[Jacob-list] breeding age

[Robin Lynde]

>I was hoping for some pro's and con's pertaining to breeding 7-8 month old ewes.  Also the pro's and con's of utilizing a 7-8 month old ram for breeding

        Many ewe lambs will breed at that age. In my experience, most will have single lambs. You need to pay attention to their nutrition. They are pregnant and nursing like the adult ewes, but are also still growing. I have bred my ewe lambs and I don't think it affects their adult size. Actually my yearlings that lambed in February are in better shape now than the few yearlings that were not bred. Those yearlings may be a little bigger, but they are too fat. I don't have the space to keep the groups separate when I'm feeding my pregnant and nursing ewes and the non-pregnant ewe lambs/yearlings didn't need as much good alfalfa.

    The main problem with breeding young rams is that if you're trying to maintain a registered flock, often a young ram is barely of registerable age when breeding season comes along. It's also hard to predict how that ram will turn out--they can change so much as they're growing. I think it's a good idea to buy an adult ram that is already registered. You also have a better idea of what you're getting when you can see the ram at maturity. 
Robin
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