ultrasound pregnancy scanning of sheep can be performed 35 days after ewe mating, by skilled operators using sheep Ultrasound Machines. Pregnancy scanning is an important tool for understanding the potential of lambing season and effectively managing maternal flocks.

The pregnancy scanning benchmark tool displays the range of breeding rates for Western Australian flocks, which will help you understand where the scanning results of the flock are suitable.

Pregnancy scans are performed approximately 90 days after joining and are completed using an ultrasound scanner. Producers can choose to scan:

Whether pregnant or not, sometimes referred to as wet scan and dry scan, can predict pregnancy status (adding each ewe pregnant)

Multiple fetuses to determine litter size - report as a percentage of reproductive rate (number of fetuses added per ewe).

Scanning litter size is considered the best practice as it allows producers to understand the relative feed requirements of potential lambing and pregnant ewes, enabling accurate feed budgeting. It also enables producers to understand the potential lambing season.

The reproductive rate is calculated by using pregnancy scans on litter size data and is the total number of fetuses divided by the number of ewes added. It is a manifestation of fertility and reproductive ability.

The conception rate is usually expressed as the number of pregnant ewes divided by the number of ewes added, and provides a measure of fertility.

The reproductive rate is influenced by factors such as ewe breed, nutritional status at the time of addition, successful addition (ram performance), addition time, and whether it is in the normal breeding season.

The reproductive rate can be used to determine the possible supplementary feeding rate and free range rate for lambing, determine lamb survival rate, and map the progress of genetic selection for reproductive traits.

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