Ewe culling in New Zealand: an interview study of 38 farmers
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Date
2023-11-19
Open Access Location
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Taylor and Francis Group
Rights
(c) 2023 The Author/s
CC BY-NC-ND 4.0
CC BY-NC-ND 4.0
Abstract
Removal of ewes from a flock before the end of their productive life, sometimes described as ewe wastage, can potentially lead to reduced flock productivity. While the main reasons for culling ewes are largely known, their relative importance to New Zealand farmers and farmers’ rational behind their culling decisions are not. Therefore, this study involved semi-structured interviews with 38 sheep farmers from throughout New Zealand to explore their ewe culling decisions. Farmers consistently culled mixed-age and two-tooth ewes who failed to become pregnant or who had a vaginal prolapse. For other culling reasons, farmers’ use of them and their rationale for doing so was diverse and varied between farmers based on ewe age-group, severity, season, perceived economic consequences and farmers’ personal preference. This diversity indicates that there is scope for some farmers to carefully evaluate some of their culling decisions.
Description
Keywords
Sheep, culling, wastage, teeth, mortality, reproductive loss, udder, feet
Citation
Ridler AL, Kenyon PR, Greer AW, Logan CM, Morgan S, Corner-Thomas RA. (2024). Ewe culling in New Zealand: an interview study of 38 farmers. New Zealand Journal of Agricultural Research. 67. 3. (pp. 361-371).