Introduction Artificially rearing lambs and kids is costly and labour intensive. Investing in a machine to help reduce the labour costs associated with feeding is something to consider. There are various types of milk replacer machines on the market. Which type of machine is best suited for an operation depends on the size of operation, current infrastructure and budgets. This article aims to introduce three types of milk replacer machines. Automatic Milk Machine (e.g. Grober/Forester Technik) Automatic milk machines continuously mix small portions of milk replacer for ad libitum milk feeding. A common machine in Ontario is sold by Grober in partnership with Forester Technik. This machine allows for portions to be set and counted and has various features to…
All posts tagged Sheep
State of the Ontario Sheep Industry Fall 2025
Original article written by Christopher Llewellyn and Delma Kennedy and updated by Kristy Blankers and Delma Kennedy. Highlights Market Demand Inventory Trends Market Prices Lamb Supply Slaughter and Trade Wool Market Demand Domestic Protein Demand In Canada, the average annual consumption of various animal proteins reveals distinct dietary preferences. Figure 1 shows that poultry leads with poultry at 40.79kg per person, followed by beef at 16.77 kg and pork at 15.63 kg. Eggs also contribute significantly to the diet, with an average consumption of 21.73 dozen. Lamb and mutton, however, account for a small share, averaging just 1.09 kg per person per year. Comparing this to the previous year, when lamb and mutton consumption was 0.94 kg, there has been an…
Frost Injury in Sorghum Species
Caution! Members of the sorghum family – sorghum, sudangrass, and hybrid sorghum-sudangrass – contain dhurrin, a glucoside that breaks down to release hydrocyanic acid, also known as prussic acid (hydrogen cyanide, HCN). A sudden disruption of growth such as frost, drought or cutting, causes prussic acid to be released inside the plant at a more rapid rate. High prussic acid levels may be lethal to ruminants; death often occurs within 20 minutes of ingesting sorghum forage with elevated prussic acid concentrations. Early fall, between the first frost and the first killing frost, is the riskiest time of year for prussic acid production in sorghum species. These warm-season grasses are very frost-sensitive. It is impossible to know by looking at them…
Influence of BCS and Weight on Sheep Performance
This article was written by Kristy Blankers and Delma Kennedy Introduction Animal efficiency is important to a livestock farm’s bottom line. Therefore, it is beneficial to select for animals that are able to wean more kilograms of lamb per kilogram of mature body weight. Animal performance is influenced by a ewe’s body condition score (BCS) and body weight. To effectively select animals that are more efficient, body weight and BCS must be taken into consideration. Over the past four years, BCS, body weight, and performance data has been collected on farm with the objective of being able to create a genetic evaluation model to select animals that can maximize production per kilogram of mature body weight. With three breeding seasons…
Scrapie Infosheet
This infosheet is by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) What is scrapie and why is surveillance important? Scrapie is a very rare, devastating disease that affects the central nervous system of goats and sheep. It is in the same class of diseases as bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) in cattle and chronic wasting disease (CWD) in elk and deer. Like these diseases, once an animal is infected with scrapie, it is always fatal. Sheep and goats can get scrapie by either coming into direct contact with the saliva, urine, feces, blood or birthing fluids of an infected animal, or indirectly by ingesting anything from, living in or spending time in a contaminated environment like a barn or pasture. Males are…
Potato Leafhopper in Alfalfa
This article was originally written by Joel Bagg in 2012. It was edited June 27, 2023 by Christine O’Reilly to reflect current insecticide options to control potato leafhopper and the cessation of third-party alfalfa variety trials in Ontario. Potato leafhopper (PLH) is the most damaging alfalfa insect pest in Ontario in most years. While the damage created is not as dramatic as an alfalfa weevil or armyworm outbreak, leafhopper damage is more chronic and widespread. Many farmers are unaware of the significance of PLH damage, which is often blamed on the hot, dry weather that frequently accompanies it. PLH damage is common across southern Ontario. The Niagara area and counties north of Lake Erie are particularly affected and extensive damage…
Webinar Library Now Live!
The webinar library is now live on the blog. Check out some previous webinars that focused on goat genetics, goat nutrition, udder health and milk quality.
Hoof Health in Small Ruminants
On August 17th and August 19th 2023, Ontario Goat hosted a hoof health clinic emphasizing the importance of hoof trimming and preventing hoof diseases in your goats. Featured speakers included Dr. Gosia Zoebel (New Zealand), Susan Schoenian (University of Maryland), Dr. Emily zur Linden (Metzger Veterinary), and Dr. Lauren Wilson (Cornwallis Veterinary Services). Inspired by the event, this blog post discusses the importance of hoof trimming and outlines hoof ailments that you may be concerned about in your sheep and goats. Hoof Trimming In intensive systems, like those in Ontario, animals are typically housed on soft surfaces that don’t allow for natural wearing of the hooves. Allowing hooves to overgrow and become deformed can cause permanent damage and increase susceptibility…
Transporting Livestock: Understanding a Transfer of Care Form vs. an Animal Transport Record
Whether you’re a commercial transporter or a producer transporting your own animals, it is important to keep records on the movement of animals to ensure that animals are being responsibly taken care of and humanely transported. You can do this by filling out a Transfer of Care form and an Animal Transport Record. But what’s the difference? Transfer of Care Form What is its purpose? The purpose of a Transfer of Care Form is to ensure that animals are not left at slaughter facilities, assembly centres, or auctions without evidence that the care has been transferred from the transporter to the receiver. This form only applies for animals that are delivered to slaughter, assembly, and auction facilities. After the recipient…
Artificial Lamb Rearing: Part 1 – A Producer Project
From March to August 2022 an on-farm project on artificial rearing systems specifically focusing on milk machines and lamb performance was conducted at several Ontario farms. The project had three main objectives: lamb productivity, rearing cost, and producer labour. The results will be presented in a series of articles; this article will focus on-farm set-ups, machine cleaning and milk replacer cost. Six farms participated in the project. Two farms had Lac-Tek milk machines and four farms had Eco Feeders also commonly known as Förster-Technik and / or Grober refer to Figure 1. The total number of ewes represented on the farms was 3395, with flock sizes of 400, 825, 120, 1000, 450 and 600 respectively. Two farms kept artificially…
