It also explains how new initiatives such as performance recording, DNA testing and modern reproductive techniques can be integrated with the old, time-honoured traditions of sheep breeding. Profiles of highly recognised stud breeders are included, detailing how they started and the strategies they have used to grow their stud sheep operations over many years. This book will help new breeders avoid the pitfalls and mistakes that can occur when starting a new stud venture, and show how to succeed in what is ultimately a tough, but very rewarding, industry.
BREEDING STUD SHEEP
Breeding Stud Sheep shows how to establish and manage a successful sheep stud. All aspects of stud breeding are covered, including where and how to buy your sheep, selecting the right breeding stock for your stud, flock management, nutrition, disease, lambing problems, showing sheep, promotion and marketing, and selling stud genetics. The detailed step-by-step strategies will give the reader the ability to develop alternative approaches that best suit their situation.
BREEDING STUD SHEEP
MURRAY LONG
MURRAY LONG
BREEDING STUD SHEEP
MURRAY LONG
© Murray Long 2008 All rights reserved. Except under the conditions described in the Australian Copyright Act 1968 and subsequent amendments, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, duplicating or otherwise, without the prior permission of the copyright owner. Contact Landlinks Press for all permission requests. National Library of Australia Cataloguing-in-Publication entry Long, Murray. Breeding stud sheep / author, Murray Long. Collingwood, Vic. : Landlinks Press, 2008. 9780643094802 (pbk.) Includes index. Sheep – Breeding – Australia. Sheep breeds – Australia. 636.30820994 Published by Landlinks Press 150 Oxford Street (PO Box 1139) Collingwood VIC 3066 Australia Telephone: Local call: Fax: Email: Web site:
+61 3 9662 7666 1300 788 000 (Australia only) +61 3 9662 7555
[email protected] www.landlinks.com
Landlinks Press is an imprint of CSIRO PUBLISHING Front cover A group of White Suffolk sale and show rams ready for exhibition and promotion. Photo courtesy Australian White Suffolk Association. Back cover What a spectacle! The ‘Pair of rams’ class at the 21st anniversary of the White Suffolk breed at the 2006 Royal Adelaide Show. A great promotion for all associated with showing: sponsors, exhibitors and the breed. Photo courtesy Australian White Suffolk Association. Set in Minion Cover and text design by James Kelly Typeset by J&M Typesetting Printed in Australia by Ligare
Contents
Acknowledgements Author’s note
v vii
Chapter 1
Introduction
1
Chapter 2
Getting started Setting up The sheep Dispersal sales Reduction sales Mated ewe sales Embryo transfer Cast for age ewes Young cull ewes Summary
5 5 7 8 9 10 11 11 12 12
Chapter 3
Breeding
13
Chapter 4
Selecting a sire Return on investment
19 23
Chapter 5
Joining strategies
27
Chapter 6
Performance recording Benchmarking
33 38
Chapter 7
Sheep selection Selecting the right sheep Genetic defects and sheep structure Response to selection pressure
41 44 46 49
Chapter 8
Flock management Disease Nutrition
53 54 55
iv
Breeding Stud Sheep
Determining fat score What to watch for during pregnancy Lambing Lambing problems
58 59 60 65
Chapter 9
Showing
69
Chapter 10
Promotion and marketing The challenge of marketing Taking promotion to the next level
77 77 83
Chapter 11
Sale time Ram sales Elite sales Surplus ewe sales Follow up
87 87 94 95 95
Chapter 12
Endless possibilities
99
Chapter 13
Stud profiles Cadell Border Leicester Stud Illoura Poll Dorset, Dorset Horn and White Suffolk Stud Leahcim White Suffolk and Poll Merino Stud Belswick Merino Stud Kurralea Poll Dorset and White Suffolk Stud
103 103 106 108 110 113
Appendix 1 Your role and responsibilities as a stud breeder
117
Appendix 2 Care of rams: Good practice for both commercial and stud breeders
121
Appendix 3 Glossary
123
Appendix 4 Breed societies and contact information Breed societies within Australia Internet information General information Performance recording Index
127 127 129 129 130 133
Acknowledgements
To the many top sheep breeders across all sheep breeds who gave freely of their experiences and knowledge over many years, this book is a collection of your expertise and knowledge. Many thanks to stud breeders Andrew and Rosemary Michael, Barry and Helen Harper, Peter and Terri L’Estrange, Jim and Kim Prentice and Allan and Sue Piggott who agreed to put together their stories and provide invaluable advice. For providing photos for this book many thanks to Ian Turner (Superior Selections), David Pipkorn (Detpa Grove), Australian White Suffolk Association, Brian Fischer (Ashmore), Livestock Breeding Services (Jerilderie, NSW), Nigel Parsons and Brett Tindall (The Land). To all involved in the sheep industry who have published articles of interest in rural press, on the web and in technical reports from which much information has been gained and implemented over many years of reading and is represented through my own experiences in many parts of this book. Special thanks to the members and breeders within the Australian White Suffolk Association who, through their willingness to encourage and assist new stud breeders, have provided the opportunity for many new sheep breeders to develop outstanding and profitable stud breeding operations. Finally to my Dad who always gave me the opportunity and confidence to follow my dream. I only wish he could have been here with us to be a part of the journey.
Author’s note
The decision to undertake or develop a stud breeding enterprise is either a natural progression of a family tradition or, alternatively, a passion to become involved in a sheep breeding enterprise that is much more challenging than simply producing commercial stock. For many stud breeders, especially those that are well established within the sheep industry, the tradition of stud breeding has been going on for many generations and the younger generations within these studs have always been surrounded by the terminology and decisions that are an integral part of stud breeding. The development of a specific type, the use and fine-tuning of your eye to detect faults, as well as the good breeding traits, and using different mating strategies to achieve your ideal sheep become second nature to the young stud breeder who has grown up with the day-to-day workings of a long-established stud breeding operation. Author Murray Long with one of the many ‘Pendarra’ White Many of the most recognised Suffolk sires that have made stud breeding such a rewarding studs within Australia have been experience. operating for many generations. How then does a ‘new kid on the block’ break into this industry that is saturated with years of tradition and time honoured history? This was just the situation I faced when I made the decision to develop a sheep stud around 10 years ago. Being a third generation farmer on a property that was traditionally a mixed farming enterprise consisting of cereal grains and sheep, I recall how the yearly trip to a sheep stud to purchase replacement rams was the only contact we had with the operations of a stud breeding operation. Our sheep enterprise was
viii
Breeding Stud Sheep
breeding crossbred lambs from Merino ewes so the prime objective was to get as many lambs on the ground and off the property to the saleyards as quickly and efficiently as possible. The selection of rams was usually a task best left to the stud breeder or an agent who we trusted to select the best rams for our situation from an on farm, set price selection. When we altered our operation to a self-replacing Merino flock, we inherited the task of selecting our rams at auction which became a little more challenging, and then subsequently we faced the new task of classing young ewe lambs for retention within the self-replacing flock. It was probably at this stage that an interest in developing a sheep stud began and it was by chance that the opportunity to start a sheep stud emerged. However, it was not to be within the Merino industry but a terminal sire breed, the White Suffolk. Having had no previous experience with this relatively new breed, let alone any experience in stud breeding, there was plenty to learn. Apart from what could be gained from fellow stud breeders, there was very little information on how to develop a stud or the best methods of ensuring our initial efforts would guarantee we were breeding quality sheep, and that we could hope to reap the rewards sooner rather than later. Without a comprehensive guide on the best method of establishing a sheep stud, plenty of time was spent listening and asking questions of those who had been involved in the industry for many years and had become successful themselves. Since establishing our stud, much has been learned from associating with fellow breeders from all sheep breeds, through trial and error, reading available information at both the stud and commercial level, and generally becoming involved in all facets of the industry. This book is intended to give those who are contemplating starting a sheep stud some of the information that will assist them in developing a solid base from which a successful and profitable enterprise can develop. It will not take the place of the information you will learn from talking to established breeders or mixing with those who have been successful in the industry for many years, but it may give you some idea of the level of commitment and just what is involved in the development of a successful stud breeding operation. Many of the principles outlined in this book can also be applied to commercial sheep production. There are many commercial sheep operations that are as professionally run as any stud operation and the simple fact that you are running stud sheep does not automatically put you at a different level as a sheep producer. Flock management, ewe and sire selection and some degree of benchmarking or performance recording are vital to ensure the long-term viability of all commercial sheep production systems – just as they will be in your stud breeding enterprise. As a stud breeder, chances are you will not be running the number of ewes that would normally be the case in commercial production, but you will have the opportunity to make a significant difference to the industry you are about to become involved in.
1 Introduction
Stud breeding or the seedstock industry has long been looked upon as the yardstick by which a breed’s success is initially judged. We have all seen the photos of ribbon-clad sheep around show time and our image of particular breeds is influenced by these photos. And why not, after all, it is these sheep that are predominantly used to produce the next generation of genetics that will ultimately find their way onto commercial properties around the sheep districts of our farming areas. It is also true that these sheep in show condition tend to give their particular breed exposure and appeal to a wide range of potential users and this can often create an image that does not exactly fit what really happens in the commercial world. We have all seen the majestic photos of Merino rams in full show condition, or the maternal or terminal sires with washed faces, immaculately trimmed and not a sign of dirt anywhere, and have been impressed with their size and conformation. However, after the initial impression, we justify our amazement by saying ‘but they are show sheep, nothing like we have in the paddock at home’. This image of sheep in show condition is, however, one of the reasons why many breeders are attracted to breeding stud livestock. It is not the only reason and is probably one of the least important reasons why prospective breeders should become involved in the seedstock industry. The stud industry and agricultural shows go hand in hand. It is the exposure that attracts new breeders and new ideas into what ultimately should be a commercially orientated industry, not one based on producing sheep for shows. It is difficult to determine what possesses those involved in the livestock industry to make the decision to take the extra step and breed stud animals in preference to the relative security of a commercial breeding operation. For many it
2
Breeding Stud Sheep
is the continuation of a family tradition that had its origins many years ago. For these studs it is not difficult to justify the continuation of what is usually a well-established and respected stud operation. For those who are new to the seedstock industry, the reasons for becoming involved at this more specialised level are varied. Some stud breeders begin with very small flocks, breeding a few rams for their own use and perhaps selling a few to a relative or neighbour and they are satisfied to continue at this level. Others, having been involved at a commercial level for a period of time, make a decision to expand or diversify their operation and look at a seedstock breeding operation as adding diversity and, potentially, some financial gains to their operation. Many agricultural schools today have livestock studs as part of their practical skills programs so the students that come through these schools have already had exposure to stud breeding and are often keen to develop these skills once they leave school. Some breeders just have the urge to do something different either through the introduction of a new breed or because they have identified a need in their area that is currently not being catered for. Whatever the reason for deciding to initiate a stud breeding program, you will already have some preconceived ideas on what you want to achieve and how you are going to realise them. Perhaps now is the time to sit down, take a deep breath and ensure that the ‘dreaming’ phase has passed and you are being realistic about what you want to gain from your efforts. There are plenty of stud breeding operations in all livestock industries and not all are as successful as those you may be modelling your decision upon. Ensure that your expectations are realistic and you are aware of just what is required to guarantee your efforts are successful, not only from a breed perspective, but also from an environmental or regional aspect. It is pointless producing more of a product that is already oversupplied in your area simply because it looks nice and appeals to you – this will end up being a hobby, and an expensive one. Now you have convinced yourself that you want to develop a stud breeding enterprise. Let’s get started then. Perhaps the first and potentially the best decision you can make is to contact the breed society governing your selected breed. There are breed societies for virtually every sheep breed, some large, some with only a few members, but all are an integral part of the development and success of the breed they administer. The cost of joining a breed society is relatively small when compared to the benefits that will be gained from your membership of a cohesive breed society. The breed society is much more than just a facility that governs registration and the transfer and recording of registered stock between individuals. Most breed societies provide members with plenty of background material, as well as brochures and regular newsletters that inform members of developments in areas such as breed promotion, recent highlights and amendments to breed direction.
Introduction
3
They also provide a good avenue of promotion for members. If you are a new stud breeder, just reading the newsletters and material available from your breed society will provide you with a good understanding of how the breed has developed and what is required to establish a quality sheep stud. Through the breed society and its activities, you will become familiar with many of the established breeders within the breed and consequently gain some insight into the leading sires that are currently being well used. If you are intending to show sheep, you will need to be a financial member of your relevant breed society. Breed societies are also responsible for setting breed standards and encouraging members to adhere to these standards for the overall benefit of the breed. They often undertake their own research and development or cooperate with authorities who are working to improve the standard of the products associated with individual breeds, and they also help develop new areas of marketing. By representing the collective interests of all members, they are able to both protect and promote the interests of all breeders and facilitate the expansion of the breed’s elite genetics both domestically and overseas. Above all, they provide a united group that generally have common objectives and are prepared to work together and share information between breeders. Membership of your sheep breed society is the most effective means of getting to know and meet other like-minded breeders and provides you with the opportunity to learn from other member’s experiences.
Conferences and field days create ideal opportunities for discussion and learning.
4
Breeding Stud Sheep
Conferences and field days organised by the breed society play an important role for not only established breeders, but also new breeders. They provide a chance to learn the necessary skills you will need to succeed in your new venture, and give you an ideal opportunity to meet high-profile breeders and make important personal contacts you can speak to should you have any questions as you develop your stud breeding enterprise. These events are usually structured around making new members feel welcome and at the same time providing information and some ‘hands on’ activities related to stud breeding and its associated commercial industry. Most of these events also include some degree of forward planning by the breed association, which will provide good insight into the direction both you and the breed itself are heading in the foreseeable future. The breed society’s annual flock book will not only provide you with a record of the current and new registered sires within the breed, but also contact details of all members and the sires they are currently using. This provides a good starting point for your next step, purchasing the sheep that will be the foundation of your stud.
2 Getting started
Setting up You have now reached the stage where you can plan how you are going to set up your stud. Your initial investment should be to purchase some ewes; however, this is where the first big mistake, and the most expensive one, can happen. Let’s go back one step before we look at any ewes. You need to make sure the sheep you are intending to breed are suited to your area, not only from an environmental and regional suitability perspective but also from the point of view of developing a successful, well-supported business. It would be pointless to begin breeding sheep that are genetically not suited to your area as subsequently the likelihood of significant ram sales would be limited. It would also be a frustrating exercise to breed sheep that, although suited to the climatic conditions and management constraints of your area, are not the preferred breed for your area or would create marketing problems for producers in your area. Conversely, your region or the market may be looking for something new and different and the right sheep could be a breed that has previously not been considered for your area. Do your research on the studs that are currently within your region, look at how well their rams sell and what their clients are looking for. Once again if the situation is already over supplied, then unless you are planning a very good alternative, the risk of failure is greatly increased. You need to make sure that the type of stud enterprise you are about to undertake has a very good chance of success given that you are embarking on something new, as you will be in the market with other stud breeders in your area who may have been involved in the
6
Breeding Stud Sheep
practice of stud breeding for many years. Set objectives clearly in your mind, make sure they are achievable and that you can deliver a product that is saleable within your area and that is acceptable to commercial producers and their markets. There are a number of other factors that need to be considered before any stud sheep are brought onto the property. Breeding stud sheep is much more labour intensive than commercial sheep production and a lot more costly so there are increased financial risks involved. With any stud breeding operation there is a responsibility for disease control, and the greatest risk of infection from pests and diseases is from both introduced sheep and neighbouring flocks. Boundary fences are particularly important. Stud sheep, especially terminal sire breeds, are often heavier and stronger than commercial sheep and will put greater pressure on fencing, especially during dry times, so ensure the boundary fencing around your property is adequate to prevent your sheep straying. Double boundary fences are a good insurance if you are uncertain of what is over the fence and should make it very difficult for strays to enter your property or for your sheep to escape. Know all your neighbour’s sheep operations and, particularly, whether they are continually introducing outside sheep onto their property from areas known to be at risk from certain notifiable diseases. Make sure you know their ram supplier and their disease status, especially with regard to brucellosis. Remember you are going to be supplying rams to properties outside yours and the purchaser will require an assurance that the rams are disease and parasite free. Internal fences, while not as critical as
A good set of yards with plenty of shade and small holding pens will make working sheep an enjoyable experience.
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boundary fencing, are important from the point of view of ensuring that your sheep stay where they are supposed to be, both at joining and lambing. It is essential that pedigree problems are not as a result of internal fencing problems. Your yards and shearing shed are the next farm structures you need to check before purchasing any ewes. As with boundary fences, stud sheep inevitably place more pressure on yards and the associated shearing shed. Because of the increased amount of time that will be spent with the sheep in the yards, it is important that the yards be strong and functional so that each day spent working there is not one that you are continually dreading. If you are intending to sell rams on farm then you are going to require yards that enable your clients to move sheep around and isolate those that they select. A good set of scales and a strong and sturdy classing race will be invaluable as well as some small holding yards that enable easy handling of small groups of sheep. Ensure you have a good quality loading race, preferably one that is easily adjusted to the differing vehicle heights that will be transporting your rams. The setup of your yards should allow easy and safe movement of selected rams to the loading race. If you are selling sheep at an onfarm auction, a specialised set of pens and sale ring will have to be used. You will be spending more time working with smaller mobs of sheep and lambs, both classing sheep and selecting preferred joining groups, and the setup of your sheep handling structures should facilitate this task. As you will be selling rams to commercial clients, management of your flock takes on an even greater significance. Apart from disease and parasite issues, there are nutritional needs that will have to be met for stud sheep, which are usually larger than commercial sheep and therefore require greater volumes of feed. Rams that are designated for sale will have to be prepared to a condition that shows them at their best come sale time, and the nutrition of ewes and their lambs has to be sufficient to allow them to grow to their potential. Supplementary feeding or good pasture development programs are an important part of any good stud operation. It is also handy to have several small paddocks close to the sheds as these will come in handy at lambing and ram sale time. While all these structures do not have to be in place before you begin developing your stud, it is important that boundary fencing and yards are the number one priority. All the initial financial investment in the sheep, as well as enthusiasm, can be lost very quickly if your new stud flock becomes infected with disease or your ewes are accidentally joined to the neighbour’s mongrel bred sire.
The sheep Perhaps the most exciting step, and one you will have been looking forward to since you first contemplated the idea of establishing a stud, is the purchase of your first ewes.
8
Breeding Stud Sheep
Perhaps the most important initial purchase, your ewes.
There are a number of ways you can go about this; some will be more costly than others and have advantages and disadvantages. You will have already made a decision as to the number of ewes you are going to start with. This number should have been calculated with some degree of caution and not be beyond your financial means. Remember you are venturing into an industry that has a high initial capital cost and requires a period of time to learn the skills that will ensure your success in the future.
Dispersal sales This is often the best way to obtain some of the best genetics that any stud has to offer. At a dispersal sale, all sheep within the stud across all age groups are sold. You are assured that, if the stud has been successful, the sheep are of a good quality. This means they have provided genetics that have been accepted and widely used within the breed, and they have been proven suitable for your area. Dispersal sales can be in two forms: the sale of all sheep as a total flock or individual sheep sold as singles or smaller groups. If you are buying the complete flock, all ewes, sires and often young sheep are included at a set price or sometimes a tendering system is used to determine the value of the flock. If purchasing your
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initial sheep in this manner, you are ready to go and, if the stud has a good reputation, much of the initial groundwork has already been done. Some breed societies will allow the name of the original stud to be transferred to the new owner if all sheep have been sold in a single transaction. The other approach to conducting a dispersal sale is to sell the ewes individually through an auction which gives you the opportunity to select only those ewes you want. The disadvantage with dispersal sales is that it is often the most expensive way to obtain ewes because other sheep breeders attending will also know the merits of some of the genetics and therefore will be competing against you. However, many of the highest prices at a dispersal sale are for the younger ewes and, as ewes of all ages are usually sold, there will be plenty of older ewes later in the sale that will be just as good and better value for money. Obtain a sale catalogue well in advance of the sale date and study it. Familiarise yourself with the sires that have been used and the pedigrees of some of the younger ewes in the catalogue. Chances are there will be some older ewes that have consistently bred progeny that have performed well in the stud over a number of years. Any ewe that has retained its place in a stud for more than four or five years must be producing good progeny and therefore will be a good foundation for any new stud breeder – and often cost less than the younger ewes at the top of the catalogue. If you notice a dispersal sale advertised, do some homework, as it could save you a lot of money and disappointment. It is not too difficult to find out the merits of the stud being dispersed by either talking to another stud breeder, stock agent or a producer in that area. Find out why they are dispersing their stud and the level of success they did or didn’t have in their area. Also check their disease status and investigate any problems they may have experienced by contacting the local vet. You will quickly determine whether they have the quality of sheep that will be an ideal base from which to begin your stud.
Reduction sales These are not that much different to dispersals; the exception is that not all sheep from within the stud are for sale and presumably the better ones are retained within the stud. The reasons for the reduction will give you some idea of the quality of the ewes listed for sale compared with those retained within the stud. There are many reasons why studs reduce the number of ewes they are running and while many just end up with more ewes than they ever intended to run, some studs have reduction sales when they change the manner in which they conduct their breeding programs. The joining of ewe lambs or the introduction of embryo transfer programs will reduce the number of mature age ewes required by a stud to maintain lamb numbers, resulting in an opportunity to purchase ewes that would otherwise stay within the stud flock. Reduction sales are an efficient way to obtain some of the top genetics within a stud given the same conditions that apply
10
Breeding Stud Sheep
to dispersal sales. Once again the younger ewes may cost more than some of the older ewes.
Mated ewe sales Opportunities often arise when studs advertise reduction sales that are listed as mated ewe sales. It is an excellent way to establish a ewe base that is ready to go. It depends on the quality of the stud having the mated ewe sale, but these ewes will often be joined to the top sires within that stud and, if the ewes are scanned-inlamb, you will quickly be able to determine the cost benefits of purchasing ewes due to lamb within a few months of purchase. The big advantage of purchasing ewes in this manner is that if the quality of the sire being used is well known then you may actually be purchasing a ewe carrying a ram lamb that can be retained in your stud for future use, therefore making it unnecessary to purchase a new sire the following year. If the stud is using a performance recording system that allows calculation of the predicted performance of the lamb in utero, you will be better able to assess the expected quality of the unborn progeny as well as the quality of the dam. Also, if the ewes are scanned-in-lamb and multiples identified, imagine the bonus of purchasing a ewe carrying twins with expected high performance figures. Mated ewe sales are not all that common within the stud industry but they are worth looking out for, keeping in mind that you will be paying a little more for the ewes but it is a bit like ‘buy one, get one free’. Table 1 An example of the information that would be available on a mated ewe sale catalogue showing not only the details of the ewe being sold but the joining sire and expected Lambplan performance data of the lamb/s Mated ewe sale catalogue – scanned-in-lamb Lot
Tag
Sire
Dam
S/Dam
Joined to 1 2
3 4
1257/03 3050/04 985/02
L 71/04
3120/04 A83/02 3121/04 A83/02
Growth Fat
Muscle
Index Price Due date (BT)
Lamb index
GP312701 AV 3808/05 119/99
10.9 12.0
-0.5 0.9 -0.2 1.2
155 175
15 June (Tw)
3512/04 L 185/04 (ET)
1209/02 9.2 10.3
0.1 1.5 -0.9 0.2
142 157
3 July (S)
258/94 3901/05
2264/03 11.3 13.2
0.2 -1.0
0.9 1.3
169 180
28 June (Tw)
258/94 3909/05 (AI)
2264/03 11.0 12.9
-0.1 0.1
1.5 1.8
170 183
15 June (Tr)
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Embryo transfer It sounds a little daunting, but stud sheep breeding in today’s environment can be quite technical and the purchase of embryo’s from elite quality studs is probably the only way you are going to start close to the top. In some instances, if you are developing a new breed from overseas, embryo transfer (ET) is the most effective and realistically the only way to increase numbers quickly and so take advantage of the excitement that a new breed generates. With well-established breeds, ET is used to multiply the best genetics within a stud and this results in many more progeny than would have been the case had they relied on natural mating. However, it is the most expensive way in which to start a stud and can hold plenty of disappointments for new breeders. The positives are that there is no purchase of stud ewes or rams required and there is the possibility of selecting the exact genetics you want. To do this the stud must be prepared to organise embryo collection from their ewes and more importantly, you must be prepared to pay for them.
Cast for age ewes We are now at the level that most new stud breeders would consider to be their starting point. Cost wise and value for money, this is probably where most new studs begin and for a good reason. As with older ewes at dispersal or reduction sales, these ewes are the ones that have retained their breeding position over a number of years and therefore you would assume have earned their place in the stud by continually producing good sound progeny during that time. You also now have a wider choice as to which stud or combination of studs you can source your first breeding ewes from. Rather than wait for a dispersal or reduction sale to be advertised, you now have the chance to select from a stud that has the type of sheep you prefer and you can discuss with them the possibility of purchasing some cast for age ewes. Don’t be too surprised if when you approach a stud nearby that they decline to supply you with stud ewes as they may see you as a competitive threat. All studs have an annual cleanout (cull) of ewes that have not performed to expectations or have just been superseded by younger genetics. Some of these studs have long standing arrangements elsewhere to sell off these ewes so you may not have success at the first attempt. As you are usually purchasing cast for age ewes in a bulk lot, the pricing of these ewes is usually lower than would be the case in the competitive auction system at a dispersal or reduction sale. Because of this you may even be able to negotiate, at a cost, to have the ewes joined to a selection of the top rams from the stud.
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Breeding Stud Sheep
Young cull ewes Stud breeders will always have young cull ewes for sale as a result of the initial selection done on young ewe lambs or hoggets. While these may seem attractive from the point of view of longevity, they are the type of ewes that prospective stud breeders should treat with some degree of caution as they are less likely to be the quality of some of the older ewes. This needs to be treated with some flexibility, however, as some studs cull their young ewes very hard in certain years and any decision on the purchasing of these ewes should be made only after consulting with the studs concerned. Particular studs will do an early selection on ewe lambs and then, at a later date, do another selection which removes a proportionally smaller number of ewe hoggets from the flock. Most reputable studs will not sell any young ewes to other stud breeders they consider not suitable for stud breeding, so there is an opportunity to talk to established stud breeders about the possibilities of purchasing younger ewes and you will usually get an honest answer.
Summary Regardless of how you obtain your initial breeding ewes, it is important that you source the best ewes, even if they finish up costing you a little more. A little extra spent when establishing a stud will save you many times that amount in years to come. If you begin with low quality ewes, not only will it increase the cost to improve your sheep genetics but you will always be a generation or two behind where you could have been had you purchased higher quality ewes in the beginning. The rate of genetic gain in some studs is so high that if you purchase older ewes from studs that are not keeping pace with these gains, you could find you are many generations behind where the average for that particular breed currently stands. It would then take a long time to regain lost ground or you may never regain that ground using those initial ewes. The secret here is not to rush in and purchase the first mob of ewes you find. First do some background checking either by visiting a few studs or talking to people who will be able to provide information that will assist you in making the correct decision. Your establishment cost of ewes may not be the cheapest expense but will be the most important. It will determine how your initial ram sales are supported and the reputation that your stud will ultimately develop.
