Our Breeding Philosophy

Genetics

We select for sheep that have a balance between wool quality, mobility and positive carcass attributes. To this end our sheep must survive in the harshest of conditions.

We place a lot of pressure on:

Temperament- very important for mothering ability, lamb survivability and performance;

Constitution – need to be able to handle tough times and still rear lambs. In 2007 42% of our lambs were twins conceived and reared;

Wool quality – bright, long, soft and well aligned;

SRS skin – supple pliable skin with no body wrinkle. No mulesing of our Karbullah flock since 2004.

We select for positive fat in our sires as we believe it impacts very positively on fertility and constitution. This has since been backed up by research at Murdoch Uni, WA.

Good carcase with high growth and muscle – assisting us is data processed by Sheep Genetics Australia (SGA) developed using body & wool weights; fibre –

diameter, CV, strength; maternal traits ie twin conceived and reared; and eye muscle and scrotal size. This information is indexed to give us an Australian Sheep Breeding Value (ASBV) which we use in sire selection and is also available for ram clients.

When classing our flock, structure and well being is formost. Ability to travel and with little assistance from drench is essential. Our ewe flock has not been drenched since Nov 1992. Once ewes show signs of worm burden, they are identified and culled. We also preg scan each year to identify the dry ewes which assists us in providing feed for the lamb bearing ewes only if required. Twins bearers are assisted with additional attention and feed where necesary. We have preg scanned our ewes since the early 1980’s and cull dry ewes and those that don’t rear lambs. Mothering ability is a very high priority to us.

Management

With the continued run of dry years, we have increased our knowledge of nutrition and are learning still with the assistance of Dr John Milton; Ross Waller, Nutritionist from South Australia; local veterinaries and talking with other sheep breeders with similar interest. For example we have learnt that corn is crucial coming up to lambing to assist in milk and colostrum thinness. This also assists in lamb weights at birth and lamb survivability. Also incorporating the moon cycle assists in joining and lambing successes.

We are not big on drenching with chemicals but have used Seaweed and Minerol which has helped our ewes well being in the dry times but also assisted our wool tensile strength with wool sold in January at 48 to 53 n/kt.
One of our biggest achievements is that we have NOT MULESED since 2004. This is a result of our breeding programme and understanding the skin and the need for wrinkle free sheep. We are putting a lot more pressure on low dag scores and high productivity with low worm egg counts.

Technology

Boyanga 050132 – top sire for carcase, constitution and temperament

In 2003 we got involved in the Sheep Genetics Australia Merino Select providing all our lamb data from 2003 including Sire, Dam, Weaning/yearling weights, wool details and rearing details. Single Sire prodgeny are scrotal measured (for rams) weighed and scanned for eye muscle and fat depth at about 10-11 months of age ( season permitting ). This is done by an independent contractor and the information is sent to SGA. ASBVs are then generated for us to use in our sheep classing.
MERINOSELECT provides practical information for Merino breeders and wool growers on the genetic potential of their sheep. Sheep are ranked for various production characteristics, by Australian Sheep Breeding Values (ASBVs). ASBVs allow you to select the most appropriate animals that match your breeding objectives across a comprehensive range of commercial production and quality traits. ASBVs assist breeders and producers in making comparisons between animals and improving the control over animal selection for joining.

MERINOSELECT ASBVs are directly comparable across flocks, providing breeders with the opportunity to benchmark their animals’ performance against industry. This simplifies identification of the most appropriate animals to meet your breeding objective. Merino producers responding to changing markets now have objective information to more effectively select for dual purpose sheep and capitalise on the value of surplus sheep as lamb, mutton or replacement breeding ewes
We have been providing genetics in the Sheep CRC to research sheep and provide next-generation genetic and new trait information to industry.

The Information Nucleus, a world first innovation for sheep, supports three core research programs:
1. Transforming Sheep and their Management
2. Next Generation Wool Quality
3. Next Generation Meat Quality.
Breeders and commercial producers will be able to quickly use the developments in new genetic technology and molecular information to advance their chosen breeding objectives. Both individual flocks and sheep across industry will achieve more rapid genetic gain.

Website: www.sheepcrc.org.au

ET and AI

Each year we undertake an AI program using both fresh and frozen semen. In the past we have undertaken many ET programs.