Dairy Sheep Symposium - the Department of Animal Sciences ...

sheep production conditions in Wisconsin. Results have been summarized through 2001 (Thomas
et al., 2001). Ewes of 1/2 East Friesian or 1/2 Lacaune breeding were produced by mating
non-dairy ewes to one of four purebred East Friesian rams or one of five purebred Lacaune rams.
Ewes born in 1999 have been evaluated for milk production as one- and two-year-old ewes in
2000 and 2001, respectively, and ewes born in 2000 have been evaluated as one-year-old ewes in
2001. One-year-old ewes were milked after they weaned their lambs at 30 days postpartum, and
two-year-old ewes were milked from 24 hours postpartum.
Lactation results are presented in Table 4. There was a small advantage of the East Friesiancross
ewes for milk production (+31 lb.) but this difference was not significant. The East Friesian-cross
ewes had longer (P < .05, +11.9 d) lactation lengths but lower (P < .05) percentage
milk fat (-.40%) and milk protein (-.26%). The differences between the two breeds for lactation
traits are not large, and differences between the breeds for reproductive and growth traits also are
not large (Thomas et al., 2001). We do not yet have a good measure of differences in lamb
mortality between East Friesian and Lacaune breeding. The study will continue for a few more
years, but at the present time, it appears that either East Friesian-crossbred or Lacaune-crossbred
ewes can be utilized successfully in a dairy sheep operation.
Table 4. Lactation traits (mean ± SE) of F1 ewes produced from East Friesian or
Lacaune sires and non-dairy dams during their first and second lactations
Breed
Lactation
Protein, Protein,
group N Milk, lb length, d Fat, lb. Fat, % lb. %
_ EF 75 291.8±14.3 126.3±3.8 a
_ LA 83 260.8±13.6 114.4±3.6 b
1/2
1/2
16.3±1.0 5.49±.13 b
15.8±.9 5.89±.12 a
a,b,c Means within a column with no superscripts in common are significantly different (P < .05).
13.7±.7 4.65±.09 b
13.2±.7 4.91±.08 a
Josef Regli reported on the performance of purebred East Friesian and Lacaune sheep on his
commercial farm in Ontario, Canada (Regli, 1999). He reported similar milk yields between the
breeds but higher percentage milk fat and protein from the Lacaune. He also noted that the
Lacaune ewes had better udder conformation and were less susceptible to respiratory disease and
mastitis compared to the East Friesian ewes. However, the East Friesian ewes were easier to
handle than were the Lacaune ewes.
Economic Effects of Breed Choice
Higher levels of milk production will generally result in greater net returns so dairy-cross
ewes should be used. Table 5 gives the estimated returns for a 300-ewe flock of either non-dairy,
1/4-dairy, or 1/2-dairy ewes adapted from an economic analysis presented by Berger (1998). The
results clearly show the economic advantage of obtaining higher milk yields from dairy-cross
ewes. It is difficult to justify a dairy sheep operation based on a non-dairy ewe.
The returns in Table 5 are based on equal milk values from the three production levels. It is
true that ewes of the lower production levels will produce milk that is higher in fat and protein
and that will generate a greater cheese yield and, perhaps, a higher quality cheese. If there are
price premiums for milks of higher solids content and price discounts for milk of lower solids
content, differences in returns between these production levels will decrease somewhat. However,
the higher production levels will still have significantly higher returns.