3 Breeding
The development of a highly successful stud is what your sheep breeding objectives should be all about. In a commercial situation rams are placed with a mob of ewes and if you have selected a group of rams that have the genetics to produce lambs that satisfy your market or selection criteria, then, regardless of which ewes they join, the end result will be lambs that are close to what you had hoped for. The major difference between this commercial situation and stud breeding is the approach you take toward breeding objectives. As a stud breeder, you have to think further than just the next generation and what it means financially in the short term. Stud breeding is comparable to predicting the future. The direction and selections you undertake in your breeding program one year will be the base you have to work from for the next generation of your stud breeding program. These genetics, however, will not have any impact in the commercial market for around three to four years. This means that if you are selecting stud genetics to supply flock rams for today’s market preferences, by the time the rams you supply to your commercial clients actually have progeny for sale, the market preferences may have changed. Market preferences are always changing and what suits the commercial buyers today may be unsuitable tomorrow. The challenge in stud breeding is to be progressive and use all the information you can find to determine which direction your stud breeding operation should be taking. It may sound difficult but, in reality, if you are listening to those within both the stud and commercial industries and following the trends of those who have been successful in this industry for many years, chances are you will not go too far off track. The first and perhaps most important lesson when starting a stud is ask lots of questions and be a good listener. Most stud breeders within all sheep
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Breeding Stud Sheep
The start of something better, putting the ram with the ewes.
breeds will offer plenty of help and advice if you take the time to talk to them. Most have probably made mistakes with their own breeding programs and if by listening to their advice you can avoid making the same mistakes, then you are going to get ahead in your own breeding program. With good advice your breeding program could advance at a faster rate and with fewer financial losses. Many new stud breeders view other stud breeders as competition rather than taking the time to talk and mix with them when they will often become your greatest asset. In a stud situation you have a number of alternatives with regard to breeding techniques. Modern advances in reproductive techniques have allowed us to use semen from rams that are not even within our country. We have technology that drastically shortens each generation, and who knows what will be available in the coming years. As a stud breeder it is easy to justify the additional cost of implementing many of these new technologies. The time honoured and simplest way is to select a group of ewes, a ram to complement them and let them get on with it. The use of various management techniques such as teasers is up to the individual breeder but condensed lambing times are an advantage. Most studs prefer to single sire join their ewes so accurate pedigrees can be maintained. The use of syndicate mating is more common in large studs and the use of either crayons or, more recently, DNA matching gives studs the ability to maintain some degree of accuracy with their pedigrees. The use of a harness on your rams will assist in identifying the ewes that have been mated
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and when they are expected to lamb. By changing the colour of the crayon in the harness every time a new one is required, you will be able to sort your ewes into groups that are expected to lamb together. Ram harnesses used in syndicate mating have had some success. However, several rams, each with a different coloured crayon, often results in multiple crayon colours per ewe, which indicates a contested mating and therefore some degree of doubt as to the actual sire of any progeny. The use of teaser rams has traditionally been used to ‘bring on’ the natural cycling within a mob of ewes and many breeders still use teasers to achieve this result. This natural induction of the oestrus cycle condenses lambing time and enables preselected joinings to specific sires by using crayons on teaser rams to identify those ewes currently cycling. The daily routine of identifying these ewes, removing them from the flock and joining them to selected sires is one way, albeit time consuming, of single sire joining your ewes. The oestrus cycle of sheep can now be controlled or synchronised with the use of drugs administered to the ewe. With the use of drugs specifically designed to synchronise all ewes within a mob, we now have a more effective and time-efficient means of controlling the ewes’ oestrus cycle. Your veterinarian or closest breeding centre will advise you as to the best method of achieving this or, alternatively, talk to another stud breeder as to their preference and who they employ to conduct their artificial breeding programs. Don’t be frightened by the technology, it is easier than you may imagine and opens up a whole new level of flock management with regard to sheep breeding. Another method of joining that falls somewhere between paddock mating and artificial insemination (AI) (see below) is what is often referred to as hand mating or synchronised joining. This involves the synchronising of the ewe’s cycle in the same manner that you would prepare ewes for AI and then, rather than put them through an AI procedure, sorting them into small groups and running them either in a yard or in a very small paddock with a single ram for one or two days, or if possible, only until the ewe is served. This method of joining allows the use of a single ram over a much larger number of ewes and the ram is not expending energy chasing ewes around a large paddock for five to six weeks waiting for them to cycle. It also reduces the number of paddocks required if you are separating ewes and rams into individual mobs for single sire matings. Artificial insemination is the next level of joining and it enables the use of sires that you do not physically own or do not have the use of on your property. It involves the synchronising of the ewe’s cycle and the use of, usually frozen, semen to inseminate the ewes, and is carried out laparoscopically by a qualified veterinarian on your property. This is an excellent means of accessing some of the top sires within your breed and lifting the genetic merit of your stud, especially if you have only a small number of ewes to begin with. Most leading studs have an
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Breeding Stud Sheep
Laparoscopic artificial insemination can be carried out in your own shed, provided it is clean and dust free.
annual AI program that will either use top rams from other breeders or rams that have either died or have been sold on to other studs. Following your AI program, a backup ram should be placed with the mob 10–12 days after the procedure. The use of a harness on backup rams provides an indication of both the success of your artificial breeding program and also identifies the ewes that failed to conceive to AI. These ewes served by the backup ram can be drafted off into a mob that will lamb outside the condensed timing of your AI program. Embryo transfer (ET) has been used increasingly over recent years, especially with the introduction of new breeds into Australia. This technique allows the multiplication of the top genetics within your stud at a rate many times faster than natural increase. Embryos are removed from adult ewes that have been encouraged to produce multiple eggs. They are then transplanted into recipient or surrogate ewes or they are frozen for transfer at a later time. This technique can allow a single ewe to produce many progeny in one year, therefore increasing the number of progeny from a selection of your top performing ewes. Juvenile in vitro embryo transfer (JIVET) is also one of the latest techniques used to duplicate top genetics. Ewe lambs, six to 12 weeks of age, are encouraged to super ovulate; their unfertilised oocytes (eggs) are collected, matured and fertilised outside the ewe and then implanted into recipient ewes. This technique allows generation time to be shortened to less than one year, which results in the
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Embryo transfer involves some minor surgery, best conducted in a sterile and controlled environment.
very fast duplication of superior genetics. Consult your veterinarian or breeding centre as to the possibility of undertaking these advanced forms of breeding technology, but be aware that it can become frustrating and costly if results are inconsistent. Strict adherence to the advice of your veterinarian is crucial at this level of breeding technology. There are many theories about how to improve your chances of a successful artificial breeding program, and your breeding centre will be able to assist you in this area. Most AI programs result in an average of 60% conception with close to 100% lambs born due to a higher level of multiple births. Any better than this and you are doing well. The important point to remember is there are no shortcuts, follow exactly what your breeding centre veterinarian advises as they have had the experience of many failures and have decided upon a strategy that works best for
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them. There are, however, some general practices that consistently give good results. Plan your artificial breeding program to coincide with the natural breeding season of the sheep breed you have in your stud. Many sheep breeds are not seasonal breeders and will naturally cycle all year round so the timing of your program becomes a decision based on factors such as feed availability at peak lactation and risk of poor weather at lambing. If you are working with a sheep breed that is a seasonal breeder, attempting artificial breeding programs when the ewes would not normally be cycling will usually result in lower conception rates and therefore increased costs per lamb. Nutrition has a significant effect on conception rate and it is not in the manner you may expect. Do not have your ewes too heavy and avoid a diet high in protein immediately before and after the AI program. It appears that very high protein diets are associated with reduced levels of progesterone (the hormone required for pregnancy), causing reduced embryo quality and increased early embryonic death. Diets high in legume content, particularly lush new growth, but hay as well, may also contain phytoestrogens (plant estrogens) that can affect sperm viability and ovulation resulting in reduced fertilisation and increased embryonic death. Further success is gained by having ewes in a relatively lighter condition before your AI program. Plan to have them gaining weight up to and after the program, with feed that does not contain high levels of protein. It is also good practice not to change feed type around the time of your AI program. Generally once the embryo has ‘stuck’ for two cycles, it is virtually indestructible. Another reason for poor conception rates is stress. Keep your ewes calm and undisturbed for two to three weeks either side of your program. Put them in a paddock on their own, make sure there are no rams anywhere nearby, and both you and your dogs stay well away from them unless absolutely necessary. This practice alone will greatly assist conception rates in your ewes. Once again, follow the directions of your veterinarian and you should enjoy a successful artificial breeding result. As the technology of these new breeding methods becomes more specialised, so too does the cost and, while development of some of these techniques is still proceeding, the success rate can be variable. However, the potential genetic gains are well worth investigating and they need to be compared against those that would be made within a natural joining program. There are many advanced methods being investigated in the area of reproductive technology and just what role they play in the future of the stud sheep industry will become apparent over the next few years. Apart from the common use of paddock joining, AI and ET have been used extensively and are well established and relatively successful within the stud sheep industry. Be prepared to use whatever technology is available to accelerate genetic gain within your flock.
4 Selecting a sire
You now have to make a decision about the direction you are going to take with your initial breeding program and this depends largely on how you purchased your ewes, that is, whether they are already in lamb or not and the number you obtained. If some of the ewes you purchased are in lamb then this decision has already been made, however you still may need to put a ram with these ewes as a backup to ensure they are in lamb. There are a few decisions that now have to be made. First, you need to decide which ram/s to use and second, how are you going to use him once you have chosen the best ram/s for your ewes. Many first-time stud breeders make the mistake of selecting the best ewes they can find and then, having spent most of their initial allowance, look for a cheaper affordable ram to produce their first drop of lambs. If you have made the decision to source the best ewes as a base to begin your stud, why take a backward step when selecting the ram to use over them? Each ewe is only one individual within your stud, the ram could be half the genetics of your whole stud so it is important that a great deal of thought be given to the quality and influence that a ram is going to have on your breeding program. You have a number of options when selecting a ram to generate your initial drop of lambs. If you have selected ewes from a reputable stud and you are confident that the type of ewes are consistent with the direction that you would want your stud to follow, it would be worth asking the stud master from that stud for an opinion on ram selection. The stud master may either have an older sire that is no longer in use or there may be a young sire that is surplus to the stud’s needs. Either way, you will be confident that by using rams from the same stud that you have purchased your ewes from, you are not going to find any surprises when
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lambs hit the ground. You will essentially become a daughter stud to the stud from which you sourced your ewes and the type you admired in that stud will be continued within your new stud. You could also talk to the stud master and ask where they source their outside genetics and whether they have any recommendations or suggestions on where to look for alternative genetics. The advantage in sourcing your initial rams in this fashion is that you are not going to generate a lot of variation in your first generation and, if you happen to obtain the use of an older sire, chances are that he performed well within the stud and will continue to do the same for you. When purchasing young, untested sires there is always the possibility that they will not breed according to expectations. Most stud breeders will admit to at least one outstanding looking sire they purchased, often for big money, which turned out to be a ‘dud’. There is a lot to be gained by using sires that have been tested, that is, have progeny on the ground that have performed according to expectations and have delivered genetic gain in those studs that have used that sire. It is even better if you can source one that has been used in more than one stud as it will immediately give you good performance linkages to those studs. This leads to the next alternative which is the use of artificial breeding techniques such as artificial insemination to generate your first generation of lambs. Your aim should be to breed a ram within your stud that will be good enough to use yourself. Artificial breeding techniques allow new stud breeders access to genetics that are physically and financially out of reach. Every breed
A hard decision, the selection of the best sire for your breeding program.
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society will have registered many sires that have been widely used with that breed and as such, will have a very detailed ‘résumé’ of what you can expect when using that sire. While the use of artificial breeding technology comes at a cost, it is the only way that you can source some of the best sires within a breed and have confidence that they will provide you with the genetic gain that you are going to need to maintain pace with the rest of the breeders within that breed and, as mentioned before, have rams that suit the commercial trends in the years ahead. Depending on the number of ewes, the benefits gained from the use of this form of breeding, even if only from a percentage of the ewes, will outweigh the cost. By aiming to breed a ram good enough for your own stud use, you will not only remove the cost of continually purchasing outside sires but help to set the type and uniformity of sheep within your stud. However, whether you are using artificial breeding techniques or not, you are still going to require a sire to physically run with your ewes either as the main sire or as a backup to your artificial breeding program. Ram selection has always been the source of much discussion, even amongst experienced stud breeders. Every one can have a different view regarding the value or usefulness of a particular sire and there are many examples of where a particular sire has worked for one specific stud and achieved absolutely nothing in another. There are also numerous examples of high profile young sires that were admired by all that saw them as a lamb or hogget, only to fail to reproduce progeny that had any great value. On the other hand there are just as many examples, perhaps more, of young sires that did not catch the eye of the majority of stud breeders and were overlooked by most at sale time, but have produced outstanding progeny consequently elevating that sire to prominence within the breed. ‘Welcome to the profession of stud breeding.’ If you are looking for a magic solution to sire selection – there is none. But there are some guidelines that should be followed when selecting a sire for use within your stud. Obviously, but it needs to be stated, choose a stud ram from a group of potential stud sires. Almost all studs will have a selection of stud sires that they have been closely watching; the remainder will be classed as flock rams. Flock rams are classed this way for many reasons and it may not be immediately obvious. Rarely is a potential stud ram found in the flock ram mob. There are plenty of venues from which you can purchase stud rams. On-property auctions, major shows or feature shows and specialist stud sales are all ideal places from which to source potential stud rams. As with the purchase of your ewes, there needs to be some background work done prior to deciding where you are going to go to purchase a stud ram. Earlier in this chapter the possibility of using a stud ram from the same stud as the ewes was proposed and this would still be a very good, if not the preferred, option depending on which direction you wish to proceed with your breeding program. If you have decided to source genetics from a different
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stud rather than the one you purchased ewes from, then you have already made a decision that will form part of your breeding objectives and you will therefore have a good idea of the type of sire you are looking for. There are a number of factors to consider when selecting the sire that will determine the direction your stud takes and at any sale you will be confronted with two things from which to make a decision. These are the ram itself and usually some type of performance figures to accompany that ram. Both should be considered in some form of balance as both will have a big influence on the future performance of your stud. The physical structure and conformation of the ram should get the first consideration. When you have a number of rams that satisfy these criteria, only then should you have a good look at the performance data and move closer to making a decision. This is where you are on your own and the choice of sire with regard to price and performance is entirely yours. If you are at an auction and have selected a sire that is just what you require, chances are that a few other breeders have also noticed that sire as well. You now have to evaluate the cost of compromising the future quality and reputation of the sheep within your stud or ultimately, just what you are prepared to pay. This decision will also be influenced by the intended purpose of the ram you are trying to purchase. If this sire is a backup ram for your artificial breeding program then the decision will be slightly different than if he is the main sire you will be using in a natural paddock mating program. You can afford to experiment a little with a backup ram; don’t experiment with your main joining sire. Most sires will have pedigree details alongside the performance data and this is important information that should be considered in making a final decision. The issue of performance data and recording will be covered in a later chapter but briefly, this data gives you an idea of how that sire should perform and some confidence that the progeny produced will be what you expect, especially if the pedigree shows a line of sires that have been widely used in that breed across a number of studs. You will often hear auctioneers say, ‘Don’t go home and say “I wish I had been prepared to pay a little more and purchased that sire!”’ At auctions it is often difficult to make decisions and justify them in the relatively short time you have when bidding is progressing. You do have the choice as to whether you attend an auction or contact a stud and visit on a one-to-one basis. By contacting a stud you can make an informed decision without the hassle and competition of the auction system. Usually the prices paid at auction will be higher than if you were to purchase a sire privately from a stud. Even within the auction sale system, prices at sales conducted in association with major shows or feature shows tend to be higher than those conducted on property. Still expect a great deal of variation in price between studs with a high reputation and those without that reputation, even though they may be using similar genetics. You will quickly realise you need to do
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some serious homework before selecting, first which stud to source your sires from, and then which sire to select to be the foundation of your stud. Once your stud has been operating for a few years, you will have a better understanding of the best method of purchasing the genetics you require and the most efficient means of obtaining them. The best advice is not to rush in and buy the first sire you see and think highly of, ask around and establish what else is available.
Return on investment The purchase of a stud sire is always an exciting, albeit nervous, time and often the first consideration is the potential cost. Depending on where you intend to purchase the sire, you will have already arrived at a figure that is the likely expected cost of your selected sire. This figure should take into account the stud’s reputation, the past record and profile of the ram in question and just where you are buying the ram. Unless you are lucky, your estimation of the cost of the particular sire will be more than likely exceeded. What is the upper limit on cost and how do you justify the cost of a particular sire? Many top breeders would answer this question by saying that if the sire is the one they want, then they will not stop regardless of cost; however, get two top breeders with that same attitude and you can guess what happens next. Most experienced breeders, however, will put a limit on a particular sire based on a variety of criteria. The problem is that at major sales, new stud breeders are often selecting as their top choices the same sires that established studs are choosing and, while this is pleasing from the point of knowing that you are selecting the right sires, it becomes disappointing when you are left behind once bidding commences. There are sires that bring top money at auctions and there are those that make average or below, so just how do we justify the money required to purchase a good sire? Unfortunately there is no right or wrong answer. What suits one stud may not suit another and the difficulty is justifying just how much to pay for the sire that suits your stud breeding objectives. If you have decided to buy at auction and not private negotiation, you should have selected more than one sire of interest and a decision must be made beforehand as to what each sire you have selected is worth to you. If the sire in question has all that you are looking for, then you should make some serious efforts to justify the purchase of that particular sire. Quick calculations on the cost per lamb over a set number of years are helpful, but if progeny from your second choice sire that may cost you $15 less per lamb are not what you will be happy with, then you have wasted whatever money you paid. Within certain constraints, if you like a sire for a lot of reasons, make sure you do not walk away from the sale wishing you had just been prepared to pay a little more, or alternatively, have another sire in reserve that is just as good. In all the
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excitement and panic of a sale, it is important to remember that the ram you are intending to purchase must take your stud forward – don’t just make a spur of the moment purchase of any ram because you did not succeed in acquiring the sire you preferred. You are better off walking away without a sire than purchasing one that will not take you forward or worse may even take you backwards. The long-term cost of not making consistent genetic gains is far greater than a few extra dollars paid for a sire that could advance your stud to the next level. It all comes back to assessing what you have within your own stud before making the decision to source rams from another stud. However, most of us have financial limits and if you cannot secure the sire you had selected, there are other alternatives. More than likely the purchaser of ‘your’ ram will be happy to sell semen so you can still use the genetics you liked over selected ewes within your flock. Chances are you will breed a young stud sire that may be even better than the sire you missed out on, and you will have saved yourself quite a few dollars. Let’s now assume you managed to outbid all others and acquire the sire that you had selected and, regardless of the cost, you now have the genetics that you are confident will boost the genetic gain within your stud. There is the possibility that, depending on the sire, other breeders may wish to purchase semen, a decision that is entirely up to you. Whether you market semen from the sire or not, it is good practice to collect semen anyway, not a lot, but just enough to ensure that if the sire has an accident or dies, you still have the genetics that you have so eagerly wanted. It is good insurance to always have some semen collected and stored from rams that you consider worthwhile; you can always throw it out if not required. If the sire you have purchased turns out to be something special and you decide to market semen, you may even cover the cost of your purchase, however the real benefit of this sire will be the influence he will have within your stud. Semen collected from sires you have purchased or your own sires can be stored in liquid nitrogen at a breeding centre indefinitely. The cost of collection and storage is minimal compared to the potential benefits that can be gained by having semen stored. If you have purchased a ram that was prepared for showing prior to being sold, you can often have problems collecting viable semen of a sufficient quality to freeze successfully. This does not mean that the ram will not work in the paddock; all that is required is time for the ram to ‘clean out’ and eventually the quality will improve. The influence of high energy and protein feeds, while essential for show preparation, is not ideal for good quality semen production. The simple fact that rams at shows often spend extended periods in warm sheds, sitting on straw most of the day, tends to overheat the testes and consequently reduce semen quality. The ideal time to collect semen is before the hotter weather begins and this usually coincides with the season when rams are not required to serve ewes. Semen
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quality is usually better and it is easier for the rams when temperatures are cooler. Overfed rams will also produce lower quality semen so it is never a good idea to have your stud rams, or any rams, too heavy. The collection of semen is very good practice and will ensure that you are never left wondering what that young sire that died unexpectedly could have done for your stud.
5 Joining strategies
The region and climate in which you are situated will determine the time of joining/lambing and this should tie in with the optimum time to sell flock rams. The important thing to remember is that a short condensed lambing is more desirable than an extended one. This will result in a more even mob of flock rams at sale time with little evidence of immature or stunted animals in your mob due to vastly different age groups. From the point of management and selection issues, it is much easier to work with a group of lambs that are similar in age, and the visual effect it will have on clients selecting rams will benefit your reputation as your rams will always look very even. The manner in which you join ewes will depend primarily on the number you have. A small mob of ewes may either all be joined to a single ram or put through an artificial insemination program then one ram used as a backup at some time later. If you have the rams available or have a larger mob, there are substantial advantages in using more than one ram. Not only does this give you a much greater genetic diversity to draw on in future generations but it will also provide an opportunity to make accurate comparisons between the genetic merits of the sires you are using. If you are only using the one sire, these performance comparisons are not able to be made accurately, unless you are using across-flock performance recording systems. How you select which ewe will be paired to which ram is largely the ‘magic’ that will determine how well you will succeed and how you will be regarded as a stud breeder. There is no set rule. How you approach this exciting phase of stud breeding is what will make you different from all other stud breeders. You will already have in your mind the type of sheep you want to breed, and you will have
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selected the ewes and sires to help you achieve this. Now it is just a matter of putting theory into practice. This can be achieved by using a number of breeding techniques but basically you will be breeding to an average. That is, combining the two extremes together in the hope that the progeny will be an average of the ewe and sire. There is no such thing as the perfect sheep – although we all hope to breed one eventually – so given that all our sheep have minor faults in some area, the art of successful breeding is to minimise or eliminate those faults through corrective mating. We are not talking about serious structural faults as these should not be present in any breeding animal, rather some small imperfection or superficial fault that can be tolerated in your mob but needs to be corrected through selective mating. To successfully achieve this correction, some knowledge of the heritability and correlations of a whole range of factors within the physical and genetic makeup of the sheep is an advantage. Many breeders have spent countless years developing their own ideas and theories with regard to some of the correlations and, even today, new ones are being discovered with the increasing use of performance records linking many physical traits to the actual expression of specific genes that cannot be easily measured. What are some of the factors that we should keep in mind, if we are joining to an average? It should be noted that almost every livestock breed has been through times when there have been radical changes in the ‘ideal’ type. A few of these changes have had negative consequences for a short period of time but not all breeders within the particular breed have followed the trend and they have therefore remained on track with their long-term breeding program. The changes in ‘what is ideal’ are often as a result of changes in consumer demand and in an attempt to satisfy a changing market preference radical changes are made to the makeup and conformation in an attempt to meet these demands. While there are a few that have not been successful and long lasting, there are plenty of examples where a change in direction has been to the benefit of all. The breeding correlations are too numerous to mention but, depending on which breed you are involved with, there will be several major factors that determine the profitability of that sheep breed. These factors are likely to include growth, muscling, fat, weight of wool cut, micron and fertility. Obviously there are other factors for each breed type that are important, and these may or may not come into consideration within your breeding program and will have a different ranking placed on them depending on what you are aiming to achieve. Your task as a stud breeder is to ascertain the main economic drivers within your breed and maximise the effect these are going to have in the sheep you breed. Your breeding program should be aiming to achieve this first and foremost and all other considerations should follow. If your clients are not making a profit using
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the rams you provide to them, then you will more than likely end up breeding sheep as a hobby. There are no right or wrong breeding aims or objectives, but you will often hear general comments relating to what most breeders would consider the ideal in all breeds of sheep. These may include descriptions such as:
• •
sheep that stand square, on correct pasterns with long, deep bodies, wellsprung ribs and a good skin type sheep that are structurally correct in all areas and display all the attributes of the breed standard.
These are all wide ranging starting points and you will more than likely hear some sheep judges making statements such as these, but they do not really tell you a lot about the type of sheep you should be aiming for. The actual definition of what constitutes an ideal sheep is much more complicated than a general description and will vary depending on the breeder. The direction you take with your breeding objectives from here will largely depend on the following:
• • • •
your own assessment about market requirements the area or climate in which you are running your sheep where you think future trends may go possible opportunities to develop a specialist market or idea that is new to the industry.
