Negros becoming PH sheep capital

Negros Occidental’s vision of becoming the country’s sheep capital is coming closer to reality after more than half of the 5,474 ewe that the capitol imported from Australia have become pregnant at a sprawling 159-hectare ranch in the town of Murcia.

Veterinarian Satur Dayanan said many ewe are expected to give birth any time this month followed by other ewes in the coming months.

“We suspect that half of the ewes are pregnant after they mated with the rams. We are expecting them to give birth anytime this month or sometimes in August or in the next few months,” said Dayanan.

With this development, the city government of Negros Occidental remains buoyant to soon earn the title as the country’s “sheep capital.”

“Right now, we are importing a lot of meat and our consumption is expected to increase. We want to be self-sufficient in meat through this program,” said Gov. Alfredo Maranon Jr. who allocated P82 million for the purchase of the ewes, 296 rams and the construction of structures to house them at the ranch.

A ram costs P16,000 while an ewe amounts to P25,000 each, excluding shipping and insurance costs.

Maranon said the purchase of the sheep is part of his government’s food sufficiency program, and livelihood program for those interested in breeding their own sheep.

“This would be of great help to their livelihood. This can augment their income.” said Maranon, adding that a lot of people are interested in breeding sheep in their province. “This is very, very promising.”

Maranon said they will put up a halal-certified slaughterhouse where the sheep will be slaughtered and the lamb or mutton can be sold at meat shops that the provincial government is also planning to build to encourage the industry.

The industry, he said, will definitely generate employment for local residents. “We build meat shops for sheep.”

“Right now, we are importing a lot of meat and our consumption is expected to increase. We want to be self-sufficient in meat through this program,” said the governor.

Aside from meat sales, the sheep’s wool can also be developed into a profit center and Maranon also hopes the new industry will also boost culinary tourism in the province.

“We want foreign and local tourists to come to the province and savor our cuisine using the meat of the sheep,” he added.

Meanwhile, Dayanan said the governor’s plans are doable, particularly now that their ewes are pregnant and they can expect to double their herd over the next few months.

He said monitoring officers or farm workers under a supervisor or manager are assigned to closely watch the ‘sexual activities” of the rams and ewes. He said each ewe and ram has an ear tag for proper identification and monitoring. It will appear on record when a ram mounted and inseminated a particular ewe.

He said they will then wait for 17 to 21 days to establish if the mating between an ewe and a ram was successful.

If a ram refuses to approach an ewe during the said period of time, it is an indication that the animal is now pregnant. The gestation period will last for 152 days or a little over 5 months.

He said the pregnant ewe is then transferred to the so-called “lambing area” a week or 10 days before it gives birth. The ewe will be brought inside a corral where it will stay with other pregnant ewes until they give birth.

“They will just be placed inside a corral since there’s no need for human intervention for them to give birth. When an ewe encounters difficulty in giving birth, it’s the only time that we will assist them,” further said Dayanan who has been accustomed to helping ewes give birth.

Because sheep are uniparous (producing an offspring one at a time), he said an ewe gives birth to only one sheep.

“In rare cases, there are either 3 sheep or 4 sheep that come out. We also have two sheep that come out at the same time. We referred to it as twinning,” explained Dayanan. He said there are certain breed of ewe which gives birth to two sheep.

He said they can determine if an ewe is pregnant through the process called rectal palpation where fingers are inserted in the ewe’s rectum.

But Dayanan said they don’t usually do the process because this is physically tedious on the part of the animal. The ewe becomes stressed. Its body resistance becomes lower and it will eventually be more vulnerable to diseases.

“So we just have to wait for physical changes in the ewe. Its abdomen turns bigger,”said Dayanan.

Also, the muscles near the tail of the ewe will be relaxed and her udder will be filled. She will be larger in girth than normal.

When an ewe needs a partner to mate with, Dayanan said

the animal is more vocal and more mobile. It rides on other herdmates or vice versa.  The ram will follow the ewe and court her by nuzzling her flanks and licking her clitoris, and will often do a flehmen response when she urinates.  When an ewe reaches standing heat, the animal will let the male mount her and inseminate her.

Since one ram is being partnered to 20 ewe for mating purposes, the ram is afforded the much needed rest for a month. The ram will have to mate with an ewe for 45 to 60 days.  In general, an ewe can give birth twice in 13 months.

To ensure the strength of a ram, Dayanan it is administered vitamins A, B complex, D and E and given additional electrolytes. If a ram appeared to have lost weight, it is provided additional concentrates.

In a separate interview, Provincial Veterinary Dr. Renante Decena said 80 hectares of the Negros ranch is planted to Napier grass, also known as elephant grass.  “So we have more than enough supply of the Napier grass, which originated from Florida, USA.

Decena said the sheep purchased by the provincial government were the Dorper and Damara breeds since they adapt well to a variety of climatic and grazing conditions. They can survive in varied conditions and can withstand different kinds of weather.

Unlike goats which only eat top of grasses, Dorper and Damara consumed all the grasses. “So it is easy to feed them than goats or other breed of sheep,” said Decena.

In Australia, Dorpers are now farmed throughout the arid and tropical areas as well as the high rainfall southern States, thriving even in the extreme cold and wetness of Tasmania.  They are  extremely adaptable with a high ability to flourish, grow, produce and reproduce in irregular and low rainfall environments.

The Dorper is a South African breed of domestic sheep developed by crossing Dorset Horn and the Blackhead Persian sheep. The name Dorper is a coupling of the first syllables of the parent breeds Dorset and Persian.

The other breed of sheep found in Negros Oriental is the Damara, which originates from Eastern Asia and Egypt. Its name was derived from the specific region where the sheep were originally encountered (formerly known as Gross Damaraland).

Damara sheep can survive in a harsh environment and under poor nutritional conditions.  The breed is exceptionally vigorous and can produce and reproduce where water and grazing is fairly restricted.

Research has shown that the breed responds very well to optimum conditions. It has a fairly high resistance to most sheep diseases and also good tolerance against internal parasites.

The mothering ability of the breed is exceptional. The ewes produce enough milk even to raise twin lambs which will occur in 5 to 10% of the births.aaaaaaa

At present, Decena said 2000 sheep have been given to private sectors, the livestock breeders, and the local government units. “They may pay in cash or on a loan basis, which is three years to pay.”

Although the sheep have been disposed, Decena said they will continue to regularly monitor them, give them technical assistance, including ideas to expand management.

“We want the sheep to multiple for the industry to grow bigger and bigger,” he added. (end)