Low input sheep trials NZ ,

[neilo]

Settling in nicely @easyram1

View attachment 976050

Easydams?

 

[Yale]

Easydams?

 

[Humble Village Farmer]

Those of us with Romneys have of course been practising low input for many years but this trial is extremely interesting. I am slightly puzzled as to why Lucerne pellets are being used apart from the fact that it is a measurable input as against grass alone. It would be much higher in protein than grass though and grazing Lucerne we find tends to increase growth rates of lambs significantly but slows the laying down of fat and finishing.
The lung lesions are extremely interesting, but is this caused by lungworm or other environmental reasons. The Moredun foundation have perfected a scanning system for OPA and I wonder if this could be used to detect lesions?

I am sure that dags can be reduced by breeding and even in our long woolled sheep it is seldom an issue but getting sheep struck by maggots is usually an environmental cause than being sh*tty. We have flocks in different areas and those on the open marshes are far less likely to get struck than where there are trees and valleys. When they get struck on the marsh it is far more likely it will be on the shoulder or back and we believe it is where birds (starlings) sit on them and crap.

The most significant worm issues which causes scouring with us are firstly Nematodirus and secondly for a short time Tapeworm. Nemo is the one where I believe we can all get caught out as weather conditions have changed the predictability and timing of when it occurs. Finding genetic resistance to this would be a significant game changer.

Maybe your remarks are tongue in cheek. Low input sheep farming isn't restricted to Romneys, though as you know. Any breed can be selected for toughening up.

I know a chap who bought some texels, chucked them in a field and went to work. Not to say they were neglected but he had a full time job and quite a few sheep elsewhere. Anyway, lambing came round and they pretty much had to get on with it themselves NZ style if you like. The results were fairly predicable, verging on the disastrous.
What happened subsequently was that he had very quickly selected for easy care texels and he never had the same problems again, in fact I think they did rather well. He wasn't the sort of chap to spend money on inputs either.

 

[Yale]

I did not realise who you really were

Damn,I’ve broken cover.

Don’t tell me now there was a TFF discount code.

 

[neilo]

Damn,I’ve broken cover.

Don’t tell me now there was a TFF discount code.

I think it's retrospective, paid out once you've posted photos of the Highlanders Easydams.

 

[Yale]

I think it's retrospective, paid out once you've posted photos of the Highlanders Easydams.

Especially the one with quality breeding…….

 

[Frank-the-Wool]

Maybe your remarks are tongue in cheek. Low input sheep farming isn't restricted to Romneys, though as you know. Any breed can be selected for toughening up.

I know a chap who bought some texels, chucked them in a field and went to work. Not to say they were neglected but he had a full time job and quite a few sheep elsewhere. Anyway, lambing came round and they pretty much had to get on with it themselves NZ style if you like. The results were fairly predicable, verging on the disastrous.
What happened subsequently was that he had very quickly selected for easy care texels and he never had the same problems again, in fact I think they did rather well. He wasn't the sort of chap to spend money on inputs either.

You are of course correct in that Darwin's theory of evolution will always come through whatever the breed. However some have been kept like it for much longer so the survival instinct is much stronger.

We avoid all Rams that have ever seen a feed bag or cabbage and make good use of EBV's which is possibly a step further on than Darwin.

Some breeds of sheep if left to their own devices do however tend to revert to the wild sheep, becoming much smaller and of course far less prolific and have the ability to reabsorb fetuses if feed supplies get short during mid pregnancy.

 

[Humble Village Farmer]

Completely agree with all of that.

Maybe using ebvs, which have tended to select for bigger animals and selecting for survival traits,
(if that selects for smaller sheep) you might end up with a more stable mature weight as well

 

[Global ovine]

Completely agree with all of that.