As a stud breeder you will have the opportunity to not just follow trends, but develop and experiment with ideas that you consider may not only have some benefit to your enterprise, but also to your ram clients as well. Having identified the main commercial factors relevant to your breeding program, you will find that many of these, if not all, have correlations to other physical and genetic characteristics and these will help you identify their presence or absence. For example, there are general correlations between body length and muscling, leanness and growth rate, adult weight and wool micron. These correlations can be further related back to many physical traits such as bone length and thickness, and distances between certain areas on the sheep – and so the list grows. Once again by associating with and listening to fellow stud breeders, you will quickly learn to recognise these factors and how they can be used in your joining strategy. Some correlations will work in your favour, some against your objectives. Your task as a stud breeder is to find those sheep that ‘break the mould’ for a lot of these correlations and have them all working to your advantage. Generally speaking if an animal looks in proportion and is ‘easy on the eye’, then there is often not much to fault. You will also probably become familiar with a whole list of terms such as ‘hybrid vigour’, ‘line breeding’ or ‘inbreeding’, ‘outcrossing’, ‘family lines’,
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‘corrective mating’ and many more that relate to the manner in which stud breeders explain their joining or breeding strategies. While many of these terms are self-explanatory and some may not apply to your situation, you should be aware of the benefits and limitations of each of these breeding terms. Hybrid vigour, or heterosis, does not apply in the true sense to most stud breeding operations as we are breeding ‘pure bred’ animals. If, however, we are producing terminal sires for use in the prime lamb industry then lamb producers who use our rams will experience ‘hybrid vigour’ in their lambs when two different breed types are combined to produce a crossbred. The result is a greater than expected growth rate due to the combination of two totally different gene pools that allows the dominant genes to express themselves and, therefore, the progeny is better than the average of each parent. While the increased performance is obvious and produces an advantage in the first generation, it does not produce the same magnitude of effect in subsequent generations. There is, however, a means in which we can go some way to duplicate the effect of hybrid vigour in our stud breeding operation without the use of an outside breed. If we have developed a number of distinct breeding or family lines that have had no outside introduction of common genetics for many generations and we combine or outcross these two lines together, effectively we have created a similar situation to the crossing of two totally different gene pools and the resulting progeny will exhibit some degree of hybrid vigour. Once again the effect will diminish quickly in subsequent generations, so there needs to be some caution when analysing these first-cross progeny. For the commercial producer, this hybrid vigour will translate into greater productivity and profits. For the stud breeder, while it may produce more outstanding looking sheep, you need to be aware of the effect that hybrid vigour has had in generating the phenotypic differences and that it may not be passed on to the next generation. This is also one factor that needs to be considered when selecting rams so as to ensure that the visual effect you are seeing is not because of some degree of hybrid vigour due to the combination of two totally different breeding lines. Most sheep breeds, especially terminal sires, have a high degree of common sire usage so to find distinctly different sire lines within a breed is unusual. The Merino breed is more likely to have unique breeding lines that have had no outside introductions for many generations. Line breeding or as it is sometimes called, inbreeding, are terms you will hear often within the stud breeding industry. It is essentially the opposite of outcrossing which produces hybrid vigour, in that rather than expanding the genetic diversity, you are increasing the likelihood that any two copies of a given gene will be from the same parent line. Within the stud industry across all livestock breeds, line breeding and inbreeding are the time honoured and traditional means by which most breed improvement has been made in the past. A study of the pedigrees of almost any outstanding and renowned champions, whether they are horses, dogs,
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cattle or cats, will reveal the appearance of a common ancestor multiple times within the pedigrees. Line breeding using related ancestors increases the incidence of the ‘good’ genes and the resulting progeny will appear more uniform, will look just like their parents and will have retained all the good characteristics of their parents. The one problem with line breeding is that when you are attempting to increase the incidence of these good genes, there may be some defective genes that are also accumulating and this can result in problems with future generations. We have all heard of the problems associated with excessive inbreeding resulting in deformities and genetic problems. Consistent line breeding may also have a negative impact on commercially relevant traits such as growth rate and fertility. There is an old saying that ‘it is called line breeding until something goes wrong and then it becomes inbreeding’. Generally speaking when breeding stud sheep, the use of line breeding to set type and good commercial traits has some usefulness but due to the very diverse and complicated gene pool in most sheep breeds, it should be treated with caution and subsequently used with care. Corrective mating is basically the principle that all stud breeders use in breeding programs, and will continue to use as a natural course of action to breed to a flock average. It is the combination of a sire and a dam where one animal excels in the areas where the other has some weakness and this results in the correction of the weak point and, therefore, greater uniformity within the flock. As we are often breeding to the flock average when using corrective mating, genetic gain becomes limited but it does allow the use of individual stud animals that have plenty to offer but may have a weakness in just one area. The natural course of thinking when you appraise two individual animals is to combine the two extremes and produce progeny that have all the good points of both parents without any undesirable traits. Corrective mating goes some way to producing this, but in reality, there will be some degree of variation in the resulting progeny and your task is then to select the ones that fulfill most of the objectives and characteristics you are attempting to produce. The practice of selecting which sire to join to which ewe can also be assisted with the use of performance data. Not only will most performance records give you a good picture of the pedigree of the animal but an idea of the potential genetic merit of each individual animal. Performance recording will be covered in the next chapter, but by using these records alongside the phenotypic matching of sire and dam, you can expect progeny that are both physically and genetically matched. There are currently many stud breeders selectively joining stud animals simply with the use of these pedigree and performance records. The next decision is how to organise your joining program to achieve the greatest genetic gain. The average age of your flock will have a big effect on the potential gain you can expect. If you have founded your flock with cast for age ewes and an established sire, then this aspect of your breeding program has already
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been decided and the quality of genetics will be sufficient to get you started – but be mindful of the fact that the younger the average age of your flock, the greater the potential genetic gains. By continually using young sires in your breeding program, you are progressing to some extent toward maximum genetic gain as your young sheep should always be better than the previous generation. It is good policy to use young hogget sires every year, or at maximum a new young sire every second year. Unless a sire is exceptional, he will only be slowing your genetic progress if he is continually used for more than two years. The highest genetic gains are made by joining ewe lambs to ram lambs. The use of this strategy will depend on many factors including environment, breed and feed availability. Ram lambs will generally work at six months of age and ewe lambs can be joined successfully once they reach 40 kilograms live weight. The joining of a portion of your ewe lamb flock will allow you to reduce the number of mature age ewes needed to generate the same number of potential lambs as the young ewes are not being held until they are 18 months before joining. However, ewe lambs that are joined early must be managed suitably to avoid potential stunted adult growth and to give them the best opportunity to rear a lamb to a good standard. The same applies to the young rams and, while their desire to work is insatiable, they need to be watched closely and not overworked. By maintaining the average age of your complete flock below three and a half years (that is, the average age of all your ewes plus the average age of your ram flock divided by two), you will be making good genetic gain. Continually classing your flock to maintain the youngest ewe base possible and selecting new young sires will ensure that each generation is better than the previous one and the sheep quality within your stud will continue to improve.
6 Performance recording
Performance recording is an area in the stud breeding industry that has undergone dramatic change in recent years. The mundane task of analysing all the physical records and measurements that was once very time consuming and often not all that accurate has now become easier and much more efficient with the increased use of computers. Computer analysis of a whole range of measurements has not only increased the speed of the calculation of trends and predictions, but has also enabled a large number of other traits and characteristics to be analysed against each other. WAKEFIELD PARK-940427 WOOLUMBOOL-988017 WOOLUMBOOL-955289 Sire: ANDEN-020083 LEAHCIM-980195 ANDEN-000034 ANDEN-980834 Animal: PENDARRA-043050 ANNA VILLA-962291 ANNA VILLA-990119 ANNA VILLA-960027 Dam: PENDARRA-011646 KOONAWARRA-960042 PLG-990119 PLG-960275
A minimum of sire, dam, and sire of dam should be included in a pedigree.
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All stud breeding operations should have some form of performance recording system in place. It is not possible to evaluate successfully large numbers of animals by eye and expect to find the elite animals within your flock. You need some form of physical record and at least a simple analysis of these records. Pedigree recording is the simplest form of performance recording with details of how particular crosses performed. There are numerous examples in all studs of particular breeding lines that continually produce outstanding stud progeny and these lines, usually a line of ewes, may not necessarily be the best looking ewes or the ones you would expect to be the top breeding ewes in your flock. This is where the task of performance recording is invaluable. It is not always possible to predict accurately the breeding capabilities of any animal just by their appearance. This is not to say that a lot cannot be learned by evaluating the specific structure and traits that particular sheep physically display, and plenty of good stud breeders have backed their judgement and been proven correct over many years. After all, the modern concept of performance recording has only been used to its maximum capabilities since the introduction of computer analysis. In the many decades of sheep breeding prior to this development there was only the individual eye or preference of the individual breeder and the most basic of performance measurements on which to make judgements, and yet some exceptional sheep were bred using this time honoured method. Many of the older generation sheep breeders still prefer to use their eye and just the basics of performance recording as a means for selection of superior lines of sheep. For those who are not as confident and do not have the experience that is needed for such selections, it is useful to have a system that delivers some form of real evidence and data to assist us in making selections which will provide superior sheep for the next generation within our stud. What records then do you need to provide the information that will give you the best chance of identifying the superior sheep within your flock and the overall genetic merit of your flock? First, the eye is the best indicator of what you consider to be a good sheep. If a sheep is not balanced or appealing to the eye, then it will not be the type of sheep that you will be satisfied to retain as a foundation on which to build the future of your flock. Your personal preference for type and balance will determine which sheep you keep in the ‘possible’ list as prospective sires or dams for future breeding programs. Hopefully you will have plenty of these ‘possibles’ to select from and the task is now to find the outstanding sheep within this selection – sheep that will lift your flock to the next level. After all, this is what stud breeding is all about, improving each generation significantly so that you are keeping pace or perhaps leading the way in genetic improvement within the specific sheep breed that you are involved in. You will now have a mob of ewes and rams that physically meet all the criteria of visual appeal, structure, conformation and type and ideally you will have more
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A sire that looks good in the paddock is a very good starting point when deciding what makes a good sheep.
than you need, which will give you the opportunity to cull out sheep that you would otherwise be tempted to retain within your stud. Pedigree information will initially give you some indication as to which sheep will give you the best results, but without any real data on the commercial aspects relating to your sheep breed and how each individual sheep rates on these, you will be making decisions without any real certainty or confidence. You need to be able to compare individual sheep within your mob taking into account the commercial aspects of production and the specific advantages or traits of each sheep. Depending on the breed of sheep we are dealing with, these are likely to include growth rate (weight), fleece weight, micron, muscle depth, fat depth, and a series of measurements to do with fertility and maternal aspects. The list of potential measurements is endless but without some record of these on each individual animal, you will not be able to make these important decisions. In the current agricultural climate of increasing emphasis on commercial efficiency and making every dollar count, every aspect of an individual breed that can be measured and shown to have a commercial relevance should be recorded and analysed. You should be aware of which aspects these are within your breed, and chances are there will be means of obtaining these measurements and having them
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statistically analysed. Analysis of these individual components of production and how they in turn become commercial advantages for your clients will determine which individual animals will be retained within your stud. When selecting a potential stud sire, he will have to be close to the top of the list for all the commercial traits considered; with your potential breeding ewes, you can afford to be a little more lenient and allow for some corrective mating to reach your ideal mix of commercially relevant traits. Just how you analyse the data you have collected is a matter of personal choice. There are a few stud breeding operations that have developed their own methods of analysing this collected data. However, in the current livestock industry, virtually all breeds have employed some form of universally recognised performance recording system that assists selection for increased production and has commercial benefit to the producers. The chicken and dairy industry are prime examples where commercially relevant traits have been identified and then used through performance recording to increase dramatically the dollar returns to commercial producers. There are currently several types of commercially available performance recording systems in the sheep industry and all will give a more accurate assessment of an individual animal’s commercial worth than if you just use visual assessment. Without going into the specific details of each system, they all have the capability to compare the relative aspects of commercial production that each animal displays, which allows decisions to be made based on fact rather than just guesswork. Most performance recording systems will analyse measurements of the commercial traits (e.g. animal growth rates, wool micron and fleece weight, fat and muscle depth and fertility) and give each individual sire or dam a rating on each of these. Some systems allow the combination of a number of these ratings to give a relative ranking which is relevant to the specific sheep industry or targeted market. With this information, you now have not only a visual assessment of each individual, but a genetic picture of what can be expected from that animal. Many factors will have an impact on the visual appearance of an individual. Whether they are a single, twin or triplet; whether they are reared by a ewe lamb, maiden ewe or mature aged ewe; and the environment and feed availability in which they are reared to weaning and beyond will all impact on the visual appearance of your sheep. With the assistance of performance recording, you will be able to make accurate decisions on which individual animals are the best to lift the genetic merit of your stud. It will also enable you to identify those animals that are not performing. Below is a list of measurements you should be recording on all young sheep within your mob. The measurements listed here will not be relevant to all commercially available analysis systems or sheep breeds but may become useful at some point.
Per formance recording
• • • • • •
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Pedigree information is a must in any stud breeding operation and there are numerous programs that will assist in the keeping of these records. It is important that these records are accurate and complete. Birth information such as date of birth, birth type (single, twin or triplet) and any birth difficulty or deaths. Birth weight can also be useful as well as the temperament or behaviour of the dam with respect to mothering ability. Growth rate as measured by weighing lambs at various growth stages, as a minimum usually at weaning, some time after weaning and as a hogget. Fleece weight and micron measurement at some point, usually between six and 12 months. Other characteristics on individual fleeces are also useful even if they are not able to be entered into a performance recording system. Measurements of carcase characteristics such as muscle and fat development and length of various important areas within the carcase. Any trait that you consider important to your breed of sheep or your stud enterprise. It is easier to record information and disregard it than to realise you should have collected it and try to make decisions without it.
You can never collect too much information on individual animals. Once you have all this information you can decide which sheep to retain within your stud, which are the prospective stud sires, and even how to mate these sires to your ewes. The manner in which you store all this information will depend on how you have collected and analysed it. With the use of a computer it is very easy to store large amounts of data and pedigree information and you will have it at your fingertips whenever you wish to access it. Computer use also greatly assists in the accuracy of data and the speed at which you can both enter and access information. However, most studs still record information initially in small notebooks or stud books and prefer to keep a separate record of all raw data in these books. This not only allows a duplicate record of all information, but it is useful for making individual observations that may not be analysed by traditional computer analysis. These records are often more practical than a computer when working in the yards or the shed and they provide instant access to records. How you keep these records will depend on your personal preference. Many stud breeders use books that can be kept in files and some develop a card system for individual sheep, but whichever system you use, never throw out any information collected on your sheep as you will find yourself referring to past records constantly. Record keeping and performance recording is one of the most important aspects of your stud breeding operation and one that will determine how your stud is perceived and how its reputation develops with clients. You need to decide which system will give you the results you require. Any performance recording system is better than none, and while you can develop a
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system of your own, you are better to use one of the recognised systems available commercially – there are advantages and disadvantages in all systems. The decision comes down to what you want to gain from the results you are going to obtain from these systems. You do need to do some background investigation on just how each system works, the information that is required and what information you will get back. All will require varying amounts of data collection, and as with any form of statistical analysis, rubbish in is rubbish out. It is important to remember that you will be collecting your own information and it needs to be as accurate as you can manage. Your records will be considered the most accurate and those doing any analysis will treat your data as the ‘absolute truth’. Although all performance recording systems available will give you an indication of the genetic worth or performance of an individual animal, just how this information is presented and the way it is interpreted can be vastly different. There are systems that analyse commercially relevant information at one point in the development of an individual’s growth pattern, while others take into account environmental and physiological factors and make adjustments for these. There are some systems that estimate the commercial value of an individual animal and rank all individuals accordingly. The system you choose should be one that you feel best suits your objectives. One thing is certain – all will come at a cost and regardless of the expense, you should not compromise to make any savings on performance analysis. Performance recording is one aspect of stud breeding that will give you the best indication of not only which are the outstanding individuals within your flock but just how you rate across all others within your breed. Having said that, do not make stud breeding a competition between you and other sheep studs if the performance recording system makes comparisons between sheep within or across breeds. You must never lose sight of the fact that you have to breed sheep that are suited to your area and if that means breeding sheep that do not reach the performance levels of those from more favourable areas, then you have to accept that fact and concentrate on using the performance data to fine tune your breeding program to your specific situation. Performance recording will provide you with an indication of the genetic potential of an individual animal and how it will benefit you. Your task is to establish just which indicators are relevant to your environment or region and select your sheep accordingly.
Benchmarking All performance recording systems will at some point rank all your animals in a specific order depending on the relative emphasis or balance as it relates to the commercial traits measured. At the most basic level of comparison, you will have a few animals at the top of your list right down to the ones at the bottom. Unless you have measured just a single trait and ranked your animals on that trait alone, it is
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important to note that the top performance animals will not be identical for the mix of commercial traits identified as relevant to your enterprise. For example, the mix of growth, muscle and fat in terminal sires may be very different amongst the top individual animals even though they all have a similar ranking. Similarly, individual fleece weight, micron and comfort factors will vary between individual animals at the top of your list with respect to wool sheep. Your task as a stud breeder is to identify the specific commercial traits that are relevant to your stud breeding enterprise, evaluate how they are likely to impact on the profitability of your clients, and tailor the selection of your top sheep to ensure that you are matching genetic makeup of your selections to both your clients’ needs and the climatic constraints of your specific region. There is nothing to be gained by having a mob of top performing, elite animals that are totally unsuited to your agricultural area or your clients’ objectives. Good for the ego but not good for the ultimate success of your stud enterprise. Once you have performance records, you are now able to select individual animals with the confidence that both physically and genetically, they are the best sheep to fit in to your breeding program. You can also be confident that you are using the best genetics within your flock, but how do these sheep compare to the genetics being used by other flocks? Performance recording of individual animals within your flock and analysing them within your flock does not provide you with any indication of how your sheep compare to those from other breeders. Commercial testing of sires from different studs is, in the most basic form, done by commercial clients who source their rams from different studs each year, but it is too late when your new ram client does not return the following year because your genetics did not match those from another stud. While stud breeding is primarily an individual task, you need to have some idea as to how the performance of the genetics you are using compare to those from other studs. Benchmarking your sires against proven sires from reputable studs is the only way to establish just where the performance of your sheep ranks against those from other studs. If you are promoting what you consider to be your best sires, then you need to have confidence that these sires will compare favourably with the leading sires from other studs. There are a number of means that you can use to benchmark or compare the performance of your sheep to those from other studs. The purchase of a young sire from another stud would, on the surface, seem to be a good way of introducing a new sire that could be used for comparison with some of your home bred sires. Untested young sires, while they may have performance data, are just that – untested. Over the years many top young sires have not performed as expected, which results in a fall in their performance figures and disappointment for the purchaser. However, the reverse can also occur and the young, untested sire may perform close to his performance data or even
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above that level. Nevertheless, this young untested sire will still require some degree of benchmarking against older sires to give a degree of confidence in his genetic value to your stud, and just where his true level of performance stands. The pedigree of the young sire and reputation of the stud from which he was purchased will have a big influence on the accuracy of his individual performance figures and if the stud is retaining or has used a related sire, or used this sire as a ram lamb, then you should have increased confidence in the performance of the young sire. If by chance other breeders are requesting semen from the young sire then you have a great opportunity to benchmark your new sire against genetics from other studs. The advantage of sharing genetics between studs is great, whether it is through a joint purchase of a sire or selling semen, and it allows direct comparisons of the same sire within different studs under different conditions. The first drop of lambs from a newly purchased sire will quickly indicate just how well your ‘home bred’ sires are performing compared to other sires within your breed. The best and most accurate way to benchmark your sheep is to undertake an artificial insemination program using a selection of well-used, highly accurate sires from within your selected breed, or even outside your breed if regulations allow. All sheep breeds will have a group of sires that have been used by many studs over many years and therefore will have a high reputation and some degree of certainty or accuracy regarding what to expect from these sires. The use of these highly accurate sires will provide a good benchmark enabling you to not only compare the performance of your sires against a proven sire but also compare your sheep with other studs that have used this sire in their breeding program. The confidence you can gain by observing your top sire selections comparing well with proven sires cannot be underestimated and once you have created a genetic link between your stud enterprise and other renowned studs, you may find you are not as far behind on performance as you may have thought and you will now have some good genetics from which to select your next generation. Not all performance recording systems cater for across-flock linkages and comparisons through computer analysis of data; however, you can still obtain a reliable comparison just by discussing with other stud breeders the relative success of a specific commonly used sire in your breeding program. The sharing of genetics either through artificial insemination or the joint purchase of sires is a good way of ensuring that the performance of your stud is close to that of other studs within your area. Many breed societies have programs where groups of breeders share the genetics from their young sires and, from the standpoint of benchmarking the performance of your sheep, these programs are invaluable. This however does not have to be an initiative from the breed society as there is nothing to stop a group of like-minded breeders in an area or region initiating their own shared breeding program to benchmark the performance of sheep within the studs involved.
7 Sheep selection
It is perhaps timely to be reminded at this stage that performance data is just one aspect of the selection process and you should not use this as the ultimate selection criteria. The best advice is that performance data is just one item you have in your ‘Tool box’ and it is not, and should never be, the only selection tool. You should use it as part of an extensive list of selection criteria and avoid selecting individuals just on the basis of performance data. It is no good having a flock of sheep that look good on paper but are not structurally correct, have poor conformation or are just not suited to your environment. When selecting individual sheep or potential stud rams, you should first rank them or select them visually and disregard any that do not meet strict standards for structural conformation and physical appearance. Only then, when you have a shortlist, should you compare the performance data on these individuals. You will then develop an even shorter list of sheep – one that you are happy with from both a visual and performance perspective. The selection of a potential stud ram is perhaps one that will take some time to work through, after all this stud sire will be responsible for a significant proportion of the future genetics of your stud. Don’t get too apprehensive about this as you will quickly realise that most stud breeding contains some degree of trial and error and not all mistakes are a lost cause. Remember, even the best selection process can result in a less than ideal result and there are many examples where a young sire that was not a first choice has come through to produce outstanding results. That’s the fascination of playing with genetics; you never know exactly how the individual genes are going to perform.
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Working through a selection of potential stud sires to find the best one for your breeding objectives.
The selection of the young ewes you are going to retain as future breeding stock allows you a little more scope to experiment. While your potential stud ram is going to be producing countless numbers of progeny, any ewe you retain will more than likely only produce one or two offspring in the first year therefore allowing you more room for error, or as it should be called, trial and error. If all has gone according to plan, you will have more young ewes than you are planning to retain and therefore some degree of culling is necessary. Just how many of these young ewes you cull will depend on which direction your stud is going. If you are increasing ewe numbers, you will need to cull lighter than if you are maintaining your current numbers. Regardless of which situation you are catering for, there are certain criteria that should be followed. Sheep from younger generations should theoretically be genetically superior to the older sheep within your mob and therefore selection of replacement ewes should be made accordingly. You should not be retaining older sheep that are inferior to the younger ewes unless you have a good reason for doing so. You will be better served to cull heavier on older ewes if you are able to maintain numbers just by selection within your young ewe flock.
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You now have to determine what criteria you are going to use to select those young ewes that you are going to retain in your stud. Faced with a yard full of young ewes, you can be forgiven for wondering just where to start. The best starting point is to put the performance records away and draft off approximately the top one-third (of the number that you are intending to keep) on visual appearance. Then, with the performance records still out of sight, draft off the obvious bottom or tail of the mob that either through structural faults, bad type or lack of visual appeal you would not be prepared to keep. You will then be left with a number of ewes that will require a little more consideration as to whether they stay or go. It is now the right time to go and fetch the performance records and, using a combination of visual assessment and performance data, you will make up the required numbers to satisfy your requirements. Using this system, you should not have ewes in your culls that you are unhappy to see sold off the property, and consequently you should see a huge difference between the sheep you are retaining and those you are selling off or culling from your young ewe flock. Selection of older ewes or cast for age ewes is a little different and requires some form of reference to past breeding performance. As mentioned previously, your younger generation sheep should be genetically superior to your older ewes and therefore the choice of whether to retain an older or younger ewe is made easy. However, there will be some older ewes that consistently produce superior progeny and therefore will fall into the same category as your young ewe selection criteria – as ewes that are retained regardless of any outside performance data. Any older ewes that have outlived their usefulness are the first consideration to be culled, regardless of their ‘sentimental’ value within your stud. It is then just a simple matter of going through the records to select those ewes that are not producing progeny that comes up to standard and culling them until you reach the numbers you require. Good detailed records will identify those mature ewes that consistently have lambing problems or fail to rear a lamb. Be severe on ewes that are not producing at the level that you would like. Many studs only give maiden ewes one chance to have a lamb, two seasons without rearing a lamb and they are culled. These studs inevitably have very high fertility rates within their flock and a more condensed lambing. You will also have older ewes that, although they may have produced a lamb each year, have progeny that is consistently below average quality and these ewes should be considered as culls to improve the overall standard of your flock. The use of performance data and pregnancy scanning ewes prior to lambing will provide valuable information to assist in the decision as to which of your mature age ewes to retain. Unlike a proportion of your young cull ewes, there is often a good market for cast for age ewes and you should even consider selling them joined in lamb to some of your better sires. Never be reluctant to sell older ewes in preference to retaining younger ewes of similar quality.
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Selecting the right sheep How often do we hear potential ram buyers using the selection criteria, ‘just select the biggest’? And why shouldn’t this make sense, bigger rams have theoretically grown more quickly than the rest and therefore potentially should sire faster growing lambs. The problem with this view is that it is based purely on phenotypic appearance and doesn’t take into consideration the environmental factors that impact growth, fat, muscle, wool growth, micron, etc. How do you know that what you select by visual assessment is actually genetically better? Does it mean if you buy rams that are heavier this year, your lambs are going to grow more quickly? More than likely the increase is due to better nutrition or factors associated with events that occurred early in the lamb’s life, not entirely due to genetic merit. If you ask yourself the following questions, the task of selecting high performance sheep using visual comparisons becomes more complex.
• • • •
Most rams are sold between eight and 18 months, so when did they do most of their growing? Are the sheep I am looking at from single or multiple births? Sheep that are singles are likely to be bigger than twins and especially bigger than triplets; however, they may be genetically similar. Studs begin lambing at different times of the year and there may be a large age spread both between and within studs. Can I visually make allowances for sheep born up to six months apart? What effect did the mothering ability of the dam have on the important early growth of her lamb? The age of the dam will also have an effect on the early growth rate and subsequent size of her progeny.
As you can see, the selection of a new sire or your ‘keeper’ ewes, whether from your own flock or another stud, has just become a lot more complicated. Or has it? We have talked about the use of performance data and, regardless of what form it takes, it should at least include various individual weights and information on birth type and ewe identification and this will give you some initial selection criteria. When confronted with a mob of ewes or rams that contain sheep of varying ages and weights, is it possible that one of the smaller sheep is genetically superior to the ‘biggest and longest’ sheep in the mob? Not only is it possible, it is highly probable. With the use of a performance recording system, much of the variation caused by many external influences can be filtered out or compensated for. It is possible to adjust information to account for many of the environmental factors that may influence phenotypic appearance.
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These adjustments include:
• • • • •
animal age birth type (single, twin, triplet) age and mothering ability of the dam management history and nutrition effect of different property locations.
Selecting the ewes you intend to retain in your stud, a young stud ram from your flock or a stud ram at a sale is an exciting time. Before you make any initial judgements, be aware of the external influences that can affect the physical appearance of individual sheep. It may be that the majority of differences you see are the result of genetics but having some performance data will confirm any decisions you make. The selection of a young stud ram from your flock is usually fairly easy and you should be careful not to make it more difficult than necessary. It will be one of a few potential young sires that you have been watching since the day they were born, however it is sometimes surprising what you discover when you go right through your complete ram mob with an open mind. A few top stud rams across all breeds have been a last minute selection from the ‘flock ram’ mob, having been overlooked previously. New stud breeders are often reluctant to select replacement stud rams from their own mob, especially early in the development of their stud, instead preferring to select top rams from other, more established studs. While this is not to be discouraged, don’t underestimate the quality of rams within your own mob. Many new stud breeders have outlaid money on a new stud ram only to find that the ‘smaller’ homebred ram they tried over a few ewes from their own mob has outperformed him. If you have selected the right genetics in the first instance and used either a good stud sire or artificial insemination to produce your lambs, then there is no reason why the best rams in your mob will be inferior to those you see from other, more established studs. Never underestimate your own flock, after all they have all been grown out under your conditions and your top performers are best suited to those conditions – why wouldn’t you use them? Selection of a ram from your own mob is relatively easy once you appreciate there is every chance that the top rams in your mob may be the same standard, or perhaps better, than those from other studs. Selecting your home bred rams for stud use within your flock is a significant phase in the development of your sheep stud and one that will eventually make your genetics unique and different from others. There will be times in the management of your stud and the selection of genetics where you will need to take some calculated risks; if you have selected the right genetics initially, the risk in using your own stud sire will not be too great. If you have any doubts,
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never be reluctant to get a second opinion from a fellow stud breeder or someone whose judgement you value highly. What about selecting the ewes you wish to retain? This can be a little more daunting as you have probably not been paying the same attention to your ewe mob and you are not just looking for one outstanding sheep to retain in your stud. The selection of ewes has already been covered but the same principles should apply as those for sire selection. There is nothing better than a group of classed ewe hoggets to give you great pride in your breeding efforts, and the realisation that these are the future of your stud. Selection of the right sheep does not just mean selecting those that you consider look good. They must be suited to the many variables that will exist in the areas and regions where you intend promoting your genetics. Matching your sheep to your local environment and targeting the correct markets should be one of the major considerations when selecting sheep. Chances are the sheep that perform best in your mob are the ones best suited to your conditions and provided you have duplicated the management and conditions likely to exist within your potential client base, there will be no problems. However, there is often the temptation to select sires that have, for example, done well on the show floor but may not produce the quality of sheep that your clients are going to demand in a commercial environment. There is also a chance that many of these sheep will not produce progeny that meet the specific market criteria for your region. Know your markets and the limitations of your commercial environment and select your sheep accordingly. The preparation of many show sheep and some leading sale rams provide a totally contrasting environment to commercial reality and, therefore, the use of performance data and some background research on pedigree details will provide some valuable information on just what to expect from particular sires.
