Chapter 5: Perform sheep routine management practices

Performing routine management practices in sheep production is essential for maintaining healthy flocks and ensuring sustainable productivity in Kenya's diverse agricultural settings. Proper management promotes animal welfare, improves growth rates, and enhances reproductive performance, which are critical for meeting market demands and supporting livelihoods. This chapter focuses on one fundamental aspect of routine management: sheep identification methods, a vital practice for effective monitoring, record keeping, and disease control.

5.1 Sheep identification method

Identification means marking each sheep so that it can be told apart from every other sheep in the flock. Without it, records of breeding, treatment, weight and sales cannot be matched to the right animal. A sound identification method is permanent enough to last the life of the sheep, easy to read, cheap, and safe for the animal. This topic describes three methods used on sheep farms: ear tagging, ear notching and neck chains or straps.

Importance of sheep identification

• Individual tracking: Each sheep's health, growth and breeding record can be followed, so that animals with poor growth or repeated illness are found and managed.
• Disease control: Sick sheep can be quickly picked out, isolated and treated, and the treatments they have received are recorded.
• Breeding management: Pedigree records can be kept, breeding animals can be selected on their records, and inbreeding can be avoided.
• Culling and selection: Poor performers can be identified and removed from the flock.
• Marketing: Buyers value animals whose age, health and treatment history is known.

Ear Tagging

An ear tag is a plastic or metal tag, printed with a number, fixed through the ear with a special applicator. It is widely used because it is cheap, quick to apply and can be read from a short distance, so it is suitable for both small and large flocks. Tags may be coloured to show the year of birth or the group. Its weaknesses are that tags can tear out on fences and thorn bushes, and that a poorly fixed tag can cause infection, so the ear must be checked from time to time. The steps are:

1. Prepare a clean, working applicator and tags with matching numbers, and disinfect the tag and the applicator pin before use.
2. Restrain the sheep safely in a handling crate or by hand to keep it still and calm.
3. Select the site in the middle part of the ear between the ribs of cartilage and away from the large veins and the edge of the ear.
4. Close the applicator firmly so that the pin pierces the ear and the tag locks on both sides.
5. Check that the tag is secure, not too tight and not bleeding, and apply antiseptic to the wound.
6. Record the tag number in the flock register with the sheep's breed, sex, date of birth and parents.

Ear Notching

Ear notching is the cutting of small V-shaped or U-shaped pieces from the edge of the ear, or a hole through it, in a coded pattern. Each position on the ear has a value, and the values of the notches on both ears are added up to give the animal's number. Example: a notch with a value of 1 and another with a value of 3 on the same ear stand for the number 4. The method is cheap, permanent and cannot be lost like a tag, but it needs a code chart, a clean sharp notcher, close inspection to read the code and care to avoid mistakes. It is done as follows:

1. Prepare a sharp ear notcher and disinfect it, and decide the notch pattern from the code chart.
2. Restrain the sheep and hold its head firmly.
3. Cut the notches at the chosen positions on the edges of the ear, taking care not to cut into a large vein.
4. Apply antiseptic or wound spray to prevent infection and to keep flies away.
5. Disinfect the notcher again before using it on the next sheep, so that infections are not spread.
6. Record the notch code and the matching sheep number in the register.

Notching is painful, so it is done quickly, with sharp, clean tools and a calm, well-restrained animal. Torn or badly healed ears can make the pattern difficult to read.

Neck Chains or Straps

A neck chain or strap is a light chain, nylon strap or leather band worn loosely around the neck, carrying a number plate or tag. It is easy to see and read from a distance, can be put on and removed without cutting the animal, and can be moved to a different animal. It is therefore useful for temporary identification, for breeding ewes and for rams in a mating group. The strap must be loose enough for two fingers to be slipped under it, and it needs to be checked often, particularly on growing lambs, since a tight strap rubs the skin and can choke the animal. Chains and straps can be lost, caught on fences or rubbed off in the wool, so they are normally used alongside a permanent method such as an ear tag.

Other identification methods

Other methods are tattooing in the ear, which is permanent but needs special pliers and ink, freeze or hot branding, which is used on the skin of other livestock, and electronic identification using microchips or radio tags, which is costly but gives automatic reading and is used on large flocks and in research. Sheep with fleece are normally marked with paint on the wool as a short-term marker, for example when drenching or when separating groups.

Chapter Summary

This chapter covered essential routine management practices for sheep production, starting with various methods of sheep identification that help in individual animal tracking and record maintenance. It then discussed castration techniques aimed at controlling breeding and improving meat quality. The importance of trimming overgrown hooves was highlighted to prevent lameness and infections, followed by wigging, a practice used to enhance hygiene around the sheep’s face. Shearing procedures were explained as a means to harvest wool and maintain animal comfort. Culling was examined as a method to remove unproductive or unhealthy animals to improve flock quality. The chapter also addressed control measures for internal and external parasites that threaten sheep health, alongside the protocols for isolation and quarantine to prevent disease spread. Control of notifiable diseases was emphasized to protect the entire flock and comply with regulatory requirements. Finally, the provision of clean water ad-libitum and diligent record keeping were identified as critical components for maintaining sheep health and managing production efficiently.