- Location
- Fife
Cousin-in-law o mine was over 4-5 years past. He's a grain farmer first, and admits it- but had started keeping a few (hundred) sheep when corn was a dead loss.
He is told by some boffin somewhere which rams to put to which ewes, to breed in various traits.
And maggot resistance was one of em i recall. He reckoned they were getting almost no problems with strike, just from genetic selection.
(This is NSW, inland from coast range.)
It sounded very impressive - although a candid report might suggest he's a lovely guy, but is always one to tell you all his geese are swans- as it were.
@Global ovine has written on here before about the seuite secreted by the sheepis what attracts the flies for strike, and now “tight skins“ are worse than an open fleece. There’s a fair amount of genetic factors at play. I always advise my clients to cull any animal effected by fly strike.
@NZDan has spoken of the fast progress to be made through dag scoring. I don’t see why strike would be any different.
Given their scientific approach to breeding, I wouldn’t be surprise if some antipodean breeding companies have EBVs for fly strike resistance. NSW has pretty much eliminated foot rot in sheep, to the extent that it’s now a notifiable disease.