Genetic defects and sheep structure The phenotypic appearance of a particular sheep is primarily dependent upon the mix of genes, both good and bad, that an individual has inherited from both parents. The objective in stud breeding is to increase the frequency of the ‘good’ genes and avoid the defective ones. Fortunately there are only a few defective genes in sheep that are fatal and they can be breed specific, for example Spider Syndrome in the American Suffolk and consequently all composite breeds using those genetics. Fortunately a simple DNA test will indicate the existence of these defective genes, even in the heterozygous state. Given that the fatal defective genes will be well documented within your chosen breed (they should be relatively scarce within the breed’s gene pool due to testing and close scrutiny), it is the non fatal defective genes that, in many cases, have minimal impact on commercial
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production that stud breeders need to be aware of. While they may have a small impact at the commercial level, the objective of stud breeding should be to minimise the occurrence of these genes in your flock. Although you do not require a thorough understanding of the exact science of genetics, you should be aware that, although most defects are expressed in the appearance of individual animals, they may also exist as a recessive or single gene within the genetic makeup of an animal, and only become evident when two identical copies are present. Once again the value of good record keeping will assist in identifying those individual sheep that possibly ‘carry’ the defective gene. The common forms of gene defects that we should be aware of number somewhere between 20 and 30 across all sheep breeds. Listed here are a few that you are more than likely to encounter early in your stud breeding experience. Jaw position The position of the jaw is a common defect resulting in problems known as either undershot or overshot jaw. In the ideal position, the bottom incisor teeth meet the top pad flush at the front; failure of this to occur is more than likely as a result of a genetic defect and sheep exhibiting these faults should be culled, as well as their dam and sire. Wool/fleece fault Many faults that occur in the fleece can be as a result of genetic inheritance. Coloured wool, harsh or hairy fleeces and undesirable wool types are common problems that should be rejected from flocks. Skin type is, in many instances, related to wool type and is also highly heritable with heavy skin wrinkle and thick skins often producing undesirable wools. Heavy skin folds are also linked to lower fertility. Wool covering on the face and points is also a trait that is heritable and, depending on your breeding objectives, responds well to selection. Rectal prolapse This defect is much more common in meat breed sheep and although the length of tail docking is often blamed for the incidence of this problem, it is generally considered to be a genetic defect and any affected sheep should be culled, even if only for the fact that they will continue to be at risk of a rectal prolapse even after surgery is attempted to correct the fault. Inturned eyelids Entropion is a very highly heritable trait, resulting in the eyelid of young lambs turning under and rubbing against the surface of the eye. It is recognisable by a constantly watering eye and in a worst case scenario, results in blindness. Surgery can correct the problem but carriers of this defective gene should be culled. Cryptorchidism A constant source of frustration for stud breeders is rams with one testicle. A single recessive gene is thought responsible for producing this defect and can either be in the form of one or both testicles failing to descend. As these rams are virtually unsaleable, all sources of this defective gene should be sourced and culled. You should never be tempted to use any rams with only one descended testicle, regardless of how good they look.
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There are obviously many genes that determine the ultimate structure of sheep and, as the phenotype of an individual sheep is an expression of the genes that it has inherited, many of the structural faults we encounter are able to be controlled through selective breeding. The tolerance of some of the structural characteristics varies depending upon the individual breeder but there is in most cases an ideal position and extremes at each end of the scale. Any defect that affects the health and performance of your sheep should not be tolerated at any level. The defects listed above should have a zero tolerance, the structural differences outlined below are open to individual interpretation but should never be allowed to exist in your flock without corrective mating. Leg structure The importance of correct structure through all four legs cannot be overstated as the rams we are producing must be able to walk long distances and, at times, withstand both weight and pressure on the many joints within the legs. To put it simply, sheep should have a straight leg under each corner with correct pasterns (see Appendix 3). Just what interpretation of this is considered correct often varies between breeders; however, there are some common faults that should be avoided. Pasterns are perhaps where most breeders first look for foot problems. The angle of the pastern, front or back, should not be too straight nor too flat; generally around 20–40 degrees from the line of the leg is considered acceptable. The two extremes either side of this will usually result in lame sheep. The length of the pastern should not be excessive as long pasterns will, over time, become weaker and more angled. The front legs should be straight and well spread in line with the point of the shoulder, not ‘knock kneed’ or bowed out, and the hooves should be pointing straight ahead, not inward (pigeon toed) or splayed out. The back legs should be well spread to the same degree as the front legs, with the hocks aligned straight along the body of the sheep. As with the front legs, hocks should not turn inward (cow hocked or hocky) or bow out (bandy legged). Looking at the sheep from side on, the angle and position of the back leg is also important to the mobility of the sheep. The point of the hock should be directly under the hindquarter of the sheep, not forward or back from an imaginary perpendicular line from the end of the hindquarter. The angle of the hock to pastern should not be excessive (sickle hocked) or too straight. Much can be gained about the leg structure of the sheep by just watching it walk. They should walk in an easy motion, not stifled, with all legs moving more or less parallel to the direction the sheep is travelling. When pressure comes on pasterns, they should remain at the preferred angle, not collapse or roll to the side. The movement of the shoulder blades, or lack of movement, will tell a lot about the structure of the legs under them. There will be almost no shoulder blade movement when leg structure is correct. As sheep wear down their hooves evenly when structure is correct, any naturally occurring excessive growth and long toes are also signs of bad leg structure.
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Shoulder structure Once again, this is open to interpretation by different breeders but there is a preferred setting that will almost guarantee trouble-free management. The structure of shoulders on sheep is important, not only from the point of mobility but also ease of lambing and carcase attributes. Generally speaking, the shoulder blades should be set in slightly below the level of the backbone without excessive distance between the two scapulas at the top. By placing your hand on top of the shoulder, you should be able to feel the backbone slightly above the level of the two shoulder blades that are angled and set evenly into the carcase of the sheep giving a nice smooth shape down over the shoulder to the legs. If the level of the backbone is below the shoulder blades, the top of the shoulder will appear flat which can be a source of lambing difficulty and mobility problems, if the backbone is too high, carcase muscling has been known to suffer. There appears to be a relationship between the fineness of the shoulder and lack of muscling so some degree of compromise is required to achieve the best result from both carcase muscling and management issues. The shape of the shoulder at the front is also important as a brisket that is too far back or conversely a shoulder that is almost level with the front of the brisket is almost certain to cause lambing difficulties. Once again a smooth, even appearance is the best indicator that structure is correct (see Appendix 3). There are other areas of sheep appearance or structure such as hindquarter shape, tail setting, body width and depth, and topline length and appearance which will respond to careful selection, but generally speaking get the leg structure and shoulder set correct and the rest usually falls into place. We all strive to breed the perfect sheep and, as it has almost certainly not been achieved yet, there will be some compromises in particular areas of structure as we mix and match sires to our ewes to move a step closer to that perfect sheep. Particular structural faults, however, cannot be tolerated and sheep exhibiting these should be culled regardless of the quality of the sheep displaying the fault. You will find plenty of faults surfacing through the use of outside genetics and will continually question where they originated from, without your stud maintaining a gene pool of your own home bred faults simply because you have not culled heavily to eliminate these defects. Remember that the genetic defects we observe are a result of the expression of genes obtained from both parents. If you have an underlying or unobserved defect within the genetics of your flock, it will surface at some stage in your future breeding programs.
Response to selection pressure Within any mob of sheep there exists a fair degree of variation. This variation is the result of genetic differences and/or the environmental constraints that are placed on the sheep. The total variation we observe when looking at a mob of sheep
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is the combination or interaction of both genetic and environmental influences. The task that we undertake when attempting to improve the genetic makeup of our mob is to select those phenotypic traits that will ultimately breed us the type of sheep we, and our clients, are looking for. We must first establish whether the trait we are selecting for is hereditable, and if so what is the degree of heritability. Fortunately, most of the traits important to sheep production are hereditable and their heritability is well documented. Carcase weight, carcase quality, wool characteristics and fertility are the key areas for sheep production and through performance recording, the variation that exists for these traits can be calculated. Unfortunately it is very difficult to concentrate on improvement of just one trait as there are correlations, often conflicting, that exist which tend to interfere with our objectives. There is also the problem that we are rarely dealing with single gene traits and environmental effects can substantially affect the expression of multiple gene traits therefore obscuring any small genetic differences. This raises the question of what amount of genetic improvement can we therefore expect to make per generation. Rams typically account for most of the genetic improvement in your complete flock so the first and most important aspect of any genetic improvement program is to ensure that the ram you are using is statistically superior to those you already have. The rule of thumb used to be that if you want to improve or alter a trait in your flock, the ram you selected has to fall outside the standard deviation for that trait in your flock. One standard deviation includes close to 70% of the animals that are either side of the average of that mob. Two standard deviations include 95% of the animals either side of the average. If you want to ensure that the ram you are using will have maximum effect, he should fall outside two standard deviations, or in the top 5% for that trait. Alternatively, if no data is available, he has to be extreme in the trait you are attempting to improve. It is pointless selecting rams that fall close to the average of your flock for that trait because they will only breed to your existing average and have limited impact. Ensure you are selecting rams that have good quality performance data and are going to have a positive influence on the area of your flock you are trying to improve. Now you have selected your sire or sires. In reality you are unlikely to be selecting for one trait alone but for the purposes of this exercise, let us assume our flock is perfect except for one area that needs some attention. The response to your selection is going to be the measured difference between the average of your ewes and the ram you have selected, multiplied by 0.5 (ram supplies half the genes) and then multiplied by the heritability of the trait. The half of the genes supplied by the ewe will average out to be the number you used to calculate the measured difference between your ram and the ewes so no allowance is needed for their individual contribution. This calculation can be easily seen by averaging any performance values of your ewe flock and the ram you
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are using. If you are not using a performance recording system that produces some form of measured value for a trait, then this calculation becomes difficult, but if you were to go through a series of calculations to achieve a figure for potential genetic gain, you would eventually arrive at a maximum figure of around 10% per generation. This equates to around 2% gain over the complete flock allowing for the average age of rams and ewes within your flock. If, however, you reduce the average age of your flock, the potential gain over your whole flock will be higher. This would be close to the maximum rate of gain possible as we are, in this case, putting all pressure on one trait. In reality we rarely select for single traits therefore the rate of gain is going to be slightly less than 2% per year. Although each trait will have a different heritability, the potential gain per year varies little. What do we learn from this? There are big advantages in making use of some form of performance data to ensure we are using rams that are going to have an impact within our flock. If we assume that most of the potential genetic improvement in your flock is from the ram, keep an eye on the performance of a specific ram’s progeny, if he is not performing then seriously consider changing your sires. From the calculations, you will have also noticed that a younger ewe flock will result in higher genetic gains per year so consider using ram lambs and even joining a selection of ewe lambs. Breeding the perfect sheep is a long drawnout process, so at a maximum of 2% gain per year over the entire flock, you should not be in a hurry, but remember all other breeders are achieving the same potential gains. There are no shortcuts in making genetic advances apart from shortening the time between generations. The use of performance data will allow you to make certain you are making the maximum gains possible in the right areas and it will allow careful analysis of the effect of your selections. The requirement to strive for maximum genetic gain becomes even more relevant when you realise that most commercial operations are at least two generations of genetic merit behind the stud from which they are purchasing their genetics. With the time taken for your breeding strategies to reach the commercial market and the fact that, in most cases, the quality of ewes in commercial flocks lags behind that of most studs, it is important that as a stud breeder you make sure your genetics are not too far behind the leaders in the industry. If your stud’s genetics are not performing at a similar level to many of the leading studs then, when all is taken into account, your clients will notice a significant difference in the performance of your rams compared to those of a neighbour or friend using different rams and your clients will not be gaining the benefits or maximum profitability from the level of genetics available within the industry. Even though the gains from each generation may seem small, they need to be consistent by using the range of elite genetics available so that the discrepancy in performance between your stud and the top performing studs is not impeding your efforts to promote your genetics to commercial producers. If you are using
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old genetics or retaining individual sheep for sentimental reasons, chances are you are holding back the potential genetic gain of not just your own stud operation, but that of your clients’ flocks as well. Keep your ewe flock as young as possible and continually strive to use young rams and your flock will develop at a rate that will ensure you are not falling behind the leaders in your industry.
8 Flock management
Management of your flock is the one area covering all levels of sheep production that is not only dependent upon your location and climate, but will vary depending upon your personal preference or the family history of your property. If your property has been in the one family for many generations, chances are that the skills of sheep management have been passed down through the generations and, except for a few minor adjustments, the management that has served the property well for many years will still be the best strategy. Flock management is also the one area of sheep breeding where you can very easily negate all your planning and work. There is an old saying that good sheep are a result of 20% breeding and 80% feeding (management). While it may not be entirely correct, management will certainly influence the potential expression of the genetic makeup of your sheep. Just how you manage your stud flock will be determined by many factors, and the practices that have worked well for commercial production apply equally in relation to stud breeding. To catalogue a detailed list of preferred management practices would not be feasible as, if you have been breeding sheep commercially, you will already be familiar with the management and practices that have worked for your property. If you are new to sheep production, there is plenty of information available through local government departments or by observing neighbouring properties, and as management will alter depending upon your situation, you will be better served to consult these people. You will quickly determine which style of management suits your situation. You should take note of what happens in your area as time honoured methods of management practices
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All management decisions of your flock should be tailored toward producing a healthy, even line of rams and ewes.
that have worked in the area for many generations will be the most productive way to go. There are, however, a few areas of management regarding stud sheep that may differ somewhat to commercial production and these include surveillance and control of diseases, how you structure your flock nutrition, and the excitement of lambing time.
Disease We have now reached the stage where all your hard work and expense can come catastrophically undone. In a commercial sheep production system, disease is one area of flock management that, although problematic, does not have the same devastating effect that occurs when a stud enterprise becomes infected with any one of the sheep diseases that are prevalent within the sheep industry. As a supplier of sheep genetics through ram sales to a number of sheep properties, it is your responsibility to ensure that the rams you are supplying to your commercial producers are free from all known sheep diseases that can potentially affect their profitability. Any incidence of disease or parasites in your sheep will ultimately infect the sheep on the properties of those that purchase your rams and the result will be financially costly to your business and costly for your reputation. There are obvious, easy to manage afflictions such as lice, internal parasites and footrot that
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are part of day-to-day awareness and are the responsibility of every sheep production enterprise. However, as a stud breeding operation that provides selected sheep to potentially many properties, your level of responsibility and awareness goes well beyond that of your average commercial producer. First and foremost is the accreditation that must be attained for ovine brucellosis. As mentioned previously (Chapter 2), when considering the requirements for establishing a stud, there is criteria that will determine just how much risk you are exposed to with respect to an infection of brucellosis. All stud breeding enterprises should be accredited for brucellosis through regular veterinary checks and this accreditation will require inspection and/or details, not only of the sheep you and your neighbouring properties have, but also the quality of fencing on your property and the introduction of sheep to your stud. Any outbreak of brucellosis within your stud will be financially devastating and every precaution must be taken to minimise any risk of infection to your flock. Your local vet will be able to provide you with all the information you need regarding the requirements for accreditation and he or she should be your first call once you have rams on your property. Another area of concern is being aware of and monitoring potentially serious diseases such as Ovine Johne’s Disease (OJD). Some diseases that may be a relatively low priority in commercial sheep production should become a priority for stud breeders if seen as a problem by specific clients. In stud breeding, no level of disease prevalence should be tolerated. As a stud breeding operation that supplies sheep to numerous commercial properties, it is your obligation to ensure that you are not supplying potentially infected sheep to your commercial clients and placing their financial security at risk. Just how you manage the requirements for a range of criteria or accreditations will be entirely up to you as you must be conscious of the risk factors within your region. Regardless of whether you are in a low or high incidence zone for specific disease threats, your first obligation to your clients is to ensure that the sheep you are supplying are free from any risk of infection, and this will involve some degree of testing, accreditation and/or vaccination. Never assume that any stray animals that come into contact with your flock are free from disease, regardless of how sure you are that they are clean. Always implement relevant strategies that ensure there will be no unexpected disease outbreaks that can bring about a costly and emotionally devastating incident in your stud’s breeding efforts.
Nutrition This is one area of management where there are likely to be large discrepancies between individual studs. In most cases this will be due to differences in climate and potential pasture growth and consequently the capacity to grow sheep to their
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maximum potential on natural feed. There may, however, be a difference in the preference of the individual stud breeder either to allow the sheep to grow out naturally given the pasture conditions that are normal within the surrounding region of the stud or, as some studs do, implement an intensive supplementary feeding program that aims to maximise the growth of their sheep, especially the sale rams. While it is preferable to have your sale rams in good condition at sale time, there is, in most cases, a vast difference between the visual appearance of paddock reared rams and heavily supplemented rams. Just how you prepare your rams from weaning to sale time will ultimately have little effect on the success you have as a stud breeder, once your clients accept the appearance of your flock rams. If you are selling through an auction system or at a multi-vendor sale, you are more than likely going to come across plenty of sale rams that have been grown out to maximum weights with large amounts of supplementary feeding, and unless you are in an outstanding pastoral area, paddock reared rams will never match up against these. You will have to make a decision as to how you are going to sell and present your rams at sale time, and somewhere in between the two extremes is not only advisable, but preferable. While not advocating that any sheep are deprived of what would be considered adequate nutrition, in order to obtain any meaningful information on performance, all sheep should be allowed to grow out naturally at least for the initial stages of their growth, and once some meaningful information has been collected, then some form of additional feeding can be initiated. There is also a big advantage in assessing just how your young sheep will adjust to the variations in seasons and relative pasture growth as this mimics what your commercial clients are going to experience. If your young rams are failing to achieve adequate growth within your stud, they are unlikely to sire lambs that will perform any better in a commercial environment. The problem of commencing heavy supplementary feeding programs on your ram flock at early ages is that individual rams that would normally struggle to reach saleable weights under paddock conditions may actually look similar to the better adapted rams in your mob and only once sold will they fail to deliver adequate growth rates to their progeny, or they themselves may struggle to maintain an adult weight that will ensure maximum fertility. Nutrition is one area within a stud that must be given high priority. Because you are, in most cases, dealing with pure bred sheep, their nutritional requirement is at relatively higher levels than commercial sheep and they are often more susceptible to any deficiencies. Simply because you are preparing sheep for sale to commercial breeders your sheep are going to be on ‘display’ to all those who are interested in purchasing rams. It is therefore in your best interest to have them looking fit and healthy, not only at sale time, but at all times during the year. You never know when an interested client may wish to pay you a visit. Any feeding
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program must be planned, not only from a purely economic point of view, but also to ensure that you are providing rams that your prospective clients are going to be satisfied with. This does not mean that if your area has been inundated with showprepared sheep in the past that you have to follow this trend, but you will have to ensure that your rams, if paddock reared, are in good condition and present well. Many clients may actually prefer rams reared in a tougher commercial environment rather than heavily supplemented rams. The secret to getting the best growth out of your young sheep is to ensure that they do not suffer a setback at any stage during their early growth. This does not mean they need to be growing at maximum potential all the time, just as long as they are growing at even a minimal rate. This is a lot better than if they suffer a loss of weight due to some shortage of nutrition or a sudden change in climatic conditions. The relative importance you place on the ewe and ram portion of your mob, and how you intend to grow them out, will largely be dependent on feed availability and how you allocate the feed you have available. The rams are going to be number one priority but, while the majority of the young ewe portion of your flock will not be for sale, it is still important that they reach somewhere close to adult weight in an acceptable time frame. This is so that selection of those ewes that are to be retained in your flock can be based on a group of ewes that have not had multiple setbacks. There is an old theory that the ewe portion are the genetic base of your flock and regardless of how well they are grown out, they will still produce potentially the same lambs. This is basically correct, but it is also true that a well-grown adult ewe will have less management troubles and rear a lamb better than one that has not achieved close to adult size and weight. This becomes more relevant if you are intending to join a portion of your young ewes as ewe lambs. Nutrition of the ewe both prior to and during gestation is of utmost importance and is no different to that employed by most good commercial producers. Weight or fat score of the ewe prior to joining will have a significant effect on ovulation rate and subsequent embryo death and it is advisable to have ewes at a fat score of between 2 and 3 for best results. Over-fat ewes may actually decrease the potential ovulation rate. Annual drench programs and vaccination programs should be adhered to and nutrition of the ewe during the last trimester of gestation is very important. Ewes carrying multiples will require more feed than those carrying singles. Not only will attention to these issues improve the condition of your ewes but will have a dramatic effect on the survival rate of your lambs. Stud breeding often results in a greater proportion of multiple births due to the breeds of sheep being used and reproductive techniques employed to bring about conception. Artificial insemination and embryo transfer will result in a situation where you will have many lambs hitting the ground all in a short time frame with a large percentage of multiple births.
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Good nutrition for the ewe is essential to ensure acceptable survival rates, as not much can be done if the nutrition of the ewe prior to lambing has been neglected. You will never know if the lamb that died because of poor ewe nutrition was potentially the best ram of your lamb drop. Every lamb counts so it is worth paying particular attention to the nutrition of your ewes prior to lambing. Once lambs are born, the feed requirements of lactating ewes can be as much as twice that required by a dry ewe and some form of supplementary feeding may be required to maintain maximum milk production. The whole area of ewe nutrition becomes much easier to manage if you scan your ewes not just for pregnancy, but the incidence of multiple births, prior to lambing. Dry ewes are a potential waste of feed and the long-term fertility of your flock will improve if ewes that consistently fail to conceive are culled. By identifying those ewes carrying multiples, extra feed and care can be allocated to them and the chances of higher lamb survival rates significantly increased. Ewes carrying multiples can require as much as 25% more feed than single bearing ewes both before and after lambing and it should not be forgotten that all pregnant ewes in the last six weeks of pregnancy require at least twice the feed of a dry ewe as this is the time when the foetus gains around two-thirds of its total weight.
Determining fat score When listening to sale reports or reading information from various authorities on sheep management, ‘fat score’ is a term you are likely to hear continually mentioned in relation to the condition of sheep. Fat score is a determination of fat covering made by gently feeling the tissue covering 110 mm down from the backbone over the 12th rib, or what is commonly known as the GR site. The best way to measure fat score is to find the 12th rib, which is the second-last long rib before the loin region of the carcase; put your thumb on the backbone and with your fingers relaxed down the side of the sheep, gently rub your fingers over the 12th rib and those on either side. It will take some practice to become proficient and develop this skill but you will quickly learn to recognise the difference between a lean sheep (fat score 1) and a fat sheep (fat score 5). The next skill is being able to differentiate between sheep that fall between these two extremes; that is, fat scores 2, 3 and 4. There are some handy ‘rules of thumb’ that can be relied upon to help you determine fat score. One analogy is to clench your fist loosely and with your other hand, run your fingers across the top of the middle knuckles on your fingers – this is similar to the feeling the ribs will give for a fat score 1. Now let us go up the scale by moving further up toward your arm. Feel over the fingers between the knuckles on your fingers and your hand, that is fat score 2, feel your knuckles on your hand where your fingers start, fat score 3, the back of your hand is fat score 4 and your
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forearm is fat score 5. It is a simple method but similar to what you will feel at the GR site on sheep of different fat scores. These approximations of fat score (below) relate to an estimate of fat depth over the GR site. Fat score 1 Fat score 2 Fat score 3 Fat score 4 Fat score 5
Individual ribs easily felt, no tissue over rib Individual ribs felt but some tissue felt Individual ribs felt with obvious tissue Just able to feel ribs, tissue movement over ribs Cannot feel ribs, lots of movement over ribs
0–5 mm fat 6–10 mm fat 11–15 mm fat 16–20 mm fat 21+ mm fat
These determinations of fat score clearly relate to the overall condition of your sheep and, without actually putting your hands on your sheep, it is virtually impossible to determine their condition, especially if they have an amount of wool covering the carcase. To determine the true condition of your sheep you should yard and physically handle them to determine their condition – not rely on an estimate at 40 paces from the ute window. It is good practice to avoid having sheep at either end of the fat score, and generally fat score 3–4 is the level you need to be endeavouring to achieve for a healthy flock and to achieve maximum results for both joining and lambing.
