All posts by emassender

This blog post was adapted from the OMAFRA Factsheet “Pregnancy Scanning: Management Tips” (AGDEX 433/22) by A. O’Brien. Introduction Pregnancy scanning, using real-time ultrasound equipment, is a useful management tool for Ontario sheep and goat producers. When scanning is performed within the recommended time frame by trained professionals, accuracy of identifying animals that are not pregnant and counting the number of fetuses is high. Pregnancy scanning can be used to assign open ewes to new breeding groups, make culling decisions, and optimize feeding management based on expected litter size. Benefits of Ultrasound Scanning Factors Affecting Ultrasound Scanning Accuracy For producers to get the maximum benefit from pregnancy scanning, factors affecting accuracy need to be well understood. Some of the factors…