Maximizing productivity in Dorper flocks in Australia

In an effort to address declining lambing percentages in local flocks, a group of Dorper producers on SA’s far-west coast participated in a Meat & Livestock Australia-funded Producer Demonstration Site (PDS). Throughout the three-year project, the group trialled several management practices to boost the reproductive performance of their flocks. Examples of the practices trialled by participating producers include (but aren’t limited to): condition scoring of ewes at key times in the reproductive cycle (including pre-joining to ensure ewes have had sufficient time to recover from previous lambing), aiming for a score of 4 or above pre-joining assessment of rams scanning for lamb numbers (singles or multiples) differential management strategies of ewes based on pregnancy status assessing udder soundness and monitoring udder health weaning lambs at optimum time feed budgeting. Turbo-charging reproductive performance For White Dorper producer Ben Polkinghorne, implementing the ...