GENERAL INFORMATION SHEET– For Owning/Breeding Valais Blacknose Sheep
WHAT IS THE DISPOSITION OF THESE SHEEP:
- They are not like normal sheep, who are skittish and wary of humans. These creatures are more like a friendly dog and enjoy human company.
CAN I HAVE JUST ONE ANIMAL:
- You need to appreciate that sheep are herd animals, so you need to have at least two.
WHAT IS THE LIFESPAN OF BLACKNOSE SHEEP:
- The lifespan of well looked after sheep is be 10 -12 years.
HOW MUCH ROOM WILL MY SHEEP NEED:
- You can reasonably expect to keep 6-10 sheep on an acre of grass.
WHAT ARE THE SIZE OF THESE SHEEP:
- Female: Height 72–78cm, Weight 70-90kg
- Male: Height 75–83cm, Weight 80-125kg
- Lambs: 5-6kg at birth
WHAT DO THESE SHEEP TERMS MEAN:
- Lamb: a baby sheep
- Ewe: a female sheep
- Ram: an intact breeding male sheep
- Wether - castrated male, from 1 week of age onwards
WHAT IS THE BREED STANDARD:
- There should be black coloration on ankles and on the front knees.
- Females have black tail spots.
- Helical or spiral-shaped horns are typical of both ewes and rams and should be well balanced. Crossed sheep do not always have horns, until the third cross. All purebred sheep have them however. They do not need to be trimmed.
- The head and the legs should exhibit wool growth evenly and be well covered.
WHAT CARE NEEDS TO THESE SHEEP HAVE:
- GlanEry 7in1 B12: is a NEW advanced vaccine that protects your Sheep and Lambs from Erysipelas arthritis, Cheesy Gland (CLA) and the 5 most important Clostridial diseases - Tetanus, Pulpy Kidney (enterotoxaemia), Black Disease, Blackleg and Malignant Oedema. In some states, 5or6in1 vaccines may be more appropriate.
- Drenching: some owners choose to faecal test and only treat affected sheep with the exact drench they required. Others periodically drench with rotating two drenches to try and avoid resistance. Sheep can be given injectable, oral or pour-on/spot on drenches.
- Shearing: needs to be done twice annually in warmer states, may be less in cooler states. As these animals are easy to handle – they are much easier to shear than regular sheep.
- Feet trimming: Sheep will need a trim if they are on soft ground and the hoof overgrows. Most of the overgrowth occurs on the outer part of the hoof, so your goal is to trim back to the base of the hoof. This is similar to trimming your own finger nails - you need to make sure you don't cut into sensitive tissue.
WHAT DO I FEED THESE SHEEP:
- Pasture: Sheep will eat 2-3% of their bodyweight daily, although younger sheep or ewes with lambs can eat up to 4%.
- Clean water: Fresh is best. We personally clean our water troughs weekly for our livestock and leave trough blocks in them to help keep them clean.
- Lick Block: It is important to supply your sheep with a lick in the paddock at all times.
- Protein Pellets: When pasture is low, they will need good quality hays and protein pellets. Cracked lupins in oats mixed with chaffs. Lucerne hay.
HOW DO I KEEP BOTH MALE AND FEMALE SHEEP ON MY FARM:
- They can be kept together after the breeding season, up until lambing – then needs to be removed with a castrated male for company.
- Lambs should be removed at 8 weeks of age to wean.
WHEN WILL MY SHEEP REACH SEXUAL MATURITY:
- This breed is relatively slow-maturing. As a result, ewes are usually not bred until they are over 12 months of age, normally lambing for the first time at 18-24 months of age-to which point the animal is mature enough to cope with both pregnancy and labour. We prefer to breed our ewes from 14 months of age.
- First time ewes will normally have one lamb, thereafter potentially two. Not common to have more than two lambs per birth.
- Healthy ewes can be bred up to 10 years of age.
- Male Rams reach sexual maturity around 18 months of age.
WHAT IS THE GESTATION PERIOD FOR THESE SHEEP:
- The gestation period is 5 months. To be exact 144-150 days!
- A ewe's pregnancy is not usually obvious until about six weeks before giving birth to her offspring.
