When recording Mating, you also need to record your ewes that are ‘Not Mated’.
Recording your ewe lambs as not mated is important as it affects your DQI in terms of accounting for your inactive ewes.
All ewes in the flock should be recorded, whether not mated, barren, aborted, or lambed down.
This can be done through your Sheep Ireland account and by selecting the ‘Mating – AI and Natural‘ screen through the Management tab.
There is a blue button on the top right of the screen stating ‘Ewe Lambs Not Mated‘ and ‘Click here to Record‘. Once you click on this, your list of ewe lambs will be displayed.
The current season is set as default, however breeders can record the ewe lambs from the previous year as not mated also by selecting the correct mating season.
Breeders can then simply click on the animals they wish to mark as ‘Not Mated‘, and it will be recorded automatically. If an incident occurs where a ewe lamb is accidentally mated unbeknownst to the breeder, you will still be able to record her lambing via the lambing management screen.
Check this video where David Coen explains the importance of recording ewe lambs that have not been mated on the Sheep Ireland database.