Ewe Deaths- A Profit Driver Of Sheep Flocks

Lambing percentage and wool cut are two commonly discussed profit drivers of a self replacing or first cross lamb producing flock. However ewe death rate, is often overlooked as a profit driver and in fact, it is a figure that people rarely even bother to calculate. Some recent figures compiled by Phil Graham and Ashley White of NSW DPI highlight the importance of ewe losses on the overall profitability of a flock.  It has been calculated that ewe losses during lambing in Australian flocks vary from 2-18%, with the industry average being from 7-8%.  Based on these figures, a profitable flock should be targeting a ewe death rate during lambing of 4% or lower.

The following table shows the affect of ewe death rate during lambing on the profit of sheep enterprises.

Prime lamb

Merino x terminal sire

Self replacing Merino

The affect on profit of increasing ewe deaths during lambing from

4% to 8%

– 30%

– 22%

– 15%

This data highlights the importance of understanding ewe death rate and the effect it can have on the bottom line.   As with lambing percentage, the ewe death rate should be calculated as ewes at marking as a percentage of ewes joined.

Ewe death rate should be calculated and compiled over a number of years, to identify any common issues associated with deaths.

Where ewe death rate is higher than 4%, it is important to identify the cause of the deaths and address the issues to reduce the death rate.

As an example, in productive flocks the ewe death rate may be the result of single bearing ewes being over fat.  In this case, scanning ewes to identify singles and twins will provide the information required to manage feed supply with a view to reducing ewe death rate.