For the past number of years, the 3 methods of Mating that have been available for breeders to record has been Laproscopic AI, Cervical AI & Natural Service. Sheep Ireland has now added 5 more mating options for breeders to select from when recording their matings on the website. We will explain in more detail each of the 8 methods available. It is worth noting that it is extremely important taht the correct mating type is recorded for each ewe, as the mating type can have an effect on conception rate & litter size.
Where a ewe has been Single Sire Mated, there are 4 options available,
- Laproscopic AI
- Cervical AI
- Natural Serve
- Natural Serve with the use of Drugs (Sponges & PMSG)
To record a ewe as being Single Sire mated, you need to add the ram to your ram team, and then proceed to select the mating type. This will bring you to a list of your ewes. Here you have to select the date of serve/introduction and then select the ewes that were mated to that ram.
Mob Mating (where more than 1 ram is used to mate ewes) is a practice that mainly takes place on commercial farms, however, with the use of genomics, it is now being used on pedigree flocks too. A new screen has been developed where breeders can now record that a ewe was Mob Mated without having to record the rams she was mated with. To record ewes that were Mob Mated log onto your Mating screen and click the Ewes Mob Mated button. See Image below.
Once a breeder gains access to the Mob Mating page, they need to select the mating type of the ewe and the date of serve/introduction. There are 4 options available:
- Mob Mating Laproscopic AI (Semen of 2 rams mixed together)
- Mob Mating Cervical AI (Semen of 2 rams mixed together)
- Natural Serve (Ewes released to be served naturally with 2 or more rams)
- Natural Serve w/Drugs (Ewes scynchronised with sponges & PMSG to be served naturally with 2 or more rams)
