Cornell STAR Accelerated Lambing System Video

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This video is 22 minutes long and covers all aspects of STAR management. As you view the movie, you will see and hear about many management aspects of the STAR system, including an overall description of the system and much of the day-to-day management and marketing activities. Following are short descriptions in chronological order of what you will view on the video.

1. In the opening scene, ewes are being brought in from pasture after winter grazing. The late pregnant ewes will start lambing in one to two weeks.

2. The STAR system is both practical and sophisticated. It strives to maximize lambing frequency and provide a uniform supply of lambs to the market, resulting in a more even annual cash flow to the farmer. It is a natural system that does not use exogenous hormones or light control to achieve out-of-season lambing. Instead, it depends on selecting sheep that tend to breed and lamb naturally during any season of the year. The dates prescribed in figure I may be followed precisely, but farmers may also rotate the STAR to more convenient dates.

3. The ewe flock is divided into two groups: (a) those that are lambing or lactating, and (b) the dry ewes that are at some stage of breeding or pregnancy. The dry ewes are managed as a single group, which facilitates pasture utilization. Although the nutritional requirements of ewes in the breeding and pregnancy group vary somewhat, this group can generally satisfy their nutritional requirements from pasture. This may be accomplished with winter grazing of aftermath or regrowth.

4. The breeding and lambing dates at each point of the STAR are exactly coincident, which simplifies management. Before each lambing, late pregnant ewes can be sorted from the breeding and pregnant flock at the same time ewes that recently weaned lambs are returned to the dry flock to be bred. Late pregnant ewes can be identified by udder palpation.

5. As more ewes lamb frequently, or a high degree of accelerated lambing is achieved, replacement ewes only need to be produced during one or two of the annual lambing periods. We usually recommend that most of the replacement ewes be produced during the spring (March-April) lambing, preferably from mature ewes that lambed the previous August or September. After weaning, these replacement ewe lambs can graze on pasture during the summer and fall, and be bred the following January to lamb in June when they are about 14 months old. They should lamb a second time before they are two years old. Lambs born in March/April would normally be sold in the fall when prices are traditionally the lowest.

6. It is important to maintain the body condition of ewes. With a scoring system of “1” for thin and “5” for fat, a body score of at least 2+ should be maintained. Ewes in each of the five categories are shown in the video.

7. At weaning, ewes are not allowed feed for 48 hours following a few days of reduced or no grain feeding. During this time, lambs have access to creep feed and continue to suckle the ewes. This allows the ewes to reduce their milk flow while the lambs have time to further adjust to the creep feed. Weaning at the end of the 48 hours is abrupt. Ewes are fed lower quality forage for a few days following weaning to aid in stopping milk production.

8. Weaned growing lambs are fed a properly balanced, high-concentrate feed formulated with sufficient fermentable fiber to maximize growth and muscle development. Lambs usually reach market weights of 110 to 120 pounds before they are five months old. Marketing lambs at these young ages eliminates the need to castrate the ram lambs.

9. Lambs are available for market on a weekly basis. Observe on the video where the lambs go after being loaded on the truck.

10. Meat marketer Jerry Hayes comments on how the year-round availability of quality carcasses helps the farmer, the packer, and the retail outlets. Consumers prefer having quality lamb available all the time and market enhancement is apparent. Lean young lambs with good color and handling qualities are desirable.

11. To maintain and improve STAR production, special attention must be given to the breeding and selection program. Because this is especially important in the maternal lines, the selection of maternal sires is emphasized. The maternal sires are the fathers of the replacement ewes. Sons of ALL-STAR ewes are selected for the purebred flocks. For the commercial Finn-Dorset flock, crossbred sons of selected ALL-STAR ewes are produced by crossing ALL-STAR Dorset ewes with Finn rams that are sons of ALL-STAR Finn ewes. Occasionally, a reciprocal cross may be made. We prefer white-faced ewes such as the Dorset and Finn for the maternal lines. In addition, selected rams should maintain scrotal circumference during the spring months. The circumference should not decrease more than two centimeters.

