Buy rams well in advance. If possible, rams should be on the farm or ranch for at least a couple weeks before being turned in with the ewes and should be well fed during this period. Rams lacking in condition should be fed to gain weight prior to breeding time. Grain feeding is recommended. If the rams are in full fleece, shear them before turning them in with the ewes. Sometimes only the belly and scrotum need to be sheared. Caution! Keep watch for fly strike.

Active rams running with a large number of ewes over a long period will lose condition. One way to insure that they maintain some condition is to turn the rams in with ewes only at night, separate them in the morning, and keep them in a pen or corral on good hay and grain during the day.

Another practice, more applicable to larger operations, is to turn in only half the rams at one time. After a week or two these rams can be removed, rested, and fed well while the other half of the rams are in with the ewes. By rotating the rams it is possible to keep fresh, well-conditioned rams in with the ewes during the entire breeding season.

In purebred flocks and in one-ram flocks, it is essential that the ram used be fertile; otherwise a complete lamb-crop failure may result. The most common method of checking on the fertility of the ram is to use a ewe-marking harness or paint the brisket of the ram with a solution of paint pigment in a non-drying oil. The color of the paint (or of the crayon in the ewe-marking harness) should be changed every 17 days. Start with a light-colored paint or crayon and change to darker colors as the breeding season progresses. If all or most of the ewes that are marked during the first period are marked again during the second period, the fertility of the ram is in doubt. Even with highly fertile rams a few ewes may return to service; but if a large proportion have not conceived, the ram should be replaced. An early semen evaluation of your rams by your veterinarian is an excellent way of detecting possible sterility problems.

Hot weather is linked to lowered fertility of both the ram and the ewe. Research has determined that semen quality and early embryo survival will suffer when temperatures reach 90F or more. To minimize the effects of heat on breeding, consider the following:

* Save cooler, better shaded fields or range areas for breeding time.
* Keep rams in cool shade, along waterways or in a well ventilated barn in the daytime and return them to the ewes to breed at night.
* Keep both ewes and rams in cool quarters and turn them out to graze at night.

1993