Maybe using ebvs, which have tended to select for bigger animals and selecting for survival traits,
(if that selects for smaller sheep) you might end up with a more stable mature weight as well

Mature ewe size is strongly influenced by selection for growth rate, especially gowth after the lambs first winter. To control this never ending trend, breeders can select on early growth eBVs (days to slaughter being highly associated with profit) and put a cap on mature size by a final selection based on mating weight as a two tooth.
I cannot comment on the latest Signet capability for this, but it is the recommended procedure for breeders using NZ's SIL performance recording programme. Many years of this has successfully resulted in flocks under this selection regime to have stabilised mature weight, but increased lamb growth rates to weaning and to their first autumn. Otherwise known as "curve benders".

Lamb survival is dependent upon a multitude of traits. The most important being the dam's pelvic aperture and vigour, the lamb's birth weight, shape and vigour and the environment (ground conditions, wind chill, space for bonding, disease prevalence, etc.) Because of these complexities, breeders are best guided by the Survival eBVs of each sire line which accumulates and becomes more accurate from each lambing record of their daughters and from all progeny born. The spread in survival ranking can exceed 20% in recorded stud/stock sires. Very potent information.

 

[andybk]

Mature ewe size is strongly influenced by selection for growth rate, especially gowth after the lambs first winter. To control this never ending trend, breeders can select on early growth eBVs (days to slaughter being highly associated with profit) and put a cap on mature size by a final selection based on mating weight as a two tooth.
I cannot comment on the latest Signet capability for this, but it is the recommended procedure for breeders using NZ's SIL performance recording programme. Many years of this has successfully resulted in flocks under this selection regime to have stabilised mature weight, but increased lamb growth rates to weaning and to their first autumn. Otherwise known as "curve benders".

Lamb survival is dependent upon a multitude of traits. The most important being the dam's pelvic aperture and vigour, the lamb's birth weight, shape and vigour and the environment (ground conditions, wind chill, space for bonding, disease prevalence, etc.) Because of these complexities, breeders are best guided by the Survival eBVs of each sire line which accumulates and becomes more accurate from each lambing record of their daughters and from all progeny born. The spread in survival ranking can exceed 20% in recorded stud/stock sires. Very potent information.

^^ Exactly what i look for buying when my tups , huge ewes have a big maintenance requirement over and above feeding lambs, trick is finding that early good growth , in a moderate sized ewe , this allows growth to slow at around 12-16 weeks and lamb to finish easily , you dont want growth to slow to much though or you end up with very fat lambs, similarly if growth just keeps on powering through you get hard to finish lambs , highlighted to us running charollais and zwartbles side by side .
Problem with uk marketing system for rams is that size always pays ,

 

[sheepdogtrail]

Settling in nicely @easyram1

View attachment 976050

Those two are ready. Nice looking fellas.

 

[Yale]

Those two are ready. Nice looking fellas.

All courtesy of the foresight of Robin at @easyram1 bringing in New Zealand genetics under the guidance of his chum Murray @Global ovine .

I was sceptical about the earlier imports of NZ texel and Suffolks as they didn’t quite match what we were looking for however I have great excitement in trialling the Easydams over our Highlander crosses.

 

[sheepdogtrail]

I could tell the Kiwi connection by the way those two stand on a slope.

They should work well for you.

 

[Yale]

@sheepdogtrail

Weaning this small lot this morning.

Highlander x ewes with UK type texel ewe lambs sorted at lambing.

This type of ewe will be going with the new rams.

 

[sheepdogtrail]

@sheepdogtrail

Weaning this small lot this morning.

Highlander x ewes with UK type texel ewe lambs sorted at lambing.

This type of ewe will be going with the new rams.

View attachment 976209

You have to be excited about that cross. Those lasses bloomed out well.

 

[Yale]

You have to be excited about that cross. Those lasses bloomed out well.

There we go,sorted.

 

[neilo]

I’ve not seen any Easydams in the flesh, but I suspect they would have the potential to do everything the Highlander would do, but be a bit more ‘typey’ from different shepherds doing the selection?