Animal Science Complex 112
Animal Science-Box 2170
University Station
Brookings, SD 57007
Jeffrey supports the citizens of South Dakota in his role as a Professor & SDSU Extension Sheep Specialist at the South Dakota State University campus in Brookings.
Research report from Animal Science Department covering a variety of areas in livestock production.
Efforts to manage the reproductive cycle of the ewe have been a focus of producers and researchers for decades. By nature sheep are seasonal breeders with active ewe estrus cycles expected from late-August until January in the Upper Midwest and in a state of anestrous (non-cyclic) for the other months. Recently a commercial progesterone intra-vaginal device, the EAZI-BREED sheep CIDR (controlled internal drug release) was approved in the US to synchronize estrus in mature ewes during the anestrous period.
Proper newborn lamb care is a critical component of flock profitability. In the U.S. lamb mortality from all causes is approximately 20% with more than 80% of those losses occurring in the first two-weeks following lambing.
