
Merino ewes and lambs: mortality prevention strategies to be trialled.
PRACTICAL Merino ewe mortality intervention strategies will be trialled on farms across Australia during the 2025 lambing season as part of a four-year research project.
Merino producers have been working with researchers, veterinarians and consultants on the four-year MLA/Australian Wool Innovation project to determine the roots of ewe mortality before, during and after lambing.
The findings from the project will underpin the development of best practice management resources to help producers optimise ewe survival.
The research team is currently working closely with more than 40 commercial Merino businesses across Western Australia, South Australia, Victoria and New South Wales during two lambing seasons to delve deeper into ewe deaths on-farm.
This data, together with the recently conducted industry-wide survey on Merino ewe mortality, will inform practical intervention strategies that will be trialled on-farm during the 2025 lambing season.
The groups for the next phase are located in northern and central wheatbelt regions of WA, northern, southern and central NSW, south-east SA and south-west Victoria. They are utilising farm diaries and post-mortems to collect and analyse data.
MLA said during the lambing season, producers will select intervention strategies to trial on farm, to see which strategies will reduce Merino ewe mortality during lambing.
MLA said ewes represent the most productive unit in a flock, and Merino ewes make up about two-thirds of Australia’s breeding ewe flock – optimising their health and survival is critical.
The project began with a national online survey to get an estimate of the annual ewe mortality rates across a 12-month breeding cycle.
The key data collected included the following:
- Most producers who responded to the survey scan and manage ewes according to litter size.
- Reported ewe mortality during lambing rates across all enterprises types (i.e. wool, meat and a combination of wool and meat) lie within the industry average of (2–10%).
- Reported ewe mortality rates during lambing for self-replacing Merino flocks, lie below the industry average of (2–10%) at 1.95%.
See a summary of the project’s key data in this infographic.
MLA said previous research indicates the method by which mortality is determined can influence variability. Mortality can, for example, be confirmed by counting carcases, or be assumed from the difference in numbers between yardings. Without a carcase, the cause of death is harder to determine with certainty.
The cause of death is divided (generally) into three categories: those occurring before, during or after lambing. A fourth category can be considered – the deaths that occur around the lambing period not directly caused by pregnancy or lambing, but to which ewes can be more susceptible during this time, MLA said.
Source – MLA.
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