What to watch for during pregnancy Nutrition during pregnancy is vital not only to the survival of the lamb and the ultimate health of the ewe, but also the growth of many cells can be affected during the development of the foetus. Cells associated with wool and follicle development, muscle growth and testicular size are all affected by the nutrition of the ewe during pregnancy, and not just in the last trimester – some have their greatest influence early in the pregnancy. While these may affect the ultimate performance of the progeny in the long term, the ultimate concern if nutrition becomes unbalanced is the immediate condition of the ewe. During the last trimester, the nutritional demands of the foetus increase and any imbalance will immediately show up as a problem in the health of the ewe. The most common problems are hypocalcaemia and pregnancy toxaemia, which in some cases are easily confused. The following is not intended to take the place of veterinary advice but may provide some clues as to the immediate problem. Pregnancy toxaemia (twin lamb disease, lambing sickness) is a common condition of pregnant ewes in late gestation. It is caused by the increased demand for energy from the developing foetus and is more common in older ewes carrying twins or very thin or fat ewes. If feed is inadequate at this time, the ewe begins to break down body tissue, which is not a problem in itself, but if the breakdown becomes too rapid, toxic wastes from the breakdown accumulate and the problem
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arises. The initial signs are dullness and loss of appetite and when moved, affected ewes lag behind and eventually stand alone and do not respond when approached. For those with a good sense of smell, the ewe’s breath smells like acetone (nail polish remover). Don’t confuse this problem with hypocalcaemia as the two are very different and have different treatments. Prevention is better than cure and it can be prevented with a proper feeding regime; don’t overfeed ewes in early pregnancy but ensure adequate nutrition in the last month of pregnancy and avoid physical stress on pregnant ewes. Treatment of pregnancy toxaemia is usually unrewarded. However, there are some drenches and injections available that are worth a try and have been used with some success. Hypocalcaemia (milk fever) as the name suggests is caused by a deficiency of calcium in the blood. It usually occurs in the last few weeks of pregnancy or soon after birth of the lamb. Ewes develop a staggery walk and display muscle tremors. They will usually sit down with their head on their flank and appear paralysed, but they are alert and will struggle when handled. Prevention of this condition can be achieved by not subjecting ewes to stress, not putting them on lush cereal crops in late pregnancy, and supplementing feed with lime or some form of calcium additive or supplement. Provided that affected ewes are identified early, the response to an injection of calcium borogluconate is spectacular with ewes often walking off within minutes of treatment. Always have a bag of injectable calcium in the fridge, as it will save many ewes provided detection is early. Delay in treatment is usually fatal. Table 2
Differences between pregnancy toxaemia and hypocalcaemia Pregnancy toxaemia
Hypocalcaemia
Gradual onset
Sudden onset
Sheep are dull
Sheep are alert but stagger
Sheep do not respond
Sheep move or struggle
Several days to death
Death within a day
Occurs with a feed shortage
Often occurs on lush feed
Poor response to treatment
Good response to treatment
Lambing There is a huge difference between the feeling that lambing brings for a commercial breeder and a stud breeder. All the planning, ram purchase and selection, trying new genetics etc. become reality when the lambs hit the ground. This is when you discover whether the decisions you have made up to this point will give you exactly what you are hoping for. The major difference is the potential
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‘Christmas day’ for the stud breeder.
value of the progeny you are dealing with. You may find yourself predicting the potential worth of lambs as soon as they are born and while some will suggest this is too early, plenty of top stud sheep have been identified while they were still wet with amniotic fluid. Because of the relative value of the lambs we are dealing with, lambing management can be quite different to that of commercial sheep. It can be as complicated or as simple as you are prepared to make it. Before describing some of the aspects associated with lambing and pedigree recording of your lambs, the care of the pregnant ewe, especially in the last six weeks of gestation, requires special mention. Nutrition is the obvious concern and while this matter has been covered already, the physical handling of the ewe in the weeks leading up to lambing can also cause some problems. The less stress ewes are placed under, the fewer the problems that potentially will develop. Avoiding management activities, such as crutching which involves turning ewes over, during the last six weeks of pregnancy reduces the incidence of lambing difficulties. Pregnancy testing, which involves turning ewes over, has been suspected of causing problems, even abortion of the foetus. If you are mustering and yarding the ewes or running them down the race, avoid situations were the ewes can be trampled on or pressured. You will find that by managing your flock to avoid these situations, lambing problems associated with abnormal foetal presentations will be minimised. Depending on the manner in which you joined your ewes, your lambs will either drop over an extended period of time or all at once. If you have paddock
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mated, lambing will continue for as long as the ram was with the ewes; if they are as a result of an AI program, ET program or synchronised joining, they will all be born over a very short time frame. The manner in which you manage these situations can be quite different as they each present their own challenges. First, these lambs need to have their pedigree recorded and, because we have documented which sire has been joined to each individual ewe, we must be able to identify individual ewes as they lamb. The easiest way to do this is to have a number on each ewe that is easily readable. This can be achieved either by using large numbered ear tags that can be read at some distance or by means of a number branded on the side of the ewe just prior to lambing. Many stud breeders prefer the numbered brand as it is much easier to read from a distance and makes finding a particular ewe in a mob much quicker if the need arises to reunite a lost lamb with its mother. This number is best branded on the side of the ewe with branding fluid and you will find it will remain legible for many months. Using a spray marker to create the numbers will work for a relatively shorter period. Many stud breeders also colour brand their ewes with a dot on different points on the body which enables them to identify the joining sire. This allows breeders to visually monitor the performance of the sire lines they have used as they develop in the paddock without having to muster them or physically catch and identify lambs. It also assists in pedigree recording of lambs if the numbered brand becomes unreadable for some reason. If you have used an AI program, synchronised joining or ET program to impregnate your ewes, you will know exactly when they are due to lamb, that is, five months less three days from the day of conception. Or so you thought. Don’t be surprised when they begin lambing a few days early, something that can be due to many factors. Multiple births tend to be born earlier than singles and breeding lines with lower birth weights will arrive earlier than those with genetically higher birth weights. Once you have your ewes all numbered and ready to lamb, be well prepared for early lambs, especially if the weather is not ideal for lambing. This may involve sorting the ewes into sire groups to assist in pedigree recording, bringing ewes into small paddocks close to the house, into sheltered paddocks or, if you are experiencing severe weather conditions, preparing to put ewes into a shed to avoid unacceptable losses. Just how you handle the ewes at point of lambing will depend on many factors such as predators, weather conditions, feed availability, the condition of the ewes and, perhaps most importantly, the time you have available to ensure that every lamb born has the best chance of survival. After all, each lamb born is a result of all the planning and selection you have undertaken and could potentially be one of the top sheep in your flock. As each lamb is born, it should be tagged with a permanent record of identification and this is recorded against date of birth, birth type and any other information collected on that individual lamb. The number recorded against the
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lamb is the one that will be used to identify that individual sheep in relation to pedigree details and all aspects of performance recording, so it is important that the tag remains readable and is permanent. There are a large variety of ear tags available, some work better than others. The easiest to use on young lambs are the wrap around, self-piercing tags which are a good option if you are tagging many lambs each day. Looping them around the back of the ear, rather than the front, seems to reduce the problem of tags being torn out of the ear, however some tag losses are inevitable. Many studs double tag their lambs to avoid losing all pedigree details if a tag goes missing. The pull-through type tags are a little tricky on newborn lambs as they can tear the ear easily and are best applied using a punch and threading the tag through manually. However, once secured in the ear, they tend to incur fewer problems through losses than other tags. Another good practice is to either double tag your keeper ewes once classed with the same type of tag or use a small brass tag that fits close to the ear and very rarely goes missing. This will ensure that the pedigree details of your ewes and all performance details and the history of the individual ewe are accurate. With the increasing use of data scanners, the button type tags are an option as they allow the use of electronic tag readers, either within a race or hand held, to identify individual animals. With the increasing use of this level of technology, it is possible that at some time in the future, we may be able to computer chip each sheep so there is a permanent record of its history. With the excitement of lambing comes the problems that can sometimes be the most frustrating and time consuming. Lambing problems such as dystocia or ‘stuck’ lambs will require some degree of patience and skill if lambs and ewes are to be saved. There are going to be situations where lambs will need to be supplementary fed for a short period of time or, if the ewe dies, for as long as it takes for them to survive on their own. Often some ewes will have excessive milk production and will require ‘milking out’ to enable the lamb to successfully suckle. At this stage some of the colostrum can be saved and used for other lambs that have either lost their mothers or require supplementary feeding. It is a good idea to keep a store of frozen colostrum that has been dated with the collection day and the number of days since the ewe gave birth recorded on the bottle. Small plastic drink bottles are ideal for this and will come in handy if severe weather conditions occur at lambing. If you have ewes close to, or in a shed, any problems with milking or lamb rejection are easily identified and milking out ewes as well as supplementary bottle feeding is very easy to manage. Even if you are lambing ewes in a large paddock, it is advisable to have an area in a shed that has enclosures which can be used in an emergency should problems occur that require both ewes and lambs to be sheltered. Many lambs can be saved just by protection from the weather, especially cold, wet and windy conditions. Even lambs that seem lost to the cold can be revived with the warmth of a fire or hot water bottle and a little colostrum.
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The use of portable enclosures that are able to be moved around the paddock is also a good idea at lambing. Structures as simple as a ring of weld mesh placed around the ewe and lamb that may require some assistance will be sufficient to ensure good mothering and enable easier catching of the ewe should problems arise. Most stud ewes will give few mothering problems but there are exceptions and it is better to be prepared as problems inevitably arise when weather conditions are at their worst, and many lambs can be saved with a little planning. There will be times if a ewe dies or a ewe is not capable of rearing the number of lambs she has produced when the need arises to foster a lamb to another ewe. The art of cross mothering lambs onto foster ewes has produced variable results and you will find plenty of theories and tested methods that have been credited with a wide range of successes. If you can transfer the lamb as soon as they are born and/or while the ewe is cleaning up her own lamb, fostering seems to have a high degree of success. The use of vanilla or some other commercially available masking odour has been known to work on lambs that are a little older, but whichever method you try, sometimes it will work, sometimes not. There are plenty of tried and tested methods around, and a simple question to a sheep breeder will give you more alternatives than you are likely to need in one
There are plenty of means of making the task of feeding ‘poddies’ easier.
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lambing season. Basically, success will depend on the ewe as some ewes readily take another ewe’s lamb without any coaxing whatsoever, while others will never foster another lamb despite all your best attempts. If all else fails, you will need to manually rear the lamb yourself. Rearing orphan lambs is a trial and error exercise and you are likely to have mixed results. Success has been achieved equally with commercial lamb mixes as well as ordinary powdered milk available for human consumption. Keeping some form of hay and loose feed mix always available for the lambs will encourage the young ‘poddy’ lamb to eat solids and develop rumen bacteria, which it would normally have obtained from eating alongside its mother. The earlier you can wean the lambs onto solid feed, the more economical it will be and the greater the chance of success. Information on the amounts and time frame for achieving success in rearing orphan lambs is usually available with whichever commercial product you decide to use and you should follow their directions closely for optimum results.
Lambing problems We need to be aware that, despite our best efforts, we often get problems caused by abnormal presentation during lambing. Sometimes this can be traced back to the sire or, in many cases, due to circumstances beyond our control. These problems come in a variety of forms but before going through them, there are a number of points to remember. When assisting delivery of lambs, remember that although you are not a medical GP, memorise the letters GPP: be Gentle, Patient and Persevere. Both the lamb and the ewe can very easily be permanently damaged so take your time. Chances are you are out in the paddock and will not have access to the ideal surroundings such as clean antiseptic conditions, so be aware that infections can cause problems and ensure your fingernails are short. If possible, return the ewe and unborn lamb to the shed into a cleaner environment. Take time to assess and visualise the position of the parts of the lamb in relation to the correct presentation position. To get the lamb into a position for delivery, various degrees of manipulation may have to be carried out. Do not attempt to pull the lamb until it is correctly positioned and then use gentle but firm pressure. While keeping all this in mind, here are a few different types of problems that you are likely to come across. One leg back is perhaps the most common one and the easiest to correct. Usually gentle pressure is all that is required to deliver the lamb provided the ewe has sufficient pelvic room and the lamb is not too big. Often just turning the lamb slightly will allow the shoulder to come through and delivery of the lamb. Failing this, push the lambs head and leg back into the uterus and flip the lost leg forward.
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Head only provides a few more problems. Don’t try to pull the lamb out, it will not come. Chances are the lamb’s head is swollen making it more difficult to push the lamb back, but this is exactly what needs to be done. Large swollen heads can pose a significant problem and you should check the condition of the lamb first and, if it is not alive, your options just got easier because you can now remove the lamb’s head to free the lamb and save the ewe. If the lamb’s head is small and not swollen, slide your hand along the neck until you find the legs and gently bring them forward, otherwise push the lamb’s head back into the uterus and find the legs. One leg will usually be enough. It may be easier if you place the ewe squarely on her back rather than her side. Front legs only is even more difficult and can be very frustrating. You must find the head and, along with the legs, keep it in place. This is sometimes not as easy as it sounds as the head will want to keep turning back if it has been in that position for some time. Make sure the head you find is not that of its twin, and work with the ewes contractions to help you line up the lamb for normal delivery. This one will require you to remember the GPP principle, especially if the lamb is large. Breech is an interesting one that can come in two forms. If both rear feet are coming, no problems, simply pull the lamb gently backwards. However, the other form is where no legs are present, usually just a tail. Do not attempt to turn the lamb around. Push the lamb back into the uterus and with the palm of your hand, locate one of the back pasterns and gently move it into the birth canal. Once you have both hind legs positioned, deliver backwards pulling the lamb down toward the ewe’s feet. Breech births are usually associated with the non appearance of the amniotic sac before delivery and often the cord will break early in delivery increasing the chances of a still birth unless you identify the breech birth presentation quickly and assist the ewe. If you notice a ewe attempting to lamb for an extended period of time and nothing appearing, suspect a breech birth and take appropriate action. Two lambs together is a good puzzle to finish on. Sometimes they can take time to sort out and you have to follow legs and heads back to the shoulders to identify which lamb they belong to. If you find one coming backwards, deliver it first to increase its chances of survival and besides, two legs accompanied by a tail are easier to find than two legs and a head. If they are all normal presentations, sort them out by pushing and moving them one at a time into a normal delivery position. This can be time consuming but is usually made easier due to the fact that the lambs are smaller. It is always a good idea to check for the existence of twins with any lambing problems as legs and heads can become mixed which makes assisting delivery quite an interesting puzzle. That basically covers the range of malpresentations you are likely to encounter. Always check to ensure there are no more lambs in the uterus. Clean mucus away from the lamb’s mouth and nose to ensure it can breathe and make sure the lambs
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are breathing normally before leaving them. Allow the ewe to smell and begin cleaning the lamb/s before she gets to her feet, and if she runs away confine her and the lambs in a small yard until they have bonded. A dose of antibiotics after assisted delivery is always a good idea to guard the ewe against infection. Always be aware of your own personal hygiene and wash hands and arms thoroughly with disinfectant as there are some infections that can be contracted from sheep. Always remember the distress of the ewe and lamb is paramount and good animal practice with regard to animal suffering should be adhered to and any impossible situations handled in a humane manner. Make a note of ewes that experience lambing difficulties and record the weight of the lamb. While large lambs look great once delivered, be aware of the commercial ramifications of large lambs if the birth weight of the lamb is a result of heritability rather than feed. Lambing problems may be the result of a number of factors, lamb birth weight being one of the main ones, and pre-lambing feed conditions may significantly contribute to lamb size. During the last six weeks of pregnancy, glucose is preferentially absorbed by the uterus. Any process or trigger that increases insulin and glucose levels will lead to proportionally greater uptake of glucose by the uterus. This can be a consequence of increased feed intake, cold stress and feeding high starch grains. In simple terms, more glucose equals more foetal growth. The same effect can be attributed to shearing pregnant ewes during winter. Winter shearing of ewes in the last 10 weeks of pregnancy results in significantly larger birth weights. This occurs for two reasons: food intake is increased in shorn sheep leading to higher levels of glucose, and cold stress seems to cause a lowering of insulin levels which leads to an increase in blood glucose resulting in significant increases in birth weight. Even a cold snap in the last week of pregnancy may lead to slightly higher birth weights if sheep have been recently shorn.
9 Showing
The decision to show sheep is often filled with excitement and expectation. Immediately visions of ribbons and champion sheep come to mind ahead of all the other issues that are associated with showing sheep. Before you get too excited about the show scene, take some time to think about exactly why you are showing sheep – if it is to win ribbons, perhaps you need to rethink! Showing can become a time consuming and expensive hobby and it should always be remembered that the judge who will be evaluating your sheep is just one person and his or her decision should be taken as just that, one individual’s opinion as to which sheep they like. If your interest in showing sheep is to promote your sheep in front of other breeders and the group of onlookers that are attracted to shows, meet other breeders, exchange information and generally just have a good time, then go ahead, prepare a show team and enjoy the experience that is the show scene. A lot of very good sheep have gone totally unnoticed by many judges in the show ring and conversely many sheep that have performed well in the show ring have faded into obscurity. Results from showing can be of great benefit to the profile of your stud but it should not be the main reason that determines whether you should show your sheep. Always remember that although the judge on the floor is the one person making the final decision, there are many more judges looking at your sheep within the crowds of people, including both fellow breeders and people involved within the sheep industry. Everyone witnessing the show will have an opinion and it is very rare that a judge’s decision is totally agreed upon by all onlookers.
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The ‘shop front’ for the breed and your stud enterprise.
Much is to be gained by showing sheep, but it often has very little to do with the decision made by the judge. Having made the decision to show your sheep for the right reason, how do you now go about preparing a show team? The first thing you should do is attend a few shows, observe and talk to some of the breeders who have been preparing sheep for a few years. Don’t be discouraged if you feel they are not telling you all they know, your suspicion will more than likely be correct and you will still have much to learn by trial and error. However, you will learn a great deal by just observing how the show scene operates, how breeders have prepared their sheep and how the judge goes about making his/her decision. You will also quickly observe the level of feeding and grooming required that will ensure your sheep do not attract undue attention for the wrong reason. As showing is a great means of promotion, it is paramount that your sheep are well prepared and this begins well before the show date. Many stud breeders select potential show sheep at a very early age and may initially have a show team that is four to five times the number they intend to show. It is also a good idea to plan which show or shows you are intending to attend, obtain an entry form with all the rules and regulations and be aware of the age classes and specific requirements for each particular class as they can vary between shows. If showing for the first time, don’t be tempted to prepare a large team which covers all classes, concentrate on just a few. It is a good idea to prepare an even
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team consisting of a few sheep, both rams and ewes, which allows you the opportunity to enter a few individual classes and then some of the group classes. Preparation of show sheep is a very time consuming job so start small and then, when you have mastered a few of the tasks involved, expand the size of your team if that is your goal. Many of the leading and most successful exhibitors at sheep shows still concentrate on the preparation of just a minimum number of sheep in their show team. The decision as to which sheep to select for showing is probably the most challenging decision you will have to make in regard to your showing experience. As many of the classes will be for lambs or sheep less than one and a half years of age, your mob of young lambs will be the main group from which you will be selecting your show team, and within this group there will be some lambs that have been catching your eye for some time. It has been a time honoured habit of stud breeders continually to scrutinise a group of young lambs, especially the ram mob, for that lamb that is outperforming all others. These are the sheep that are the obvious choice for inclusion in the show team; however, there are some other considerations that need to be taken into account. Age difference is one factor, as well as lambs from multiple births that are developing at a relatively slower rate. It is for this reason that it is advisable to select many more sheep than is required to fill your potential show team – do not overlook a smaller sheep that, despite size, catches your eye for no other reason than ‘there is just something about that sheep that I like’. Many top sheep have been selected in a show team as a last choice. Remember that sheep are being selected well in advance of the show and some of the younger sheep will develop significantly between selection of your team and the day of the show. However, you do have to maintain a balance in your show team and too many potential show sheep is just as big a problem as too few. Once you have the obvious choices selected plus a few extras that you just like, put yourself in the position of the judge and, regardless of what you may think your qualifications are in this area, pretend for a while that you are judging your sheep. Let them walk around and, rather than admire your selection, look for faults. Some will become immediately obvious, some not, but one thing is certain, once you show-prepare these sheep and get them to a show, any fault will be obvious to all who are looking at your sheep, especially the judge. If you detect any faults, now is the best time to exclude that sheep from your show team as the extra feeding will generally magnify faults and result in both time and money wasted in preparing that sheep. A good sheep free of any faults is usually a better choice at a show than an exceptional sheep with faults as any fault is often what most observers will remember about that particular sheep, not the good points. By being critical with respect to any faults, you may find that some of your original selections are removed from your potential show team, if not, then you are off to a good start.
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You now have a show team that may consist of just rams or ewes or a combination of both. It is advisable for them to be kept separate from the main mob because now comes the decision as to what to feed them to ensure they are in optimum condition for showing. This is where many new show enthusiasts make a big error as it is just as big a mistake to have sheep too fat as it is to have them underdone. The secret is getting the balance right, something which is often a closely guarded secret by many show exhibitors. The previous suggestion that you attend a few shows before preparing your own sheep will also give you the chance to check out what breeders are feeding their show sheep. The secret may be in the not-so-obvious additives or perhaps the feed the sheep are eating at the show may not be exactly the same as what they were prepared on well before the show. The best advice here is to keep it simple and not get too involved in fancy feeds or additives. A mix of grains and roughage is a good start with sufficient protein and energy to promote a good growth rate, remembering that the feed you give prior to the show ‘should’ be the same one you provide for them at the show to avoid any digestive problems. Just what feed mix you use to prepare your show sheep is not important provided you are confident you will have them at a good weight and in good condition at show time. Ewes will in general become fatter than rams and allowance has to be made for this in your feed mix. Plenty of advice on feed mixes can be obtained from sheep and livestock advisors as the increase in prominence of the feedlot industry has increased the knowledge of how particular feed mixes can be used to achieve any combination of growth, fat and muscle. It is advisable to have your potential show team in a relatively confined area and separate from the remainder of your flock to provide them with some degree of special treatment, which includes walking amongst them from time to time. This will assist in the next phase, and perhaps the most exciting or frustrating point, the preparation of your show team and training them to lead or just stand quietly. Most sheep shows will require you to have some control over your sheep by way of a lead or just holding them. Animals that have not been trained to some degree are dangerous to both yourself and those around you on the judging floor, so it is essential that some training or calming down be carried out on the sheep. After you have selected your final show team using the same procedure that was used to select the original, much larger team, you can begin the task of leading them or just calming them down. You will notice very quickly that generally rams are easier to calm down than ewes. The methods used to achieve quiet sheep that will lead and stand quietly are varied but usually it is just a matter of tying them up on a very short lead for periods of time and just spending time around them, rubbing your hands over them and basically duplicating what the judge is likely to do on the judging floor. Some sheep will respond very quickly to this and will be show ready within a few days; some will never get to that stage. Patience and persistence is the key and the soft quiet approach wins every time, remembering
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The spectacle of exhibiting at a large Royal Show.
always that we are taking an animal out of its paddock environment and conditioning it to stand quietly or follow us on a lead. Once you have your sheep conditioned to being approached without them jumping into the next pen, your next task is to train them to lead and make them stand quietly. You will have noticed while attending shows prior to your first attempt at preparing sheep, that handlers are continually checking feet position and head position on their sheep, some with more intensity than others. Much of this aspect of showing you will learn as you go but basically try to keep your sheep standing square with legs not too far apart or close, and not too far back or forward. Perhaps of more importance is keeping them standing in as natural a position as possible, head not too high and definitely not too low. The best advice on handling your sheep is to always keep your sheep in a natural relaxed position, standing correctly, and for you to always be aware of where the judge is and follow their every move. At any time they could turn to compare your sheep to those they have just examined; if you have let your sheep relax and drop their head then it may be that instance that makes the difference in where you finish in the line up. It is good practice to always keep your sheep between the judge and yourself to always allow a full view of your exhibit to the judge. You will quickly realise that once your sheep have been at the show in a pen for a short time they calm down very quickly, and once they have been out on the
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judging floor once, they usually become very easy to handle. Regardless of how much preparation has been put into them, the first show is always the most difficult and the general rule of thumb is that once sheep have been to one show, they are fine. Always ensure that, if you are at a show that goes for more than one day, your sheep are well cared for with regard to bedding, feed and water. An important point here is to be careful about watering your sheep. If you are attending a city show, chances are the water will not be anything like the water your sheep are accustomed to drinking. A good strategy is to take a few containers of water from your property and slowly blend it into the water available at the show. A word of warning if you are the first to use the water tap, let the water run for some time to clear stagnant water from the line, especially if it is an annual show and may not have been used since the last show. Failure to observe these warnings may result in some very sick and messy sheep. If you ever have a problem with your sheep at a show, always call on the vet to inspect your sheep and attend to any problems. Remember it is not only your sheep that are constantly on display but also the care you take with regard to their welfare and appearance. If allowed, display your stud sign and information about your stud, any pedigree or performance data you have and, as you are there to promote your sheep, be close by for most of the time so when someone takes an interest in your sheep, you are available to assist them. Remember this is your most public means of promotion, make the most of it because it has probably cost you a great deal of time and money to prepare your sheep for the show and they are now in the best position to appeal to those at the show who may be searching for just your type of sheep. The show scene can be as competitive or relaxed as you wish to make it. Regardless of how serious you make the experience, bad behaviour in the sheep shed will ensure you become better known for your antics rather than the quality of your sheep. As mentioned earlier, it comes down to one person’s opinion of your sheep, accept the judge’s decision, smile and quietly return the sheep to their pen once instructed to do so and, like a good poker player, keep your inner feelings to yourself. There are a few do’s and don’ts that you should observe when showing sheep.
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Ensure that you have your sheep at the show, penned and settled well before judging commences and if your sheep are to be inspected prior to judging, do not stand around the inspectors while they are doing their job. They will come and see you if they require your input. Have your sheep haltered and ready for judging as the classes are called by the steward, don’t be rushing onto the judging floor after the judging of that class has commenced. Do not speak to the judge unless asked a question. Answer only the question and don’t give more information than required.
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Be happy for those breeders around you if they are successful, congratulate them and keep any feelings of frustration you may have to yourself. Concentrate on your own sheep and do not interfere with any other sheep on the judging floor. At completion of the show, thank the judge for his or her comments and if you have any questions, now is the time to ask them. Accept the judge’s comments and do not argue over them or dispute them.
Adhering to these simple and courteous rules will ensure that your time showing sheep is enjoyable; you will learn a great deal and you will be able to leave the show with your reputation and that of your sheep intact.
10 Promotion and marketing
Showing your sheep is only a very small part of promotion and marketing. It is how you develop the whole area of the promotion and marketing of your sheep stud that will ultimately determine the success of your operation. This entire book could be on promotion and marketing and still not cover all the possibilities and strategies available to you. You may have developed the best sheep in the district but if no one is aware of what you have for sale, no one will purchase them. If you have been to a sheep show and had some success, there is a good chance someone will have seen your sheep or heard of your success and you will pick up a few potential clients. Ultimately, after having done all the hard work, using the best sires over the best ewes, keeping them in top condition and, according to your judgement, achieving the best, you could still be left with a paddock full of young sires that you cannot sell. What a waste!
