice?

A) tandem selection

B) independent culling levels

C) index

D) economic selection

E) none of the above

A backyard farmer with 30 sheep wants to raise more lambs but does not want to buy more sheep. He decides to record the breeding and weaning rates of his ewes and finds that the 10 skinniest ewes raise the most lambs. However, those lambs are smaller than the others. The farmer decides to keep half of the lambs from the skinny ewes and half the lambs from the other ewes. After a few years, the farmer has grown his herd while continuing to make a profit. This is an example of what selection practice?

A) tandem selection

B) independent culling levels

C) index

D) economic selection

E) none of the above

Index Selection Method

weigh each trait and use the complete picture rather than eliminating for one trait

Independent culling level selection method

select for several traits and cull any who do not meet the minimum level

Tandem Selection Method

select for one trat only and cull based on that trait

What does CIDR stand for?

Controlled Intervaginal Drug Release

What is the purpose of a CIDR?

A) To increase growth rate

B) To increase estrogen in females in preparation for breeding

C) To increase PMSG in females for flushing embryos

D) To increase progesterone in females and sync ovulation cycles

E) None of the above

What steps are taken to prepare females for laparoscopic AI surgery?

1) Take females off feed and water

2) Anesthetize

3) Clip and sanitize surgical site

This type of flock is primarily in the western part of the US. It involves low input, self sufficient, tough sheep.

Range Flock

This flock requires less acreage. These include productive breeds that are fed at high levels. They are fed harvested feed and are managed more intensely.

Farm Flock

This type of flock is raised in farm flock conditions and reproduction is less important.

Show Lambs

This breed-type is the base breed in the US and is range flock dominated.

Fine Wool

This breed-type is a crossbred of fine and long wool.

Medium Wool

This breed-type is small in numbers and has a limited impact.

Long Wool

This breed-type is a big group. They grow fast and are mostly black-faces.

Meat Breed

This breed-type is tropically adapted. They are heat and parasite resistant and shed wool.

Hair Sheep

This breed-type is of the least importance in US milking.

Dairy Breeds

Most prevalent wool sheep from Spain; finest wool in the world; smaller with more wrinkles; not improved as much; horned or polled; not as many in US

Merino

French breed; most popular in Texas and Southwest; based on Merino but developed in France; larger and faster growing than merino; better suited for US markets; horned or polled

Rambouillet

This Rambouillet X Merino cross was developed in New Mexico based on size and staple length.

Debouillet

Largest breed; heavy fleeces (15-25lbs); 12 in staple

Lincoln

Small; coarse fleece (many colors); best for hand spinners; least impact of all long wool sheep

Cotswold

unimportant to US sheep industry; hand spinning industry; Europe crossbred (mules)

Leicester

Shorter but finer wool; closer to fine wool in length and grade; genetic resistance to footrot; open fleece; work well in high rainfall condition

Romney

Lincoln Rams X Rambouillet Ewes; most used in US (established in Wyoming); value in wool; too big for Texas and New Mexico

Columbia

Lincoln Rams X Merino Ewes; Smaller than Columbia with better wool; Established in New Zealand; Black hooves and black nose; polled

Corriedale

Rambouillet Rams X Columbia Ewes; developed in Idaho; Useful range sheep; Fine Wool

Targhee

Rambouillet Rams X Lincoln Ewes; Highly adaptable in range conditions; Fairly useful; Small numbers

Panama

Most valuable meat breeds; big, fast growing sheep; first and second in registrations; many crosses between;

Suffolk/Hampshire

Has higher rates of Scrapie and Spider Lamb syndrome

Suffolk

More face cover; wool blindness; heavier fleeces; similar to hampshire

Shropshire

White meat breed; breed year round (accelerated lambing); horned or polled; reproductive advantage; increased popularity; milk well

Dorset

Hampshire X Cotswold; long heavy fleeces, black fiber

Oxford

oldest of English breeds; Small; good reproductive capabilities; will grow quickly early in life; high quality carcasses; too small for traditional US industry

Southdown

Old breed from Scotland; small erect ears; hardy and small; tough and durable;

Cheviot

Columbia X Cheviot; dual purpose; popular in midwest; white and bare leg; developed in US

Montadale

From Holland; Muscular breed; small; 90lbs and straight to slaughter

Texel

Prolific; good milkers; light muscle and slow growing; not good wool; small and frail; from Finland

Finnsheep

1/4 Rambo X 1/4 Dorset X 1/4 Finn X 1/4 Targhee; True composite sheep; white and polled; wool has value

Polypay

F-Gene

Booroola Merino

Black wool; prolific

Romanov

Parasite Resistance; Heat Tolerant; Shed Hair; Leather;

Hair Sheep