12. STAR ewes are those that lamb five times at 7.2 month intervals so that in three years they lamb at each point of the STAR. This is a good indication that they are not seasonal breeders. To be an ALL-STAR ewe, Dorsets must have at least twins at each of the five STAR lambings and Finns must have at least triplets each time.

13. If a ewe skips a breeding and slips to a 9.6 month interval, she can still lamb three times in two years. This equals 1.5 lambings per year; a very good level of production. Ewes that continuously fail to breed or produce only single lambs should be culled from the flock.

14. While first-cross Finn-Dorset rams are used in Cornell’s commercial flock as maternal sires, breedings can be to large, black-faced terminal cross sires, usually the Suffolk. With this program, both types of rams may be put with the ewes at the same time. The offspring are genetically color coded. Lambs from the Finn-Dorsets are white-faced; those sired by the Suffolks are black or speckle-faced. In the video, one particular ewe has twins with one lamb from each sire type. The white-faced ewe lambs are potential replacement ewes, while the black or speckle-faced lambs will be rapidly growing market lambs.

15. It is essential to have prolific, easy lambing ewes with good maternal characteristics. Observe how easily the Finn-Dorset ewe lambs and how she quickly “mothers” the lambs, despite having two fairly large Suffolk cross lambs.

16. After lambs are born, they must survive. Over 90 percent of the Dorset lambs born survived to weaning, even in a cold January lambing. Maximizing pasturing of pregnant ewes helps give them the exercise and stamina to enhance their lambs’ survival.

17. To maximize grazing, the grazing season is extended into the winter months and may include the entire winter and spring. If sheep cannot be winter-grazed, farmers must provide barn space and harvested forage for the sheep to withstand New York’s especially cold and snowy winters. To extend the grazing season, hay aftermath is used in the fall, followed by accumulated regrowth of normal pastures. Pastures will develop considerable regrowth in the fall when the ewes are grazing the hay aftermath. Planting small grains such as rye in cornfields used for silage will provide early spring pasture. Portable windbreaks are especially useful in winter grazing situations. With nearly year-round grazing, some lambing and lactation periods can also be on pasture. Note, however, that the breeding and pregnant flock is grazed throughout most of the year. Lambing ewes are usually in the barn, particularly in the winter months.

18. Portable electric fencing is very useful in extended grazing programs. For a modest fee, many neighbors welcome the opportunity to have their fields grazed and realize some tax advantages and income from feed that would otherwise be wasted. Portable electric fencing makes such arrangements possible.

19. Effective disease control programs are essential. We emphasize the eradication of two diseases: foot rot and ovine progressive pneumonia (OPP). Eradicating OPP has probably had the biggest effect on making sheep management easier. We no longer see emaciated young ewes with reduced lung capacity, hard udders in ewes at lambing, and arthritis in the Dorset ewes.

20. Unless wool can be processed and sold as a specialty product, wool is not a major product in the STAR lambing system, but it still receives attention. Shearing ewes off pasture and before lambing helps ensure clean wool that can be sold at some premium.

21. STAR sheep farmer Anita Richards (Labrador Sheep Farm) discusses how the program promotes marketing distinct types of lambs to different markets. STAR sheep farmer Jim Schmidt (Woodland Gnome Farm) comments on how direct marketing can be enhanced by using the STAR system.

22. The STAR system can increase production, spread lamb production throughout the year, and enhance marketing. Properly used, it provides an opportunity to better utilize resources for productive and profitable sheep production.

Thanks to Mike Tolomeo of Cornell University for doing the conversion and helping to get the video on-line.

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Michael L. Thonney, Professor
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Major revision: October 2015
Please contact Niko Kochendoerfer at nk584@cornell.edu if you can't find something from the previous version.
Copyright © 2015 Michael L. Thonney

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