What does AI mean and why is it important?
April 15, 2025
ARTIFICIAL INSEMINATION.
Why AI, you might ask?
Simply put, AI give us access to the best sheep genetics in Iceland. The folks in Iceland have been using AI in their breeding programs since the 1940's. Each year, only the best rams are chosen for the AI breeding program from Iceland's 500,000+ sheep. Now, we are able to use the best of this genetic pool in our own breeding programs.
Icelandic Breeders in North America are getting semen from Southram Station in the Southern part of Iceland. The stations in Iceland have precise methods in place for evaluating the AI rams and the lambs they will produce. When visiting the Southram website, you will see two terms frequently used: BLUP and Daughter Prolificacy Rate. BLUP shows us how the AI ram genetics should translate to traits in the offspring. The Daughter Prolificacy Rate gives an indication of the fertility rates of the ram's daughters.
But what does this really mean to the flock? Significant and rapid improvements in the flock. AI breeding, along with dedicated culling, is the fastest way to gain improvements in conformation, fleece and muscling of your sheep. Basically, AI provides us with a means to superior genetics that would not otherwise be available to us with only farm breeding. Take a look at the carcass grading chart below. It was sent to me by the folks at the AI station in Iceland. The AI sires will all fall into the E or U categories for muscling.
Tough Love for Rams This is an excellent article written by Brooke and Lois Moore.
Judging info The sires are evaluated and judged according to FAI judging standards. Points are given for individual body parts in following order: Points: Head - neck and shoulders - chest and conformation - back - loin - gigot - wool - feets - harmony. Score of 80,0 points is good for breeding ram and 85,0 points can be considered as excellent. Ultrasound: Ultrasound measure of eye muscle thickness in mm and of back fat in mm - eye muscle shape score (1-5). (H) Dutch ultrasound scanner, the type used by SOUTHAGRI. (S) Scottish ultrasound scanner - which measures about 2mm lesser eye muscle thickness than the Dutch scanner. This difference is not corrected in individual figures. Eye muscle shape: In autumn 1999 eye muscle shape grading started. The grading of the eye muscle describes how well the muscle keeps it´s thickness out over the backbone. The shape is graded from 1 to 5. The scale is following: 1. Poorly shaped eye muscle. 2. Fairly shaped eye muscle. 3. Adequately shaped eyemuscle.. 4. Well shaped eye muscle. 5. Excellently shaped eye muscle. Basic dictionary Basic dictionary for the printed version of Southram's sire catalogue which is in Icelandic. Here you can find translation and/or explanation of the tables and graphs in the sire list. Lambhrútaskoðun: Evaluation of ram progenies performed in September/October. Following items refers to the evaluation of the rams progenies: Fjöldi: Number of evaluated ram lambs Þungi: Average weight of evaluated ram lambs Fótleggur: Average canon bone length of evaluated ram lambs Læri: Average score for gigot muscling (highest possible score is 20, 16 is good, 17 is very good, 18 is excellent) Ull: Average score for wool (8,0 refers to good wool quality and no tan fibers) Ómvöðvi: Average thickness (depth) of the eye muscle in mm Ómfita: Average fat thickness on the eye muscle in mm Lögun: Average score for eye muscle shape (1 is poorly shaped muscle and 5 is excellently shaped muscle) Following explanations refer to the graph for each ram. Kynbótamat: Breeding value index (based on information from the sheep recording in Iceland. 100 is average) Gerð: Meat qualities based on the carcass grading Fita: Leanness based on carcass grading Kjötgæði: Meat quality index (MQI), calculated from meat qualities (40%) and leanness (60%) Frjósemi: Prolificacy of the daughters (for the young rams with few daughter records this index is mostly based on pedigree) Mjólkurlagni: Milking abilities of the daughters (for the young rams with few daughter records this index is mostly based on pedigree) Explanation of measurements & scoring Generally data gathered on the rams is done in Iceland, in the fall, when they are around 18 months. The data on the Icelandic Rams is then given in the following major categories: 1) Rams Name, Number, and Parents 2) Body Measurements- Weight and Lengths 3) Score 4) Ram Description 5) Production Results Explanation 1) Rams Name, Number, and Parents The rams are numbered as follows: The first two numbers in the ID number refer to the birth year of that ram. Thettir, # 91-931 was born in 1991. 2) Body Measurements- Weight and Length Measure: Weight and measure is in the same sequence for every ram. There are four numbers given here representing- Weight of the ram- A heavier the ram usually correlates to bigger, growthier offspring. Chest Circumference- A measurement of body depth. Width of Rack- The wider the rack, the greater the yield from this choice cut. Cannon Bone (front leg) Length- A shorter cannon bone correlates with a meatier, faster finishing market lamb.
How to Recognize, Treat and Prevent It Sue Reith
“Whole Sheep, Whole Farm” (Wholesome Demand)
Grazing Grazing is the use of grasses and other plants to feed herbivores, such as sheep and goats. Most sheep and goats graze at least a portion of the year. On this page, grazing links are arranged by subject category: controlled grazing , extending the grazing season , grazing behavior , grazing management , grazing systems , management-intensive grazing , multispecies grazing , prescribed grazing , riparian grazing , rotational grazing , silvopasture , and stocking rates . KIND HORN FARM RECOMMENDS For optimal parasite management, we recommend that you keep your Icelandics in the same paddock for no more than 5 days at a time, with 1-3 days being optimal for the forage. Rest the pasture for 90 days ideally before bringing the sheep back for another grazing. Try your best to work within these guidelines! [PDF] Grazing Alfalfa - University of Kentucky Controlled Grazing Controlled Grazing of Virginia's Pastures Creep Grazing Extending the Grazing Season [PDF] Extending grazing and reducing stored feed needs - MW Forage [PDF] Grazing corn: an option for extending... - University of Kentucky [PDF] Supplemental pastures for sheep - University of Nebraska Grazing Behavior [PDF] Diet selection and grazing behavior - University of Maine Grazing Management Grazing Systems Grazing systems - McGill University Management-Intensive Grazing (MIG) Multispecies Grazing Prescribed Grazing Riparian Grazing Rotational Grazing Silvopasture Stocking Rates The Maryland Small Ruminant Page [sheepandgoat.com] was created in 1998 as an information portal for sheep and goat producers and anyone else interested in small ruminant production. The web site includes original documents and images as well as a comprehensive list of links pertaining to small ruminants and related topics. The web site was developed and is maintained by Susan Schoenian, Extension Sheep & Goat Specialist at the University of Maryland's Western Maryland Research & Education Center. Susan has been with University of Maryland Extension since 1988. She holds B.S. and M.S. degrees in Animal Science from Virginia Tech and Montana State University, respectively, and also attended The Ohio State University. Susan conducts the Western Maryland Pasture-Based Meat Goat Performance Test at her research facility in Keedysville. She raises registered and commercial Katahdin sheep on her small farm called The Baalands in Clear Spring, Maryland. Please direct all questions, comments, or suggestions to Susan at sschoen@umd.edu Disclaimer : The information and links contained on the Maryland Small Ruminant Page [sheepandgoat.com] and other pages created by Susan Schoenian are for informational purposes only and do not constitute an endorsement of any person, organization, business, product, or web site. The author disclaims any liability in connection with the use of this information. Users of this web site and all external links are advised to apply common sense and sound judgement to all information obtained from the internet, regardless of source. Last updated 01-Dec-2010 by Susan Schoenian.
Internal Parasites - Sheep