The challenge of marketing The first important point to remember is that marketing is not selling. Marketing is the promotion of your genetics and the service you offer to those around you who need what you have to offer. Just as your breeding program required a plan, so too does the marketing of those genetics. In developing a marketing plan there are a number of principles to consider first. Position and preference. Who and where are your potential customers and what are their needs? Define your marketing area on a map, say a 100 km radius. Plot where you consider your potential customers are and see whether there are any gaps. Are producers in this area using different breeds or do they have
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alternative farming practices? You will come up with one of two answers: there are no potential customers in this area or they are there but as yet not using genetics from your stud. Study the markets that most producers are targeting and decide whether you are producing rams that satisfy these parameters. Establish your primary market area and concentrate on this area first. Is there potential for a niche market that you could cater for? All these are essential questions to ask yourself before deciding on a marketing plan. Timing. The decision made by commercial producers to purchase rams and what type these rams will be is rarely made at the instant that they notice your advertisement. Decisions regarding ram selection are made many months in advance of the actual purchase of the rams. These decisions not only relate to the breed of rams to be purchased but also the proposed market they will be targeting. If you have developed a new breed for your region, your marketing plan will have to be initiated well in advance of any advertising to prompt potential customers to reconsider their current production system. An advertisement placed today is unlikely to sell rams tomorrow. Marketing is a long-term plan and not something that requires a one-off advertisement the week before you intend to start selling rams. First choice. It is this principle that is the ultimate aim of all marketing. To be the first name that comes to mind whenever sheep genetics, a breed or rams are mentioned, will usually result in you being the first choice for their ram purchases. This will not be achieved in a short space of time but will be the result of constant contact, reliability, good service and value for money. Constantly being out there in front of producers with your sheep and promoting is the best way of ‘training’ them to associate sheep genetics with your stud prefix. Develop a program. The next step is to develop a long-term and sustainable marketing strategy. A short-term burst of enthusiasm that seemingly achieves nothing can be very discouraging. Don’t expect immediate results. This is the reason why your marketing must be structured over an extended period of time. It must be reassessed and modified every year to allow for changes in markets and producers’ requirements and it must continue as long as your business is operating, not just be concentrated around ram selling season. Having considered these principles, you are now ready to develop a marketing program. This can be broken down into a few steps. Write down your objectives in as few words as possible. This should be the area that your business is focused on and should be your primary objective, not too broad. If you wish, develop a slogan or logo; it should be one that has a certain catch to it or is unique. Many large companies are instantly recognisable by a slogan or logo that may have no relevance to the product they supply. Describe your competitive advantage. What can you offer to producers that others cannot? It doesn’t just have to be the product but also the service and
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guarantees that go with any purchases. You are more than just a source of genetics, learn about your clients and develop an interest in their enterprise. Also constantly evaluate your own flock. Are you producing what your clients are looking for? Determine who your target clients are. Target your marketing at areas you consider will receive the greatest benefit to their production. Develop customer files detailing the type of rams they are buying, price range, any likes or dislikes they have toward some rams and personal information such as names and directions to their property. Determine the limits to the regions you are prepared to sell to, especially early in your development of the stud. Once you begin to get too far away from your local area, the specifications and requirements for ram production may result in your breeding program trying to cater for too large a market spread. Set goals: short, medium and long term. Make realistic objectives relating to ram sales, quality and promotion. Having set them, work toward realising them; don’t be satisfied with ‘I almost made it!’ Investigate advertising options you can use to put your marketing plan into action, such as newspapers, shows, field days etc. Along with this you should develop a promotional budget. You don’t always have to outlay large amounts of funds but it must be effective promotion. Your next step is to develop an advertising schedule. When is the best time to advertise, send out reminders or hold information seminars to ensure your promotion has maximum impact? Assess your marketing plan at the end of every year. Ask new clients how they obtained your contact number, talk to agents that sell your clients’ products and look for new innovative ideas for promotion outside the normal channels. Marketing is the one area of your business where you can make the most significant difference in a relatively short period of time. Don’t sit back and watch the ups and downs dictate how you are going to run your business. With a sound marketing strategy, you will control which direction your business is going. Now let’s put all the planning into action. There are a few simple rules that you can follow that will give you a good chance of success. Right at the start, before the purchase of your first sheep, you did some background research on not only breed types in your area, but also the potential to fill a market need in your area. Your conclusions from this exercise should have given you some insight into just what your next step should be in promoting what you have to offer prospective clients. Having established a need for your preferred sheep, the next step is making everyone in your area, and beyond, aware of just what you have and the benefits or advantages you can provide for them. Every area is different and has different marketing opportunities, so it is up to your imagination as to which promotion and marketing strategies you use to get your message across. The important factor to remember is that you have a product – genetics – which you believe will benefit
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those who choose to purchase from you. You have to be positive about the quality and potential of the sheep you have developed because if you are not convinced about the advantages your genetics offer, it becomes very difficult to convince others. It is how you advertise this belief in your own genetics that determines whether you will gain full value for your initiatives and hard work or not. What is the best way to start? Start locally, in much the same way as your introduction into showing, start where you are most comfortable. There will be endless opportunities within the local area to promote your business and the local region is where you are known and respected. You cannot, however, expect a flood of interest just because you are a local. Whether you have started with a new breed or developed another stud of an already established breed, the process of promotion is basically the same. Get your message out there and let others decide, don’t over promote to the point where it becomes monotonous, just concentrate on getting the level of interest in your sheep to a point where prospective clients will want to know more. Too much information kills interest, and a motto that you should always adhere to is ‘Public perception is reality’. Regardless of how good you think your sheep are, it is the opinion of your potential clients that matters and this will ultimately determine the level of your success. Look around your local area and identify potential avenues where you could promote. We have already covered shows, and while this is a very public, sometimes costly and time consuming means of promotion, it does have plenty of advantages as it attracts those people most likely to be interested in your sheep. People will go to a sheep show to look at and compare sheep so the people that shows attract are exactly the ones your promotion should be targeting. Other means of promotion could include sponsoring events within your community or advertising in the local show schedule, school newsletter or regional newspaper. The overall usefulness of simply using paid advertising is debatable but if strategically placed, and with the correct content, it can have some effect. The effect of a single advertisement is multiplied many times if it is accompanied by an editorial that relates to some aspect of your stud operation or a commercial story on the advantages that your particular breed, or breed type, offers commercial producers. Putting together these editorials can be as easy as ringing a local reporter or the editor of the newspaper. Local newspapers are more likely to produce an editorial than larger newspapers. Another advantage is that by initially concentrating locally, you are targeting the genetics you have developed into the exact area in which they were bred. ‘Bred local for local conditions’ is a time honoured saying but it is still as true today as it ever was. If you decide to advertise in the larger newspapers when ram selling season approaches, be aware that they tend to be saturated with advertisements from many studs promoting a wide range of breeds and even the most dedicated and patient reader will tend to browse over them without paying
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too much attention to the promotional efforts of even the most notable and wellestablished studs. Advertising can be costly and to make it worthwhile, it must be effective. Your stud operation is a business and all successful businesses allocate a percentage of earnings into an advertising budget based on total turnover. Many businesses budget for around 8–10% of total turnover but this amount can be allocated between the various sections of your advertising strategy. To simply put all your efforts into print advertising would not give you the impact you would be hoping for. As well as a budget for advertising and promotion, you need to have a plan that may include the purchase of promotional goods such as pens, diaries, hats etc. The budget will also cover items such as banners or signs that can be displayed at shows, on your front gate or on the side of your vehicle. Magnetic signs are a great way of constantly getting your name recognised in the local area and it is as simple as having a couple of small magnetic signs displaying your stud name and phone number attached to the side of your utility or car. Wherever you go, so does your advertising, every hour of the day, every day of the year. What is the best way to put together an advertisement? It is not just a matter of putting your name and phone number into a black and white square in the newspaper. The ram selling season is fast approaching, and you have decided to run an advertisement in the local paper or one of the feature sections that many regional newspapers have. Great, but what is the best way to achieve your objectives? We have all read newspapers containing advertisements for a wide range of services and products but when you finally fold the newspaper and relegate it to the recycle bin, how many of those advertisements did you actually notice? It would be a good exercise at this stage to scan through a newspaper and determine what type of printed advertisement catches the attention of the reader, and then you will have some idea of what actually works and how to start preparing your own advertising. Using your marketing plan where you have outlined your objectives and who is your target audience, you can now begin to structure an advertisement that will promote what you have to offer. But what information should you include given that the cost is determined by the size of the advertisement? Limited impact will be made if you put forward an advertisement outlining the features of your sheep – producers want a product that is going to benefit their enterprise. ‘Customers generally buy benefits, not features’ and in many cases, the features of a particular breed are the benefits but every stud with that specific breed will have those features. Select two or three benefits that are relevant to producers in your area and concentrate on them; then select one main benefit you offer as your headline. This is a more effective headline than a slogan or phrase as it attracts the reader’s attention as an immediate benefit to their enterprise. A slogan can be effective but it has to be a good one.
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You now have your headline, and, as good as it is, you still have to stop the reader browsing through the paper so they actually read your advertisement. The best way to do this is with an illustration or photo that complements your headline. Think about it. When you are browsing through a paper you could easily scan over a written section that may contain information that interests you, but if that information contains an illustration or photo that attracts your attention and then a headline that confirms your interest, you are more likely to stop and read more.
FRED’S SHEEP STUD
MORE $$$$$$$ PER LAMB
RAMS FOR SALE QUALITY RAMS NOW AVAILABLE
Ph. 2222
FRED’S SHEEP STUD Phone anytime 2222
An advertisement containing a photo and an eye catching heading will always result in more sales.
Once you have the reader’s attention, you then lead them on to the main message of the advertisement, the sales pitch if you like. This should be concise, accurate and informative, and it should lead the reader in an ordered sequence to the action you wish them to take. That is, contact you via phone, attend a sale, request more information etc. Your main objective should be to make it easy for the reader to satisfy their curiosity. Finally, your advertisement should include a distinctive signature or logo giving contact names, phone numbers, email address, directions etc. Whether to make your advertisement colour is your choice; it is more expensive but tends to have a greater impact on readers and may be better value resulting in more sales. Your advertisement should have a professional look thereby giving the reader a feeling of confidence in you as a professional person who takes pride in their business. This feeling of confidence and professionalism that your advertisement creates will flow through to your prospective client’s impression about your seedstock operation. It will make you stand out from your competitors and make you the first choice for sire purchases. Your advertisement should include five main parts:
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headline dominant illustration/photo
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main body/information distinctive signature/logo contact details.
Find out what your customers need, outline the benefits of your rams and what they will do for them, then wait for the response. It is sometimes an advantage for your future advertising if you ask your clients or locals whether they noticed your most recent advertisement – you will know it was successful when you don’t even have to ask.
Taking promotion to the next level Once you have your stud enterprise established and you wish to promote your genetics outside the local area, the whole world is open to you through the internet. The development of a website is one initiative that will promote your stud far beyond what is possible using any other form of advertising, and it is very cost effective. Whether you develop a website yourself or employ someone to design one for you, the information and detail you can include will only be limited by your imagination. Your website can include information on the history of the stud, your property location and the management of your stud, sires used, current breeding objectives and your long-term goals and recent show successes and, for maximum impact, all this information can be accompanied by numerous photos. You can, at strategic times, list details of upcoming sales including photos and performance data on your sheep and keep visitors to your site updated with what is happening in your stud through newsletters available online. The possibilities become endless and will result in a dramatic increase in recognition of your stud name. Once you have a website operational, it can become an integral part of the whole promotion strategy of your stud. The use of newspaper advertising coupled to a web address multiplies the effectiveness and efficiency of any advertising program. The same principles should be used in the development of a website that were used in the development of your marketing and promotion plan, however the amount of information that can be included on a website is more detailed and colourful. There are a few issues that you need to consider when designing and managing a website and you will find many experts who will assist you in this area. Adhering to a few basic rules will ensure your website remains effective and user friendly. If you are including photos or video footage, make them small enough in file size (not just physical size) to download in a minimum of time. There is nothing more frustrating than sitting for long periods of time waiting for pages or photos to download, and many visitors will discontinue connection to the site if pages take too long to appear. If you wish to include a large detailed photo,
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Normal level of visits per day
Sale day
Printed advertising and flyers distributed
Sheep exhibited at feature show
Website visits per day
use a thumbnail image that visitors can activate if they are interested in viewing a larger version. The other essential task is to keep your site updated. If you are including performance records or information that is changing constantly, keep it current. If you have a news section on your website, give visitors a reason to visit the site continually to catch up on what is happening within your stud. Visitors will often bookmark and revisit sites of interest and if they contain outdated information, their visits and interest will cease. Websites should also contain information about the management, history and breeding objectives of your business and all the different areas of your website should have your contact details accessible from every page through live links. Most website hosts will provide means for the owner of the site to watch and analyse the number of visits and determine the popular areas within their website. This can also be used to determine the effect that any other advertising is having by tracking the level of interest on your website. The following is an example of just what happens when a good printed advertising program is coordinated with good information on a website. The graph indicates daily website visits against advertising and promotion events over a two-month period.
Effect of combined advertising using shows, printed and website promotion on the number of website ‘hits’ per day.
Once your stud has grown to the point where you can justify the use of a website, you will quickly discover the power that the internet gives you with regard to promotion, and it will open a whole new avenue for sales. Not only do you have
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increased potential to sell rams to a much larger and different client base, but the website allows the promotion of your genetics through semen and embryo sales, as well as the opportunity to promote some of your sale rams as stud rams. While a website may have a limited direct effect on the number of rams you sell locally, the exposure and public recognition of your stud will increase markedly which will have a positive effect on sales across all areas of your operation. Once again ‘public perception is reality’.
11 Sale time
Ram sales The time has finally arrived when all your hard work and planning will turn what has seemed like a hobby up until now into a profitable business. Depending on where you are situated and the timing of your joining program, it will have been close to two years since you began joining ewes and much will have happened during that time to both encourage and discourage you. Breeding stud sheep tends to become much more of a passion than commercial sheep production and the loss of a ewe or a potentially good lamb can, at times, seem like a major disaster. However, to balance these feelings, there will have been times when you felt like you were on top of the world with the recognition of an outstanding young ram lamb in your mob, success at a show or a complimentary visit from a recognised breeder. Like all farming enterprises it has its bad moments, but all is forgotten come sale time. If all has progressed according to plan you should have a very even mob of rams that have been sorted through. All those with any structural faults, those that are not up to standard with regard to performance or those with problems with testes have been taken out and sold as commercial lambs. You may have also taken out a few young ram lambs that you wish to retain for your own use. This is the advantage of being a stud breeder, you get first pick. Try to make your sale rams look as even as possible and, regardless of how they have been managed, have them in good even condition at sale time. Whether you have decided to have them at maximum adult weight or just good commercial condition is up to your
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The culmination of all that you have worked for, good sheep and plenty of potential buyers.
management program but either way, they should look ‘good’ when presented to commercial clients as they are more than likely going to put them in with the ewes soon after purchasing them. Having done all the hard work over the past few years, don’t let poor presentation of rams bring you disappointment when you should be celebrating your achievements. If you have terminal sires, they should have been shorn about a month prior to sale time, maternal and wool sires should ideally have around six months’ wool. They should all have been vaccinated, drenched, feet and testes checked and brucellosis accredited – all good management practice but essential when presenting rams for sale, and all this information should be made available to prospective clients at your sale. The decision to sell rams by appointment on farm, participate in a multivendor auction or hold an auction on farm will have been made by you some time ago and your management, planning and advertising will have been tailored around this decision. The handling of your rams at sale time will now be vastly different depending on which sale system you have decided upon. The structures you need in place to handle the sale of your rams will also differ depending on the sale system you have decided upon. Selling rams on farm whether by appointment or auction means potential clients will be visiting your property and need to be able to inspect rams either within your sheep yards or inside a specialised sale area, preferably under cover. If you are selling rams by appointment on farm then your sheep yards that have been set up to enable you to work your sheep all year round should be sufficient. If, however, you intend to hold an on-farm auction, then a more specialised structure needs to be in place. The structure must allow
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inspection of all rams listed in the catalogue and these rams must be moved through a sale ring efficiently and without significant delays. A rostrum for the auctioneers to operate from, preferably over and above the sheep being sold, and an elevated viewing area for your clients will ensure the best possible presentation of your sale sheep. Once the sale is over, movement of sold rams from individual pens to a loading ramp should also be an easy and trouble-free exercise. The sale area does not need to be elaborate but must be functional and provide a means by which potential clients can view the sheep pre-sale, get a good view during the sale and load the sheep efficiently after the sale. Depending upon the breed of sheep you are producing, good light will be an important factor in the favourable presentation of your sheep. If you are breeding wool sheep, evaluation of the fleece characteristics is paramount to your clients’ selection of the correct sheep and this will require a very good level of even light. The best quality light is natural sunlight and if possible the preferred display of these sheep breeds prior to auction is outdoors, weather permitting. A good set of individual pens assembled outdoors alongside your selling ring is an ideal way to allow the best evaluation of the fleece characteristics of your sheep. If this is not possible or the weather is such that the sheep cannot be displayed outside, some very good high-quality lighting must be installed under cover to allow ideal
The view you get at a well-designed sale arena.
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Weather permitting, an outdoor display of your sheep creates a memorable experience.
assessment of your sheep. The atmosphere that is created at an auction sale held outdoors on a nice sunny day is an added bonus to the quality of your sheep and something that will be long remembered by your clients. If you have decided to have an on-farm auction, your agent should inform you of your responsibilities regarding when the rams need to be penned and what the procedure will be on sale day. You may have organised a pre-sale inspection or an information day where prospective clients not only look at your rams, but perhaps can hear from speakers representing organisations closely associated with the sheep industry. Either of these actions will have formed an important part of your promotion and advertising plan. The rams should have been sorted through and graded prior to auction day with a pen number either attached or branded on the sheep to allow identification of individual animals, which correlates with the information printed in a catalogue that provides relevant information on the sheep’s performance and pedigree. When grading rams for sale, there are a few rules to follow so consult your agent as to how best to order your catalogue of sires. Depending on the time of your auction, it is a good idea to have the rams penned early, have a few helpers on hand to assist and be set up well in advance of the listed starting time. Many commercial clients like to arrive at sales early to allow plenty of inspection time and discuss their requirements with the stud breeder. Not only will sale day be an exciting time, but also stressful, so don’t get caught short of
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time. Get ready early and relax. Have all catalogues and relevant information displayed for clients to use and make yourself available around the sheep pens to answer any enquiries from clients. Some clients will ask for advice on ram selection, some will just want to talk about the weather and wish you luck and others will just look after themselves. Chances are the time between start of inspection and sale time will go quickly and you should ensure that you are available for questions at all times. Your agent will have been through sale procedure, reserve prices and the process of loading rams after the sale. Once the sale begins, enjoy the experience knowing that all your planning has finally reached sale time. The production of your sale catalogue is relatively important as this will be the printed document that all buyers will consult to identify your sheep. If you are using performance data, ensure that the catalogue explains the relevance and implication of this data. The important point to remember here is not to saturate your clients with information that they do not require, just enough to explain the data that is relevant to their enterprise. Make the catalogue concise yet easily understood; it should contain all the necessary information but still be small enough to fit neatly into their trouser pocket and be easy to read with plenty of space for notes. Include your contact details in the catalogue should your clients require more information, rams after the sale or further contact regarding subsequent problems with their purchases. The ideal outcome once the sale is complete is that all rams will have been sold but, realistically, you will either have some that didn’t sell or a few that didn’t make the auction catalogue. Either way, immediately post-auction, clients who have not filled their ram orders or may have made a late decision to purchase a few more rams will approach you asking for what you have available. The decision as to sale price will be entirely up to you, however usually if they are unsold from the auction, the reserve price is the minimum. For rams that didn’t make the auction, price may be negotiable depending on what you see as the potential demand for the rams you have left. The nature of the auction system is that you are trying to get maximum price and your clients are trying to obtain the best rams they can but as cheaply as possible. Always remember, you have the genetics they require and you have to make your enterprise profitable. The advantages of the auction system basically come down to obtaining the current market value for your rams, which includes the ups and downs of market forces. If there are a few select rams that a number of breeders want, this scenario usually results in very high prices for those rams and will elevate your sale average quite substantially. The problem of having ram clients all wanting the top rams and expecting first choice is solved because the clients themselves must have the ability to first select those top rams from the catalogue and then outbid others
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to secure their choice of rams. Auction day, while it can be hectic and at times frustrating, means that all rams are sold on the one day and the task of attending to ram clients’ needs over many weeks, and continually mustering rams, is avoided. Many of the same principles apply for multi-vendor auctions except that you may have to transport your rams off farm to a central sale point. This in itself can present a few problems, not just with transport but disease risk. Ensure that both the sale site and the other sheep that are listed in the auction have the appropriate accreditation, as problems will arise when any sheep that have not sold put the rest of your flock at risk if they are returned to the property. One other aspect of multi-vendor auctions is that not all sheep have been through the same management and feed regime and this will have to be taken into account when deciding whether to participate in this type of sale. If you have prepared your sheep with a totally commercial focus, they may look out of place next to sheep that have never missed a feed. This does not mean that your sheep will not sell well, but with a wide range of potential clients at these auctions, you will have to work harder to convince clients that the 20 kg difference in body weight is due to feed and not genetics. The message is that if you are going to participate in multi-vendor auctions, ensure that your sheep compare visually with the others attending the auction as you can sometimes adversely affect the reputation of your stud through no fault of your own or the genetics you are using. Nevertheless, multi-vendor auctions are a great way to test the market and sell your sheep provided a few precautions are followed. Your sheep can gain a reputation at these sales that will flow on to more sales from your property so investigate the possibility of selling just a few rams at these auctions initially and move on from there. It would be unusual if you were permitted to sell the majority of your ram drop at a multi-vendor auction so this form of selling would have to be combined with either an auction or on-farm selling of the remainder of your rams. On-farm sale of rams by appointment is perhaps the most time consuming means of selling rams, but it can be the most satisfying. It is time consuming because, rather than mustering the rams just once to yard them the morning of an auction sale, the rams have to be yarded every time a client wishes to inspect your rams. However, there are ways around this slight inconvenience and there are some significant rewards selling rams this way. Your advertising will inform prospective clients as to your method of sale and if they have been given a phone number to contact for on-farm sales, the phone could begin to ring the day the advertisement is listed in the paper. To continually yard rams every day for an extended period of time can become counterproductive so it is suggested you schedule your selling days for two or three times a week and inform your clients of the days and times available for ram inspections. By using this system, you can stagger four clients per day for two days per week then have a few days off to allow recovery for both
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yourself and the rams. What are the advantages of selling rams on farm? If you are conducting an auction, the greatest concern is just what price you are going to achieve for your rams. Certainly you can set a reserve but it is usually at a lower level than you would hope to achieve for a majority of the rams. Selling on farm allows you to dictate, within reason, the price rather than your ram clients setting the price. You can also segregate the rams into grades with different price structures. Selling one to one on farm also allows the client to discuss their particular requirements with you in a situation that will not be interrupted by another client wanting your attention. Many ram clients prefer this personal contact with their ram supplier and feel more comfortable knowing that they can discuss any concerns or problems without the limitations of time at an auction. There is also the knowledge that if they have a financial budget to adhere to, onfarm selling at fixed prices allows them to plan both the number of rams required and the total cost before they have even seen the rams; the same can never be said for the uncertainty of the auction system. It is the combination of the personal contact with the ram supplier and the certainty of price that attracts many buyers to this system of selling as a much closer relationship and trust are formed between both buyer and seller, which are essential for long-term client loyalty. The certainty of price also allows the ram supplier to budget on income from their ram sales and still retain control of prices. This gets the ram supplier to the point where they are able to adjust the price once most of the rams have been sold or they have the flexibility to work out a special deal for clients who may wish to purchase larger numbers. Your first year of ram sales can be a little intimidating and you will more than likely have a few rams left over – if you haven’t, great! Whatever the situation with numbers, the day after your sale is the first day of planning for next year’s sale. Learn from any mistakes you consider you may have made, source new clients and new areas to promote as well as new promotion techniques. Don’t ever become complacent with your success as there are plenty of factors that can alter your situation suddenly. Just as you developed a stud breeding operation in a new area or with a new breed, someone else can duplicate just what you have achieved. A change in sire preference due to changing market requirements, a swing in potential for an export market or a drought can all bring about significant changes in not only the sire of choice but preference of the type of sire within a breed being sourced. Keep your eye on the markets relevant to your stud enterprise and be prepared to make alterations where necessary and change the focus of your promotion when needed to ensure your long-term success.
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Elite sales Many of the high profile sheep exhibitions, such as Royal Shows, conduct elite sales in conjunction with the show. These provide breeders an opportunity to showcase the best sheep available and also gain a premium price for their best sheep. In most cases, the sheep for sale have been judged as part of the competition and will therefore have been prepared to look their best. For both the seller and buyer these sales usually result in high prices for the top sheep and a higher profile for those involved in the sale of these sheep. As these sales usually involve the leading sheep and top breeders within the industry, the sheep on display draw the highest level of scrutiny and any sheep not quite up to standard will attract limited interest. For new breeders, this form of auction sale is the pinnacle of promotion but first ensure you have the quality of sheep that will allow you to gain from the experience. Attending one of these sales and mixing with breeders and potential clients is a must for every new stud breeder, and you will quickly learn not only a great deal about the sheep and how to present them, but also how an auction system works at the top level and the strategies many breeders use to sell their top sheep as well as purchase them.
Maximum promotion and exposure at an elite sale associated with a Royal Show.
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Surplus ewe sales One area often overlooked by many stud breeders is the sale of surplus ewes and their financial value to your whole operation. In your efforts to continually increase the standard of your genetics through an annual review of your ewe base, you will have a number of both cast for age ewes and younger ewe culls available for sale each year. While a percentage of the ewes will be culled for reasons such as bad udders, poor mothering ability and broken mouths, many will just be culled because younger ewes offer potentially better quality genetics. These ewes can provide a valuable source of genetics for both new and existing studs and commercial producers. As a supplier of rams, you may also get an occasional call from a sheep producer asking about the availability of surplus ewes, and the value of your ewes in this situation is much greater than their worth through the saleyards. Treat your surplus ewes in much the same way as you do your rams, they are not just surplus stock but an asset that can bring substantial financial gains. Some stud producers base their budget for new sire purchases on the amount they obtain from their cull ewes. Ensure that if you are selling ewes either to other stud breeders or commercial breeders that they are in good breeding condition and sound and, if not for the fact that they had been superseded, would have remained in your stud flock. The reputation of your stud can be affected through the sale of quality ewes in much the same way as ram sales. You will also have a number of ewe lambs that have been culled form your young ewe mob. A percentage of these are not suitable for sale onto other studs but, depending on how heavily you culled, some will be good enough for other studs to use. If you have classed your young ewes early enough, the culls can be sold as lambs, otherwise they can, as with the older ewes, be sold into either the stud or commercial market as breeders. The opportunity to ‘value add’ your cull ewe mob exists if you decide to join them to your top sires and then conduct a joined ewe or mated ewe sale later in the season. Scanned-in-lamb ewes joined to your best sire/s can bring a premium if you have the time and opportunity to retain the ewes for joining and the capacity to maintain them on property until sale time.
Follow up Your last ram has just left the property and now is the time to sit back and enjoy the feeling of a job well done. If this is all you do until the same time next year, don’t be surprised if you do not enjoy the same success the following year. You have now generated a list of clients that have purchased your genetics on the promise that they will deliver certain advantages to their commercial operation.