WHEN SHOULD I MATE MY FEMALE SHEEP:
- Paddock Mate: they are seasonal breeders usually cycling February to April.
WHEN SHOULD I ULTRASOUND MY EWE TO CHECK SHE IS PREGNANT:
- At 45 days post mating.
WHAT SHOULD I EXPECT AT BIRTH:
- Lambs will be born when they are ready and that means it could be any time of the day or night. Most lambs are born between 4:00am and 10:00pm, however there are always a few born during the night.
- Your ewe will bag up with milk up to four weeks before birth. 1-2 days prior to birth the lamb(s) will drop and leave cavities in the sides of your ewe. 24hours before birth the teats will swell and udder will become firm. Immediately before birth, your ewe may go off feed and take herself away to nest prior to giving birth. Your ewe will pass at least one water bag. When this happens, you know labour has begun and the first lamb should be delivered anytime within an hour.
- Lambs will stand approximately 10-20 minutes after birth.
- Lambs will start to feed within 30-60 minutes following birth.
HOW DO I BOTTLE FEEDING LAMB:
- First milk will need to be colostrum given at 10% of lamb body weight, then replacer milk every two hours thereafter.
- Watch for scours.
WHEN WILL MY LAMBS NEED VACCINATIONS:
- 4 weeks of age, then 4 weeks later, then annually with the rest of the herd.
WHEN DO I WEAN MY LAMBS:
- 8 weeks
HOW DO I HALTER TRAIN MY LAMBS:
- Buy lamb halters and leads.
- Exercise Patience first!
- Use treats that they like protein pellets to get them to allow you to put the halter on and wear it for a few minutes. Then remove – first lesson!
- Next getting them to stand with you with the halter and lead on, rubbing them all over the face, ears, legs, mouth, etc – giving them treats.
- Finally taking steps with you in a controlled space. Only spend 10 minutes each time working with them, or they will lose their heads and not be able to concentrate.
- The walk with them around the farm.
- Training normally takes 10 x 10 minute lessons.
WHEN SHOULD I CASTRATE MY MALE LAMBS:
- At 1 week of age, we recommend using a sheep ring.
HOW DO I REGISTER MY SHEEP: Valais Blacknose Sheep Australia
- Microchip (vet will do for you). All need to be DNA tested for registration. As a result registration is slow, as they wait for the DNA to come back which takes three months. So it can take six months from when you post off your registration form for your sheep to be registered online.
- NLIS tags are required as well.
WHAT IS THE NORMAL TEMPERATURE OF THESE SHEEP:
- Adults 3–39.9
- Lambs 37-39
WHAT DO I DO WITH THE FLEECE:
- Where you have a small number of fleeces, it can be sold online to spinners.
- Adult fleeces have a broad fibre of around 38 micron. Lamb fleeces are very soft at an average diameter of 28 – 30 micron. It is reported to be excellent for felting, while some spinners like the fibre due its length and may mix it with other fibres such as Alpaca.
WHAT ILLNESS ARE MOST COMMON TO VALAIS SHEEP & HOW DO I PREVENT THEM:
- Feet: In wet climates, their feet need to be cared for as with any other sheep there will be the tendency to foot scald and foot rot.
- Limping: If they get a slightly sore foot, they go lame like it’s broken! Spray with something like Terramycin will heal.
- Fly Strike: In warmer climates, there is fly strike and requiring twice-yearly shearing and shelter from the heat.
- Parasites:internal and external parasites can affect them. Either faecal test or as a pre-caution drench to manage.
OTHER RESOURCES:
- https://valaisblacknoseaustralia.com.au
BODYSCORE - Sheep
VALAIS BLACKNOSE SHEEP - Breeding Up Chart (New Zealand Breed Society)
In a Breed Up program, a carefully chosen foundation ewe is artificially inseminated or bred to 100% purebred Valais Blacknose. The artificial insemination procedure is laparoscopic and must be done by an experienced reproductive vet.
This guide provided by the New Zealand Breed Society is a well explained guide with visual interpretation of the breed up program.
However, in Australia and F5 is considered full Valais.