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With that purchase comes the responsibility to ensure that they are satisfied, not just as they drive out the gate with their young rams, but satisfied enough with your service and genetics to return the following year. The client file you have developed should include information such as names (including first names of all partners), address, phone number, type and number of rams purchased, information on their farm management, quantity and breed of their ewes they are running, and so on. Endeavour to maintain some degree of contact with your clients through occasional visits to the saleyards or wool store, property visits to see how your rams are performing or an annual (preferably more often) newsletter or flyer. It is especially important as the following year’s sales approach. Another good means of keeping in touch is to keep watch in the local paper and if you notice one of your clients recognised for whatever reason, a congratulatory note or call is always a sure way of maintaining a good relationship with them. Never assume that you do not need to continue to develop new clients, even if you are maintaining constant ram numbers. For various reasons, existing clients may not return each year and a good rule of thumb is to find at least one to two new clients each year for every 10 existing ones. It is always easier and more financially rewarding to source extra rams for clients than have rams left over that more than likely will finish up in the saleyards. A good loyal client base is a guarantee of a successful long-term stud breeding operation. Over a period of time, if you become successful at providing rams to local producers, there will be other producers who, like you, see an opportunity to diversify and undertake the challenge of stud breeding, especially if you are making it look easy and achieving good results. Depending on the particular sheep breed and the commercial trends within your specific industry, this may or may not influence potential ram sales from your stud, but if your region is already saturated with ram numbers, it is going to result in an oversupply of rams and will potentially have an impact on your operation. This is where your approach to your clients’ requirements and your follow up becomes extremely important. If you are the only source of particular rams in your area with no competition, then your follow up is fairly standard and you should be confident that clients will return the following year. When there is a degree of competition at a local level, the manner in which you look after your clients can make a huge difference. It is important not to pressure or feel pressured by competition, but let clients make their own decisions. The biggest mistake is to criticise your competition in any form as your accusations will spread quickly amongst potential clients and possibly be detrimental to your reputation. Let your sheep’s performance at a commercial level make the decision for potential clients and concentrate your efforts on developing your genetics and service as the preferred choice for new and existing clients. When faced with the choice of two suppliers, clients will usually prefer the stud
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that provides the best service, provided the genetics of the rams are not too different. This is where your client follow up becomes a vitally important aspect of your stud breeding operation. You will always lose some clients over time for various reasons, many out of your control, but you will also gain new clients through ‘word of mouth’. When you begin to gain new clients as a result of recommendations from either existing clients or individuals who are aware of the quality of your genetics, then you will realise you are producing the genetics that are performing as these new clients are making the choice to come to you. The relationship between ram supplier and client is one that requires constant attention. If your client is not achieving the rewards that he or she expected to get by using your genetics, you should be the first to find out, not their fellow drinkers at the local pub. This will only happen if you maintain a good and honest relationship with your clients. The direction of your breeding program should reflect the needs and demands of your clients, not a personal preference for a specific type of sheep. Discuss with your clients any problems they may have encountered with previous ram purchases and the direction that they would like to see their lamb enterprise heading. By following up on ram sales, you will develop a relationship that will encourage your clients to contact you the instant they have a problem, and your next step here must be to listen, not immediately defend yourself. The old saying ‘the customer is always right’ still applies in the stud industry, even when you suspect they are wrong. The guarantee that you give to your clients should not only be to replace, free of charge, any rams that die before their first joining or any sires they are not totally satisfied with, but also that you will listen and cooperate with them should they have a problem with any aspect of your rams. Not all your clients are going to be one hundred per cent satisfied, it is how you handle the ones with a complaint that will ultimately determine the reputation you develop as a stud breeder, and potentially from which stud they source their rams. All genetics being close to equal, it will be the follow up service you provide that will attract long-term and loyal ram clients to your stud. The same principle applies to any area of your stud operation. If you are supplying genetics to other studs through stud rams or semen, investigate the results of their purchases and show an interest in their operation. If a problem occurs with poor conception rates either through a ram fertility problem or bad semen quality, work out some form of compensation. Semen is easily replaced, stud rams not so easily, but there are ways of assisting clients that have experienced problems. One of the major differences between commercial sheep production and stud breeding is the interaction between the people involved. Stud breeders need to have the ability to listen to any concerns of their commercial clients as they are a ‘shop front’ or a supermarket for genetics and there is more than one shop out there. They need to be able to communicate with clients in a way that makes
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individual clients feel important. The relationship between stud and client needs to be seen as a partnership where both parties benefit by communicating and working together. Selling genetics to first-time clients is relatively easy; your task as a stud breeder and ram supplier is to ensure that the claims you have made regarding your genetics are experienced by those using your genetics. Let the sheep do the talking initially and it will be the manner in which you maintain contact with your clients throughout the following year that will determine whether you see them at next year’s sale.
12 Endless possibilities
Your stud has finally reached the point where you consider that you may even become successful at your newfound passion, and by now you will have certainly realised that stud breeding is just that, a passion. If your ram sale has resulted in you being short of rams, you will most likely consider expanding your stud operation, perhaps at the expense of some other aspect of your farming operation. You may give consideration to a slight adjustment to your breeding objectives if your sales have not been as good as expected or you can foresee some advantages in a slightly different area of production. Once you have made a start in the stud industry, the possibilities are endless as you are in control of a powerful tool, namely genetics, and you can mix and match as you like within the boundaries of the rules and regulations of your breed society. Whatever you decide, you are more than likely eager to continue to experiment with different sires and genetics. Once you realise just how big and diverse the stud industry is, you will appreciate that there is a whole new world of opportunities beyond just producing rams for your local area. Marketing rams outside your immediate area to commercial clients and other stud breeders is the obvious first step in any expansion plans. This opens up a whole new area and one that will require a little more background research and effort. The temptation to expand your operation is always enticing, especially if your first selling year has been a success and you get the feeling that this stud breeding is just a matter of producing genetics and the rewards will come. Selling rams outside your immediate area will come with time and the acceptance of your genetics through word of mouth and the subsequent lift in the reputation of your sheep. The temptation to set your goals at producing stud rams for sale to other
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studs is financially inviting but will require a lot more than just your desire to enter this higher level of marketing. Reputations built up over a long time and a history of using quality genetics will have the advantage over any short-term success in selling stud rams, but don’t let that deter you. The worst that can happen is that you will have to use the sires yourself. Many new stud breeders are tempted by the high prices they witness being paid for quality stud rams; only a gifted few actually ever experience that success. Genetic marketing through the sale of semen and embryos is another marketing avenue that can lead to substantial financial gains and lift the profile and acceptance of your genetics across the industry. You will find that, rather than purchasing a new stud sire, a fellow breeder may want to introduce genetics that offer something a little different or new to the industry. It may be that they are searching for a breeding line that is totally different to what they have been using. As a new stud breeder, this is one area of genetic marketing that should never be forgotten as a means of testing your genetics outside your own flock. Many breed societies engage in programs where groups of breeders allocate and test young sires between participating studs through the use of semen and this provides a great way to benchmark your sheep against some of the more established studs. It can also be of benefit to the reputation of your sheep amongst fellow breeders if your genetics perform well in their flock. The sale of these genetics can be expanded to include the export market if you are prepared to find your way through the maze of testing, quarantine and accreditation to get your genetics approved – the rewards, however, may be substantial. If you are marketing genetics, it is good practice to collect and retain DNA samples from each sire that you have collected semen from. It is easy and inexpensive and may be beneficial at some time in the future for a number of reasons. For example, if there is a dispute over the parentage relating to semen you have sold, it can be quickly resolved with a DNA parentage test – there have been incidents when semen distribution has resulted in some dramatic ‘mix ups’. Also, with the increasing discovery of specific genes for commercial traits, even your old deceased sires can be investigated for the presence of these specific genes if you have collected and retained DNA samples. Many breed societies have either encouraged or are enforcing the collection of DNA from registered sires. Advances in reproductive technology have accelerated the increase of both the numbers of new introduced sheep breeds and the quality of these genetics. Embryo transfer has allowed new breeds of sheep to quickly become a commercial reality and at the same time has facilitated the multiplication of the leading genetics within these new breeds. The identification of specific genes through DNA testing is continuing to have a large impact on the future direction of the sheep industry and the use of ET and JIVET ( juvenile in vitro embryo transfer) will ensure that any discoveries of new beneficial genes will be distributed through
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the sheep industry at a rate many times greater than would have been the case in the past. By implementing these new advances in reproductive technology, you as a stud breeder have the ability to duplicate, very quickly, any of your elite genetics. It is possible that with the use of ET, your total stud ewe flock may only be a small proportion of the flock you need when each ewe is joined naturally. Instead the few high performance elite ewes you retain would have embryos harvested and transferred into surrogate ewes, resulting in a very high percentage of the best possible genetics within your flock. As a stud breeder you have a whole new area to explore and have the ability through constant advances in areas such as DNA testing, gene mapping and performance recording to not only determine genetic blueprints of each individual animal in your mob, but to manipulate these to produce specific genetics that will produce just what specific markets require. The use of performance recording has allowed the development of different types of sheep within a breed that are suited to a wider range of climatic variables and market specifications. If the market research you are conducting within your area identifies the need for something a little different, then as a stud breeder you have the freedom to develop a different type of sheep that will satisfy this requirement. It may not be in the traditional form of a pure breed or the type of sheep historically used in the area, but you have the opportunity to test your intuition through the development of genetics that are not traditional. It would not involve your complete flock, just a small selection of ewes, and if it doesn’t work as you anticipated you will still be able to ‘sell your mistakes’ through the saleyards. The identification of new genes through DNA testing will not only allow the rapid duplication of these genes through a specific breed but may also give rise to the development of composite sires that will carry these genes as well. New genetic markers relating to not only carcase traits but also management and animal health issues are being discovered regularly and these will play an important part in the future direction of many stud breeding programs. You can structure your breeding program to be as basic or as specialised as you wish but if you are planning on keeping pace with the industry, it would be advisable to keep a keen eye on what is happening at the top level of your specific sheep industry. There is a good chance your commercial clients will be hearing about these discoveries and advances in technology and you have the opportunity to keep pace with the industry and put your genetics to the test and perhaps lead the way in some of these discoveries. The sheep industry of the future may look vastly different to the way it does now. As a stud breeder you have the opportunity to use whatever technology is available so your ‘dream’ of the perfect sheep becomes a reality. Don’t always be tempted to follow what the rest of the industry is doing if you feel there is something else that could be beneficial to your operation. There are specific areas
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where the boundaries are clearly set and, depending on the regulations of your breed society, you may be limited in just how far you can ‘change the mould’. The commercial sheep industry has in recent years been the beneficiary of significant changes in not only the introduction of new breeds, but also the fine tuning of existing breeds through the implementation of performance testing. As a stud breeder, you have the opportunity and means to use all these introductions and innovations, to continue to provide commercial producers with genetics that achieve maximum profitability and consistently reach current market standards and possibly to even establish new undiscovered markets.
13 Stud profiles
Cadell Border Leicester Stud Harper Family Ariah Park NSW
Robert and Barry Harper, Cadell Border Leicester Stud.
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In 2006, the Cadell Border Leicester Stud celebrated 60 years in the seedstock industry. Established in 1946 by the late Ray Harper, Cadell stands as one of the leading Border Leicester studs in NSW. It has survived through both the good and bad times of seasonal and market fluctuations and currently joins 1100 adult ewes annually. Cadell sells around 500 flock rams annually with both stud rams and young ewes available at their on-property auction sale. Not all flock rams are sold at the on-property auction with slightly less than half the flock rams for sale penned at auction. Over the years several large volume ram purchases have ensured that the reputation of their rams has extended across state borders resulting in a very loyal client base. Many of the farming families that purchased rams from Cadell in the early years of the stud’s development still source their rams from Cadell every year with a degree of trust that permits Barry Harper to select rams for them and deliver them to a nominated paddock without any face to face interaction. One family in particular have purchased rams from Cadell every year since the foundation of the stud. Client satisfaction is a high priority in the history of Cadell Border Leicester Stud. ‘My father introduced a deferred payment system, whereby payment for flock rams was not due until the following June and this convenience still remains today.’ The stud is still being run as a family business with Barry and his wife Helen as the senior partners and sons Colin and Robert the next generation to become involved in the stud operation. ‘With a large breeding flock and an enormous amount of record keeping, we had to transfer to a computerised system in the 1980s and then the development of Lambplan (a performance recording system) in 2003 resulted in a lot of additional computer work with an initial input of 22 000 entries into the database.’ ‘This massive requirement in any stud takes time, and this is where the family kicks in full swing, with Robert doing a lot of the computer work, and Helen attending to the paperwork such as transfers, returns and initial recording as the lambs are tagged. It’s important to have the family involved the whole way through and one of the things that has contributed to the longevity of the stud has been having the family involved.’ The Harper family manage the stud in conjunction with a wheat and canola cropping enterprise as well as a commercial flock of Merino ewes which are joined to Border Leicester rams and the first-cross ewe progeny sold through a special ewe sale. The success of Cadell Border Leicester Stud has been due to the careful early selection of preferred genetics which formed the initial base of the stud, followed by the careful introduction of selected ewe and ram bloodlines to develop a line of sheep that ‘moves with the times without chasing extremes’. Cadell for many years promoted their sheep through the show ring leading to many Champion Ram and
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Most Successful Exhibitor titles at both the Albury Sheep Show and Sydney Royal Show. The late Ray Harper was always interested in the promotion of the Border Leicester breed, leading him to become president of the NSW Border Leicester Sheep Breeders Association and a founding member of the Australian Border Leicester Association. This tradition has been followed by Barry who is the current president of the NSW body and a representative on the National Association. By becoming totally involved in all aspects of the sheep breeding industry, both Ray and Barry have had the honour of being asked to judge in Australia and overseas (for example, at the New Zealand Royal Show). The Harper family reflect with pleasure on long-time friends and clients they have made during their time in the seedstock industry. Looking back on the success of the Cadell Border Leicester Stud, Barry offers some points he would recommend to those who are considering starting a new sheep stud.
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Breed a sheep that is saleable in your area. Begin with the long term in mind. Be prepared for market fluctuations. Have some other form of income to carry you through the tough times. Don’t think that because you have a sheep stud you will automatically make more money per hectare than the commercial breeder next door. Be aware of stud fees charged by state and federal breed associations. Be aware of the cost and time involved in health status programs such as brucellosis and Johne’s accreditation schemes. Presenting your sheep at agricultural shows may be a way of advertising, but it is time consuming and costly.
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Illoura Poll Dorset, Dorset Horn and White Suffolk Stud Piggott Family Moorlands SA
Allan Piggott, stud principal of the Illoura Stud.
What makes it tick! The Illoura Stud commenced in 1938 when the late RV Piggott bought 15 cast for age Dorset Horn ewes and started a Dorset Horn stud on the newly cleared farm at Moorlands, in the South Australian mallee. He was disappointed with the constitution of rams that had been purchased and he aimed to breed rams that would thrive in the harsh environment. The stud began breeding Poll Dorsets in 1964, and then started breeding White Suffolks in 1985 as a foundation member of the Australian White Suffolk Association. The Illoura Stud is managed by Allan and Sue Piggott, currently mating 750 ewes (including 100 ewe lambs), and from these ewes the stud will tag over 1000 lambs. The stud annually sells 400 flock rams to clients across southern and eastern Australia. The top 250 rams are sold in an on-property auction in mid September with the remainder being sold privately. While the flock ram sales provide the bread and butter income for the business, stud sheep sales and semen sales have provided the icing on the cake. The Illoura Stud has traditionally bred rams for clients in the South Australian mallee, which were mated to Merino ewes producing an early maturing lamb for
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both the domestic and export markets. In recent years the stud has expanded their client base to other regions of the country to reduce the risks involved with selling to only one geographic area. The clients and markets have dictated the breeding objectives of the stud and the style of rams that are produced. It is important to remember that the commercial attributes required by the client must always reflect the breeding objectives of a stud. The stud has been showing sheep at the Royal Adelaide Show for over 50 years. Showing is an excellent opportunity to benchmark your stock against the best sheep in the country. There will be ongoing debate regarding the merit of showing in the commercial lamb industry. The Illoura philosophy has maintained that rams must have the conformation to perform well in the show ring as well as having the good performance figures that provide a more accurate picture of the genetic worth of that animal. A ram that can only perform in one of these areas is of limited use. Recent show highlights include Champion White Suffolk Ram at the inaugural showing of the breed at the Royal Sydney Show, Champion and Reserve Champion White Suffolk ewes at the Royal Adelaide Show, and Illoura is consistently in the top three studs vying for the Most Successful Exhibitor award. The stud has accessed genetics from around Australia to achieve their breeding objectives. The stud was a foundation member of PLG (Prime Lamb Genetics) and has used the best White Suffolk genetics available when developing the breed in the 1980s. While the stud has purchased expensive rams over the years, many improvements have been made through the AI program where 150–200 ewes are mated annually to elite sires from across the country. Using a cross-section of sires that are widely used in the industry will provide important linkages with other studs, which is an essential requirement for performance recording programs. There are exciting developments in the sheep industry to assist the stud master and these should be utilised to ensure that the stud is making strong genetic gains as quickly as possible. A crucial decision for all stud masters is the selection criteria that will be used by the stud. The selection criteria must reflect the requirements of your clients and the broader prime lamb industry. While performance figures are a useful tool, they should never be the highest priority when selecting sheep to be retained in the stud. Studs should always do their first cull on physical traits before consulting performance figures. The Illoura Stud has always culled any sheep with suspect conformation, no matter how good the figures, because genetic faults will frustrate your breeding program for years to come. Clients will remember problems they have with sheep more vividly than the exceptional figures that came with the sheep when it was purchased. Most importantly, honesty and integrity are essential characteristics that a stud breeder must maintain if they are to be successful in the business. Remember that the rams being sold will be your best (or worst) form of advertising. Breeding and selling stock that do not perform will do irreparable damage to a stud’s reputation.
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Leahcim White Suffolk and Poll Merino Stud Michael family Snowtown SA
Andrew Michael, owner of the Leahcim White Suffolk and Merino studs.
Leahcim is owned and managed by Andrew, Rosemary, Luke, Stewart and Alistair Michael at Snowtown in the mid north of South Australia, and has been developing stud sheep flocks for more than 35 years. This Michael family is the fifth generation on the original Michael property, with ventures into numerous businesses operating over that period including race horses, grapes, pigs, cropping, cattle and sheep. Leahcim White Suffolk stud was one of the foundation White Suffolk studs in Australia. Prior to that, Leahcim ran a Suffolk and a Poll Dorset stud. Leahcim also owns a Poll Merino stud and commercial Merino flock that are run at Snowtown and also on their pastoral property east of Burra in a 220 mm rainfall zone. The breeding of Poll Merinos and White Suffolks at Leahcim has produced many highs, along with some lows. Reasons for some of the lows include droughts, poor commodity prices, hard work, bad sheep selection, theft, disease and stud sheep breeding pressures. Leahcim has been fortunate within their breeding to have some very exciting highlights, such as champion rams and ewes and the first Supreme Champion ram for the White Suffolk breed. Leahcim have also sold rams for $25 500, had record flock ram prices, and exported rams and genetics to Chile,
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Argentina, New Zealand and USA, but most rewarding for Leahcim is the impact their genetics are having on commercial clients’ flocks. When starting a stud you should clearly identify your breeding priorities. Consider the following points.
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Is your business going to be: a) a hobby? b) a sideline to an existing business? c) to breed your own replacement sires? d) a sole business? e) an investor business? f) the most innovative stud and flock-improver genetics in the world? Have you identified your target markets? Does your business plan focus at least 10 years forward? What are your goals and dreams? Listen to other breeders and industry professionals but always make your own decisions (it’s your business). As your business develops continually reassess your markets. Don’t ever become complacent. To be a success in breeding and marketing stud and flock sheep you need:
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credibility to produce a product that is saleable it to be a profitable part of your business it to be rewarding (financially and as an enjoyable experience).
After considering all the points and starting your breeding program, continually look at the direction the commercial sheep industry is moving in. For example, in the prime lamb industry, consider the importance of increasing high food conversion, improving red meat yields or value adding your skin values. In Merino breeding it could be looking at value adding your sheep by selecting for sheep that don’t require mulesing or don’t require jetting or don’t need drenching. The sheep you are breeding must be flock improvers, and there are so many breeding tools available, such as AI, JIVET, ET, Sheep Genetics Australia, pregnancy testing and skin testing, to help you make genetic gains. Leahcim says ‘the fellowship and friends we have gained through sheep breeding has been enormous. We could travel the length and breadth of Australia visiting friends and clients and we have been fortunate to have developed a sheep business relationship with clients in South America which allows us to travel overseas and develop further business contacts and friends.’
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Belswick Merino Stud L’Estrange family Condobolin
NSW
Peter L’Estrange with daughter Amie and their Champion Strong Wool Merino Ewe, Sydney Royal Easter Show, 2006.
Peter L’Estrange is a third generation owner of the Belswick Merino Stud at Condobolin in central NSW and now manages it with wife Terri and son Andrew. The Belswick Merino Stud was founded in 1935 by his grandfather, RK L’Estrange, using ‘Bundemar’ bloodlines and, as Bundemar was one of the more influential studs in NSW between 1930 and 1970, this provided a good sound genetic base for the future development of the stud. Peter’s father, Ken L’Estrange, took control of the stud in the 1960s and it was under his guidance that Peter became interested in the breeding of stud sheep, taking sheep to shows and participating in junior judging competitions. When Peter took over the Belswick Merino Stud in 1980, he had around 100 registered stud ewes which were primarily used to breed rams for their own flock use. With a vision of bigger things for the stud sheep industry, Belswick set about increasing stud sheep numbers and began sourcing all genetics from the Uardry
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Merino Stud near Hay and the Pooginook Merino Stud at Jerilderie. From the early 1980s they increased their showing activity and in 1985 conducted their inaugural Belswick annual on-property ram sale. In 1988, Peter was elected to the Council of the NSW Stud Merino Breeders Association, which he remained on for 10 years. By 1990, Belswick was showing sheep at all the major Merino sheep shows in Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria and had increased ram sales to between 250 and 300 rams per year. The Belswick on-property ram sale had grown from strength to strength, and by 1996 a complete clearance of 90 rams averaged $1280 putting Belswick in the top 10 Merino on-property sale averages in NSW. But with increased sales came increased pressure and work load and when Peter’s health failed unexpectedly due to kidney failure just before ram sales in 2000, the annual ram sale was cancelled. An extended amount of time in hospital provided plenty of thinking time and it was clear that some changes needed to be made, not just in the numbers of sheep being run within the stud, but the direction in which the breeding objectives of the stud were heading. Numbers were scaled back from 1200 stud ewes to 300 and this provided a great opportunity to completely overhaul the sheep and take them in a new direction. Sims Uardry bloodlines (a Collinsville type sheep) were introduced into the stud to reduce micron and increase frame size. Today sheep numbers have increased to 400 stud ewes run alongside 1500 commercial ewes with wool cuts averaging 8–9 kg per ewe of 20–21 micron wool. Lambing percentages have also increased to around 100% lambs weaned. Despite some major changes, competing at major shows still plays an important role in the operation of the Belswick Merino Stud and in 2006 they won the Grand Champion Strong Wool Merino Ewe at RAS Royal Easter Show in Sydney. Preparation of sheep for shows involves the whole family, and as son Andrew is familiar with the responsibilities associated with managing the stud the Belswick name will more than likely see a fourth generation involved in the breeding of stud Merino sheep. For young people wanting to become involved in the stud sheep industry, the results can be very rewarding. There are two sides to the stud sheep industry:
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the showing of stud sheep the breeding and selling of stud and flock sheep.
The show scene is very social and gives you a great opportunity to meet a variety of people who are successful within the industry and, at the same time, have a great time. The sale of rams is very different as it can become very ‘cut throat’ when people strive to sell rams into a limited client base. Because of this, there is certain to be many disappointments along the way, but there are also plenty of great times to be
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had in the stud sheep industry. As was the case at Belswick, never be afraid to reevaluate the direction your stud is heading in and make changes, whether through necessity or by identifying some better opportunities. When all is going well, remember that tougher times may be just around the corner and it is most important to look after all your ram clients, not just the ones paying the top money at your sales. Determine just where you ‘fit’ into the big picture that is stud sheep breeding, and where you can have an influence that satisfies what you want to achieve.
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Kurralea Poll Dorset and White Suffolk Stud Prentice family Ariah Park NSW
Jim Prentice with the record $26 000 Poll Dorset sire sold at the Kurralea on-property sale in 2005.
The Prentice family have been farming in the Ariah Park area for almost 100 years and the current owner, Jim Prentice, founded the Kurralea Poll Dorset Stud in 1975 when, after four years of professional AFL football in Melbourne, he returned to the farm and decided to ‘do something a bit different to what most people did in the area’. The purchase of 14 stud ewes and a very good high priced ram from the same stud set the foundation for what is now one of the premier Poll Dorset studs in Australia. The purchase of a complete Poll stud five years later enabled Kurralea to use the best genetics available and join their ewes to the best rams within the industry to increase stud numbers, a breeding strategy that is still strictly adhered to today. In 1987, Kurralea Poll Dorset Stud first exhibited at major shows including Royal Melbourne, Royal Canberra and the showcase for Poll Dorset sheep, the Cowra Poll Dorset Championships. Kurralea had a solid start to showing and sold their first stud ram in Melbourne, the first of many that would eventually have
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Kurralea dominate the genetics within the Poll Dorset breed. Kurralea consider the show ring as a means of keeping in touch with the industry, meeting other breeders and benchmarking their sheep. It also provides an ideal opportunity to inspect potential outside genetic introductions without having to visit each stud individually. The inaugural Kurralea on-property sale was held in 1998 and subsequently Kurralea has sold more stud Poll Dorset rams than any other stud in Australia, with many Kurralea sires having a huge impact on the Australian prime lamb industry. One stands out in particular, Kurralea 211/98 who has well over 10 000 stud progeny through use in over 150 stud flocks. Many top stud sires have been sold from the Kurralea on-property sale, peaking at $26 000 in 2005; a record price for a Poll Dorset sire at an on-property sale. The changing face of the prime lamb industry led Jim to develop a line of White Suffolk sheep early in the development of the breed, which he dispersed in the early nineties, only to re-establish and register the Kurralea White Suffolk stud in 1999 in the name of his son, Ben. Using the same breeding principles of sourcing the best ewes and joining them to the best rams, success was assured, and the stud won many show champions, with the highlight in 2006 when Kurralea White Suffolk Stud won Supreme Champion All-Breeds Ram at Melbourne Royal. Currently Jim and wife Kim run 550 stud Poll Dorset ewes and 250 White Suffolk stud ewes. They have recently added a relatively new breed in Australia, the White Dorper, with 110 embryos being implanted into recipient ewes. The use of modern breeding technology has played a significant part in the development of sheep at Kurralea with artificial insemination and embryo transfer programs enabling the quick multiplication of their elite genetics. The use of performance recording has also added another selection tool to the Kurralea Stud with Jim blending its use into a well-defined selection and management policy. Selection of large-framed, easy care sheep with no compromise on structure has worked well in the past and while this policy remains, by continually monitoring lamb market trends, Jim has become more flexible on the type and make of genetics he will now introduce. Selection based on a combination of sound structure, balance, eye appeal (also independently tested in the show ring) and high performance ensures only the best sheep are retained, or introduced into the stud. This has enabled Kurralea to develop sheep that have wide market suitability and appeal. Any sheep not conforming to a very high standard of structural soundness are culled, regardless of their performance criteria, a policy that has earned Kurralea widespread credibility in both breeds. Their use of performance data also enables individual clients to better select sires that are best suited to their particular market needs. Some advice from Kurralea on establishing a successful sheep stud follows.
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Find the sheep that appeal to you, and when buying a sire, find the best ram you can afford. Just because a ram is a show winner, does not mean he is what is required to suit your ewes. Your money is better spent on the best ram that suits your breeding program, not necessarily the ram that everyone else wants. Always remember that stud breeding is a long-term commitment that requires patience and a focus on continually improving the quality of your sheep. Buy a ram that is strongest where your flock is weakest and if you have to give a little to make gains, give in the area where your flock is already strong. Purchase foundation sheep from an established breeder who has a long history of heavy culling. If possible, buy one line of ewes that are reasonably even and correct. This is much better than spending big money at a series of sales where you are selecting outstanding single ewes. Advertising needs to be targeted to reach the biggest number of prospective clients at the right time. Don’t waste money on newspapers with poor circulation amongst your potential client base, or advertise at times when clients don’t require rams. Concentrate on producing the right product for your client’s needs. Also, always try to gain clients by promoting your own sheep rather than by criticising others. No other single action will threaten your credibility and the future of your stud more than to criticise other breeders or their sheep.
Appendix 1 Your role and responsibilities as a stud breeder
As a stud sheep producer, one of your main roles is to multiply superior genetic material and distribute the resulting progeny to cater for the requirements and demands of the sheep industry. You therefore have to gain some insight as to the future direction of the industry and have a good understanding of the future needs of the commercial sector, as the rams you plan to produce now will not have their genes distributed throughout the marketplace for another three to four years. As a stud breeder it is your responsibility to keep up to date with all that is happening within the industry that you are supplying genetics to. You will then be better qualified to fine-tune the direction of your breeding program and keep your clients up to date with changing trends within their industry. While you must keep in mind the types of sheep and sheep products that will satisfy market demands, you must also retain those attributes of a particular breed that have developed the breed to where it currently stands. That does not mean you have to breed sheep that are identical to the type that other breeders are producing, but your breed society will have certain standards and rules that must be followed so as to allow you to market your genetics under that breed name. Just as you have developed a marketing plan, you should also have a clearly defined breeding plan or objective. The soundness of your plan will not only affect the viability of your enterprise, but also those that rely on your genetics for their business, both commercial producers and other stud breeders. There are many situations where the genetic merit of lambs bears little relationship to the ultimate price received, because commercial sheep producers have different production methods and varying environmental constraints. Despite this, you must strive to
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provide the best product you can with the use of reliable performance data and good control on quality to give your clients the best chance of obtaining a premium in the market for their sheep or the end product they produce. The success of your business is primarily dependent on the success of your client’s enterprise, so never lose sight of who needs who. Learn about your client’s production system and the types of rams they require. Offer them much more than just a ram supply outlet. Take the time to familiarise yourself with their production methods, feed availability and their marketing systems. The more you know about their enterprise, the greater the chances of you providing the appropriate genetic material and increasing their profit margin. If you can provide them with genetics which result in higher profits than they have experienced in the past, your future as a seedstock provider to them is reasonably secure. Never underestimate your clients. What they perceive to be true and what you think are the true facts may not always be the same. Remember the old saying ‘the customer is always right’. While in the stud industry this may not always seem to apply, what is real is that our clients’ perceptions are market reality and they will make decisions on what they see and experience. Your strategy is to align your enterprise so your clients recognise your genetics as producing not only an advantage for them but a good reputation, resulting in you being the first choice for seedstock rather than your competitor. This is best illustrated by using an example of two breeders with identical quality stock. Clients will make their evaluation based not on the quality of stock but how they regard you as a stud master or an individual. Your reputation and the effectiveness of your advertising will contribute, as will recommendations from other ram clients. Word of mouth is the best form of advertising. Information provided during your sales as well as after-sales service and the guarantees you offer all affect the way a client sees you in relation to other seedstock producers. Many seedstock producers are seen by those outside the industry as producing overfed animals in a situation that bears little resemblance to the real commercial situation. While it is in your best interests to promote maximum expression of the genes you are using by maintaining high levels of nutrition, be aware of how your management relates to that of your clients and keep the management of your operation as close to good commercial conditions as possible. Cull any animals that would not survive or perform under normal commercial operations and performance test so you are confident that the rams you are providing will produce just the type of sheep you are promoting. Animals with structural faults will not stand up to the pressures of commercial production and they should be culled. Never be tempted to market them, even at a reduced price, as you will never know the potential client that saw the defective ram with your stud tag in its ear. It is your responsibility to ensure that all animals that leave your property are structurally sound and will handle the rigours of commercial production.
Appendix 1
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One area of your stud operation that can have the most devastating effect on those who rely on your genetics is disease. As a provider of essential genetics for your clients, any breakdown with disease is going to affect many more producers than just yourself. It is your responsibility as a seedstock producer to ensure that your sheep are totally disease and parasite free. Your best friend should be the local vet and any suspicious deaths or illnesses should be investigated. If you are selling large numbers of rams, the effect of a disease outbreak on your property will become insignificant compared to the combined effect if you subsequently infect all your clients’ properties. Perhaps the obvious one is brucellosis, and all stud breeders should become accredited brucellosis free as it is the responsibility of the stud breeder to ensure that their stud does not put all producers, even your clients’ neighbours, at risk to this disease. Good sheep management will account for problems such as lice and internal parasites and you should provide your clients with a guarantee that your sheep are free of parasites and to the best of your knowledge free of all disease. Your roles and responsibilities as a seedstock producer can be placed into four categories: 1) Honesty and fairness. Make no false claims, provide no false data and be truthful in all areas relating to your stud operation and your sheep. Do not criticise your fellow breeders or their sheep at any stage, even if you don’t agree with their claims and strategies. This one point alone will ensure your future in this industry. 2) After-sales service. Look after your clients, guarantee quality, satisfaction and ram fertility. This point will ensure good client loyalty and your future in the industry. Keep in touch with your clients. 3) Provide performance data. Understand how to best match your rams to your clients’ needs. Assist your clients with the understanding of new technology and how it can assist them to better target their markets. 4) Quality assurance. Cull unacceptable animals and ensure disease- and parasite-free stock. If in doubt, throw it out.
Appendix 2 Care of rams: Good practice for both commercial and stud breeders
Your rams are an integral part of not only a stud flock but any sheep producing enterprise, and while they may only be the centre of attention for a few months of the year, special care and consideration needs to be given to them, even when they are not in with your ewes. It is not uncommon to hear of commercial rams, once they have done the job with the ewes, being taken out and put down the back of the property to fend for themselves, only to find when next year’s joining comes around, many of them are either dead or ‘missing in action’. At a stud level, it is important continually to check not only the physical suitability of your rams but their genetic suitability so you are able to advance the genetic gain within your stud. Old rams will result in slowing your genetic gain, and every effort should be made to use younger rams that should be superior to the older generation. The same should apply to your commercial clients, but it is a little less critical providing fresh young rams are purchased each year. As joining approaches it is the time to check through your current ram flock and check for problems that will affect your lambing percentage. The first checks you should be doing on your rams are for teeth, testes and toes. Older rams with bad feet or that are getting a bit long in the tooth should be culled, regardless of how good you think they are or have been. Rams need to have the ability to walk (sometimes run) and eat well to maintain condition and fertility. If a ram cannot walk properly, then he is certain to have trouble seeking out and serving ewes. Any problems that will affect their ability to maintain fertility are going to have an adverse effect on your conception rate. Although a check such as this should also be carried out immediately prior to joining, it is also a good idea to check the
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condition of your rams well in advance of your joining time so replacements can be planned. Another area that is often overlooked is the testes. Rams by nature are aggressive and when fighting can injure themselves and ruptures can occur. Infections can build up in the epididymis and cause problems with the passage of sperm. Any ram with a hard or swollen epididymis has suspect fertility and should be culled. The scrotal skin surrounding the testes is very sensitive to changes in temperature and any inflammation or thickening of this skin will interfere with temperature control and result in ‘cooked’ infertile sperm. Dermatitis or mange on the scrotal skin can severely affect fertility and these rams should be treated as suspect for low fertility. Low fertility or infertile rams are often masked in commercial conditions because more than one ram is used over a mob of ewes, however they will cause significant problems in single sire joined mobs within studs and lead to failed lambing and loss of opportunity. If you have noticed your lambing percentage is lower than usual, first check your rams. Producers should be made aware of the increasing incidence of brucellosis in commercial flocks. This infection of the epididymis of rams, while not catastrophic in the short term, can significantly affect the lambing percentage within commercial flocks. Apart from the purchase of rams from brucellosis accredited flocks, there are a number of further measures that can be undertaken to reduce significantly the risk of having an infection within commercial flocks. Know your neighbour’s ram source and, if they are suspect, ensure the fences are adequate to keep both your neighbour’s and your rams where they should be. Should there be any accidental escapees, there is little you can do in the short term other than keep the rams and ewes from that mob isolated until the rams can be checked. Be warned, brucellosis will spread very quickly through your rams once an infection occurs. Once you have purchased your new ram, watch him frequently and avoid placing him with the older rams where he will no doubt get a belting. If you are unable to keep them in separate paddocks, place them together in a small yard for a period of time to avoid excessive impact when fighting. Some sorting out is inevitable and a little blood is the ‘norm’ but hopefully no serious damage will be done. Remember, healthy, fertile rams make up a small percentage of your sheep flock. Infertile rams are your whole flock.
Appendix 3 Glossary
Ears
Topline Loin Muzzle
Rump Tail
Neck
Hindquarters
Shoulder Ribs Brisket
Twist (inside leg) Barrel
Testes
Hock
Canon bone Pasterns Sheep details.
The terms used to describe specific parts of the sheep will vary little between breeds or whether you are at the sale yards or show ring. These terms describe certain areas of the sheep carcase and sheep structure where the difference between an average sheep and an excellent sheep can be justified. Regardless of which type of sheep you are breeding, there are certain standards for each of these areas that will indicate the merit of the sheep we are assessing. The list below is general and open to varying degrees of interpretation but will provide a guide as to what you should be looking for in the sheep you are breeding.
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Barrel The barrel or girth is the depth or distance around the front to middle section of the sheep. As with the ribs, this area of the sheep needs to be deep and have plenty of volume. ‘Narrow gutted’ sheep often lack the constitution and development of sheep that have a deep and voluminous barrel. Canon bone Many consider the canon bone an important part of the sheep skeleton, both from the point of its shape and length. Many correlations relating to all aspects of sheep frame size and carcase attributes have been related to canon bone characteristics. Overall bone thickness is one area of sheep structure that many breeders consider important, with moderate to heavy or strong-boned sheep seemingly more robust and fertile. Ears Many established breeders will tell you they can tell a lot about a sheep just by looking at the ears. Soft, thick velvety ears will go a long way to indicating a good sheep. Avoid thin ears that always look as though they are scaly or sunburnt. Hindquarters and twist The back end of the sheep is where most of the muscle is found and should be relatively deep, square and showing good muscle volume. The twist, the area below the tail between the hind legs, should be full and show a degree of muscle depth and not just a ‘v’ shape up to the tail. Good muscling through the twist will also maintain a good spread between the hind legs, essential for good conformation. Hock The hocks are the middle leg joints on the hind legs and should be strong, straight and aligned parallel to the body. Hocks that turn either in or out are a sign of bad structure. Loin The loin is the area along the backbone between the last rib and the start of the hip or rump area. It is desirable to have a long, wide and well-muscled loin. There is a lot of variation in the length of the loin area both between breeds and within breeds. The length of the loin and rump combined in meat sheep breeds has a big impact on the value of the carcase as this is where the higher priced lamb cuts are located. Muzzle and head The muzzle should be large and nostrils should be wide and open to allow easy flow of air. The jaw should be positioned to allow the teeth to meet the pad flush at the front, not over or under the pad. The jaw should be strong and deep with plenty of distance between the eyes and the base of the jaw. Rams should have a strong, wide masculine head with ewes displaying a finer, more feminine appearance.
Appendix 3
125
Neck The neck should be well extended and not too short. You will often hear sheep being described as having good neck extension which allows them to appear more alert and stand in a more natural position with their head held high. In a natural standing position, the bottom of the jaw is level with the topline of the carcase. Pasterns It is important that both front and back pasterns be strong but flexible. Too straight or too flat is undesirable and, as with the hocks, they should move in a line parallel to the body of the sheep when the sheep is walking. Weak pasterns will restrict the ability of sheep to travel the long distances required to graze effectively and return to watering points. Ribs At some stage you will hear the term ‘well-sprung ribs’, referring to the width across the front of the sheep between the ribs. This is important as it allows room for the lungs and heart to operate efficiently. Sheep that are deep and well sprung through the chest and rib area are usually more hardy and robust. Rump The rump of a sheep should be long and wide and not taper in toward the tail from the side or dip down to the tail. Ideally the topline of the sheep should run right through to the tail over the rump with no noticeable narrowing. The rump should essentially appear square and consequently will be well muscled and strong enough to support the sheep whether walking or working. Shoulder and brisket The front end of the sheep is very important for many reasons. Shoulders should be smooth and not too flat on the top. Legs should not be set too far forward and should fit neatly under the sheep so as not to result in too broad a front on the sheep. Sheep should not be wider through the front and shoulders than through the hindquarter. Smooth is the key word for shoulders to avoid any problems with lambing. Tail The ‘tail set’ or position of the tail will raise some differing views among sheep breeders. Generally speaking it should not be too low, that is, too far below the level of the backbone. However, there is an argument that a slightly lower tail set results in less lambing difficulties. Majority opinion is to not let the tail set get too low. Testes Obviously relating to the ram, testes should be even in size, about the size of a 375 ml drink can, and be freely suspended from the body of the sheep. Any abnormalities or softness in the testes is a sign of low fertility.
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Topline A good straight and level topline is an excellent indication of good structure. A strong topline without excessive unevenness indicates good muscle balance and is perhaps one of the most sought after traits by sheep judges once you enter the show scene. The evenness of the topline will tell you a lot about the complete structure of the sheep.
Appendix 4 Breed societies and contact information
Breed societies within Australia Australian Association of Stud Merino Breeders Ltd. (AASMB) Website: www.Merinos.com.au Australian Bond Sheep Breeders Association Ltd. Website: www.bondsheep.org.au The Australian Border Leicester Association Website: www.borderleicester.com.au Australian Carpet Breeders Association Australian Cheviot Association Website: www.rbta.org/cheviot Australian Corriedale Association Website: www.corriedale.org.au Australian Dohne Breeders Association Website: www.dohne.com.au Australian Dorset Horn Breeders Association Australian Drysdale Sheep Breeders’ Association Australian Finnsheep Breeders Association Website: www.finnsheep.asn.au Australian Hampshire Down Breeders Association Australian Lincoln Society Ltd. Australian Perendale Association
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Australian Poll Dorset Association Website: www.polldorset.org.au Australian Stud Sheep Breeders Association Website: www.assba.com.au Australian Superfine Woolgrowers Association Website: www.aswga.com Australian Texel Stud Breeders Association Website: www.texel.org.au Australian White Suffolk Association Website: www.whitesuffolk.com.au Australian Wiltshire Horn Sheep Breeders Association Website: www.wiltshirehorn.asn.au Black and Coloured Sheep Breeders Association of Australia Website: www.ballaratweb.net/bcsbaa/ Coopworth Sheep Society of Australia Website: www.coopworth.org.au Dorper Sheep Breeders Society of Australia Website: www.dorper.com.au Dorset Down Breeders’ Association Website: www.rbta.org/dorsetdn Elliotdale Sheep Breeders Society of Australia English Leicester Association of Australia Website: www.ballaratweb.net/elaa Gromark Society of Australia Melanian Sheep Breeders Society of Australia Website: www.ballaratweb.net/bcsbaa Polwarth Sheep Breeders Association of Australia Website: www.polwarth.com.au Rare Breeds Victoria Website: www.rbta.org Ryeland Sheep Breeders Association of Australia Sharlea Ultra Fine Society of Australia Ltd Website: www.sharlea.com.au/sharlea-aust.htm Southdown Australia Website: www.southdownaustralia.com.au Suffolk Sheep Breeders Association of Australia Website: www.suffolks.com.au Tukidale Sheep Society of Australia Victorian South Suffolk Society Website: www.victoriansouthsuffolksociety.com/
Appendix 4
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Victorian Stud Merino Sheep Breeders Association Inc. Website: www.Merinovictoria.com Sheep breeds that are registered in the flock book of the Australian Stud Sheep Breeders Association Ltd. include: Australian Finnsheep Border Leicester Cheviot Dorset Horn Dorset Down East Friesian English Leicester
Hampshire Down Lincoln Romney Ryeland Shropshire South Dorset Down
Southdown South Suffolk Suffolk Texeldown Wiltipol Wiltshire Horn
There are many breeds of sheep that play a minor role in the current sheep industry and these are classified under Rare or Heritage breeds. While these breeds may have limited commercial relevance, they do form an integral part of the history of our sheep industry and have been involved in the development of many current sheep breeds. For the stud breeder, they provide a challenge in the area of finding genetic diversity and striving to improve the specific breed. Both the Rare Breeds Association and Australian Stud Sheep Breeders Association will be of assistance if you decide to develop a stud involving rare or heritage breeds.
Internet information The internet is a great means of sourcing information on any breed of sheep and a quick search will provide plenty of details on both the sheep breed and the contact details of the association that administers that breed. This information is constantly updated in regard to contact details and most sites will have all the information you need. Both the information on the internet and the breed association are ideal starting points for any breeders considering developing a sheep stud. Not only will you gain plenty of background information on your chosen sheep breed but you will also become familiar with breeders who you can contact to provide genetics to get you started. Many of these sites will provide links to other relevant sites of interest.
General information The management of a sheep stud is no different to any commercial sheep operation and the same principles of good management apply to both enterprises.
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Information on all aspects of sheep breeding and management, including disease control, can be found in the many books and literature that are available through many outlets. The internet is an obvious source of information, but also make use of the many consultants that are an integral part of most merchandising outlets who usually employ specialists in the areas of both plant and animal nutrition. Your local vet and officers within your local Rural Lands Board or Department of Primary Industries (DPI) are also valuable contacts for information and will provide advice that is perhaps more relevant to your specific area or situation with the added advantage of local knowledge. Your local vet will form an important part of your stud breeding enterprise and should be the first person you call when problems regarding the health of your sheep arise. Health accreditation certificates will require testing and monitoring from your local vet and the provision of some medicines will require consent from a vet that is aware of your reputation and has confidence that you will follow protocols. State DPI offices have associated websites that contain information on a wide range of topics. A search of these sites will usually reveal most of the information you require or provide you with a means to obtain just what you are searching for. Queensland New South Wales Western Australia Victoria
www.dpi.qld.gov.au www.dpi.nsw.gov.au www.dpi.wa.gov.au www.dpi.vic.gov.au
Two other useful and informative websites that cover all areas of sheep production are ‘Making More from Sheep’ and the Sheep CRC: Making More from Sheep www.makingmorefromsheep.com.au Sheep CRC (The Australian Sheep Industry Cooperative Research Centre) www.sheepcrc.org.au There are many computer software programs that will organise the data you will collect in the day to day running of a sheep stud. An overview of these can be found on the Sheep CRC website.
Performance recording There are a number of performance recording systems available to sheep producers and the one you choose to use will be entirely a matter of personal preference. A quick discussion with breeders already involved in the seedstock industry will provide you with a list of options and arguments for and against the commercial systems available.
Appendix 4
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The systems most used in Australia are Lambplan, MerinoSelect, Stockscan and Primescan. Lambplan is a genetic evaluation system for meat breeds, MerinoSelect for the Merino breed, and both provide estimated breeding values for a range of commercial traits. They also provide a software program for the recording and storage of collected information and pedigree details. Lambplan www.sheepgenetics.org.au/lambplan MerinoSelect www.sheepgenetics.org.au/merinoselect Stockscan provides information on commercial traits predominantly within the meat sheep breeds. The New Zealand website will provide information on Stockscan and the operators within Australia that are available to provide the service. www.stockscan.co.nz Australian Stockscan Services www.texel.org.au/_asn/_stockscan.htm Primescan is another company providing a scanning service for identification of superior animals. www.texel.org.au/_asn/_primescan.htm
Index
accreditation 55, 92, 100, 105 advertisement 78, 80–3, 92 advertising 78–84, 88, 90, 92, 105, 107, 115 AI see artificial insemination annual flock book 4 artificial breeding program 15–8, 20–2 artificial insemination 15–8, 20, 27, 40, 45, 57, 62, 82, 104, 107, 109 auction 9, 11, 22–3, 56, 88–91, 93–4 multivendor 88, 92 on-property/on-farm 7, 21, 88, 104, 106 Australian White Suffolk Association 106 Belswick 110–2 benchmarking 38–40, 114 birth type 37, 44, 45, 62 birth weight 37, 67 body length 29 Border Leicester 103–5 breech birth 66 breed society 2–4, 99, 102 breeding
objectives 13, 22, 23, 29, 42, 47, 83, 84, 99, 107, 111 strategies 30, 51 techniques 14, 20, 21, 28 brucellosis 6, 55, 88 budget 79, 81, 93, 95 business plan 109 Cadell 103–5 calcium 60 calcium borogluconate 60 classing race 7 classing sheep 7, 32 client base 46, 85, 96, 104, 107, 111, 115 client loyalty 93, 96 climate 27, 29, 44, 53, 55 colostrums 63 commercial buyers 13 market 13, 51, 95 sheep production 6, 54, 55, 87, 97 testing 39 computer 33, 34, 37, 40, 63, 104 conception 17, 18, 57, 62, 97 condensed lambing 14, 27, 43
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conferences 3–4 conformation 1, 22, 28, 34, 41, 107 corrective mating 28, 30–1, 36, 48 correlations 28–9, 50 culling 42, 43, 115 customer 79, 97 daughter stud 20 disease 7, 54–5, 92, 108 control 6 status 6, 9 DNA 14, 46, 100–1 drench 57 dystocia 63 ear tags 62, 63 ease of lambing 49 editorial 80 embryo 18, 85 collection 11 transfer 9, 11, 16, 17, 57, 100, 114 embryonic death 57 energy 15, 24, 59, 72 entropian see inturned eyelids environment 17, 32, 36, 38, 41, 46, 56, 57, 65, 73, 106 ewe cast for age 11–2, 31, 43, 95, 106 lambs 9, 12, 16, 32, 51, 57, 95, 106 maiden 36, 43 older 9, 10, 11, 12, 42–3, 59, 95 purchase 5–10, 11, 12, 19, 22 recipient 16, 114 surrogate 16, 101 young 12, 32, 42–3, 57, 95, 104 family lines 29, 30 fat 10, 28, 35, 36, 37, 39, 44,57, 58, 59, 72 fat score 57, 58–9 faults 28, 43, 47, 48, 49, 71, 87, 107
fences boundary 6, 7 internal 6 fertility 28, 31, 35, 36, 43, 47, 50, 56, 58, 97 field days 3–4, 79 follow up 95–8 footrot 54 gene mapping 101 genes 28, 30–1, 41, 46, 50, 100, 101 defective 31, 46–9 genetic defects 46–9 genetic diversity 27, 30 genetic gain 12, 18, 20, 21, 24, 31–2, 51–2, 107, 109 genetic link 40 genetic merits 27 gestation 57, 59, 61 glucose 67 goals 79, 83, 99, 109 GR site 58–9 growth rate 10, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 44, 56–7, 72 hand mating 15 heritability 28, 50–1, 67 heterosis see hybrid vigour hindquarter 58–9 hocks 58 hooves 58 hybrid vigour 29–30 hypocalcaemia 59–60 Illoura 106–7 inbreeding see line breeding insulin 67 internal parasites 54 internet 83–4 inturned eyelids 47 investment 5, 7, 23
I n d ex
JIVET 16, 100, 109 joining 7, 9, 10, 15, 51, 57, 59, 87, 95 groups 7, 62 single sire 15 strategies 27–32, 114 synchronised 15, 62 Kurralea
113–4
lamb single 36, 37, 44, 45, 57, 58, 62 triplet 36, 37, 44, 45 twin 10, 36, 37, 44, 45, 59, 66 lambing 7, 18, 27, 43, 44, 54, 58, 59, 60–5, 111 condensed 14, 15, 27, 43 problem 43, 49, 65–7 lambing sickness see pregnancy toxaemia Leahcim 33, 108–9 leg structure 48, 49 lice 54 line breeding 29, 30–1 liquid nitrogen 24 loading race 7 logo 78, 82, 83 major show 21, 22, 111, 113 management of flock 53–67, 84, 88, 92, 96, 101 market preferences 13 marketing 77–85, 99, 100, 109 micron 28, 29, 35, 36, 37, 39, 44, 111 milk fever see hypocalcaemia mobility 48, 49 mothering 37, 44, 45, 64, 95 foster 64 multiple births 10, 17, 44, 57, 58, 62, 71 muscling 28, 29, 49 natural breeding season
18
135
newsletter 2, 3, 80, 83, 96 notifiable disease 6 nutrition 7, 18, 44, 45, 54, 55–8, 59–61 oestrus cycle 15 oocytes 16 orphan lambs 65 outcrossing 29–30 overshot jaw 47 Ovine Johne’s Disease 55 ovulation 18, 57 paddock mating 15, 22 pasterns 29, 48, 66 pasture 7, 55, 56 pedigree 7, 9, 14, 22, 30, 31, 33, 34, 35, 37, 40, 46, 62–3, 74, 90 performance 10, 22, 27, 30, 44, 48, 56, 59, 62, 87, 90, 96, 101 across-flock 27, 40 data 10, 22, 28, 31, 41, 44, 45, 46, 74, 83, 91, 95 figures 10, 43, 107 performance recording 10, 33–40, 44, 50–1, 63, 84, 101, 102, 104, 114 phenotype 48 phenotypic appearance 44, 46 physical structure 22 PLG 33, 107 poddy lambs see orphan lambs Poll Dorset 106, 108, 113–4 Poll Merino 108 potential stud sires 21, 42 pregnancy 18, 58, 59, 60, 61, 67 pregnancy scanning 43, 61, 109 pregnancy toxaemia 59–60 profit 28, 30, 39, 51, 54, 87, 91, 102, 109 progesterone 18 promotion 2, 3, 70, 74, 90, 93, 94, 105
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promotion and marketing protein 18, 24, 72
77–85
ram 32, 56 backup 9, 16, 19, 21–2, 27 crayon 15 flock 13, 21, 27, 45, 56, 104, 106, 108 harness 14, 15, 16 lamb 10, 32, 40, 51, 87 sale 5, 7, 12, 54, 79, 87–94, 95, 96, 97, 99, 106, 111 selection 19–23, 78, 91 rectal prolapse 47 registered sires 4, 100 reputation 9, 12, 22, 23, 27, 37, 40, 54, 75, 92, 95, 96, 97, 99, 100, 104, 107 research and development 3 reserve price 91 return on investment 23–5 royal shows 94 sale dispersal 8–9, 10, 11 elite 94 mated ewe 10–1, 95 on farm 92 reduction 9, 10, 11 surplus ewe 95 sale catalogue 9–10, 89–91 sale ring 7, 89 sale time 7, 21, 27, 56, 87–98 scanned-in-lamb 10, 95 selecting a sire see ram selection selection pressure 49–51 semen 14, 15, 24–5, 40, 78, 85, 97, 100, 106 shearing 67
shearing shed 7 Sheep Genetics Australia 109 sheep judge 29, 69–75 sheep selection 41–6, 108 sheep show 71, 72, 77, 80, 105, 111 sheep structure 46 sheep yards 6, 7, 37, 88 show ring 69, 104, 114 showing 24, 69–75, 77, 80, 107, 111, 113 single sire mating 15 sperm viability 18 spider syndrome 46 stress 18, 60, 67, 90 structural faults 28, 43, 48, 49, 87 stud rams 21, 25, 41, 45, 85, 97, 99, 100, 104 super ovulate 16 supplementary feeding 7, 56, 58, 63 syndicate mating 14, 15 teasers 14, 15 terminal sire 1, 6, 30, 39, 88 trimester 57, 59 twin lamb disease see pregnancy toxaemia undershot jaw 47 untested sires 20, 39, 40 vaccination 55, 57 veterinarian 9, 15, 17, 18, 55, 59, 74 visual appeal 34, 36, 41, 43, 44, 56, 92 website 83, 84 White Dorper 114 White Suffolk 106, 107, 108, 113, 114 wool 28, 29, 36, 39, 44, 47, 50, 59, 88, 89, 96, 111
