ewes for the future - multimeat · 12/31/2015 · lambing details 2015, joining 26feb, preg scan...

The team from the Campaspe Lamb Producers Group and sponsors after lamb marking

Key cooperating sponsors

Product support sponsors

Ewes for the future – fertility, lambs & wool

Report for 1st

year ending 31 Dec 2015

Ewe and lamb weights, reproduction and wool

2

Trial committee & contact details

Ged McCormick

Chairman sheep committee

0418 505 345

EFD (03) 5432 6176

[email protected] Elmore Events Centre

Rosaia Road

Elmore Vic 3558

Max Williams

EFD ewe trial committee

0428 341 667

Home (03) 5436 9254

1607 Minto Road, Drummartin

Raywood Vic 3570

Roger Trewick

EFD ewe trial committee

0428 326 190

Home (03) 5432 6190

[email protected] “Pepperton”

Minto Road

Elmore Vic 3558

Athol Frederick

Landmark Bendigo

Work (03) 5448 3881

0428 510 518

[email protected] Landmark

148 Midland Hwy

Epsom Vic 3551

Kieran Ransom

formerly DPI Bendigo

0419 320 824

Home (03) 5443 1871

[email protected] 19 Neale St

Bendigo Vic 3550

Note These results from are from ewes that were born over a four month period and reared in very different environments until January 2015 until their first joining as ewe lambs in late February 2015.

The Elmore Field Days sheep trials committee need to script read results before they are passed on to the media by participating groups. They are concerned that selected information may be used out of context without presenting the full situation and results. When breed groups use the results in their promotions it is expected the Elmore Field Days will be acknowledged.

Sponsors messages Coopers Animal Health has supported the Elmore Field Day Sheep Trial supplying Ovilis Campyvax for protection of ewes against Campylobacter

infection during pregnancy which can cause abortion or embryonic resorption.

Campylobacter jejuni and Campylobacter fetus fetus infections during pregnancy are recognised as common causes of low level foetal loss (commonly 4-12 %) and at times dramatic abortion events particularly in maiden ewes. These bacteria are common in sheep flocks and spread occurs when sheep shed

bacteria via faeces or aborted material into the environment and naïve sheep ingest the bacteria. If the ewe is pregnant when she ingests the Campylobacter bacteria, she may become infected and resorb or abort her foetus. Young sheep that have not had the time to have natural exposure to the bacteria and

hence develop natural immunity are most susceptible to such infections.

Protection from infection during pregnancy can be achieved by vaccinating with Ovilis Campyvac at joining. Contact Coopers Animal Health on 1800 226 511 for more information.

Coopers Animal Health also provide animal health, welfare and nutrition advice to the trial

3

Trial outline: Six breed types of ewes are being compared for prime lamb and wool production. A total of 252 ewe lambs from 6 breed-types, each represented by 42

ewes are being joined to terminal sire rams. Each breed type group was randomly selected from 3 properties, 14 ewe lambs per property after an allowance for culling. Selection preference was true commercial flocks rather than commercial flocks attached to studs. The ewes are normally run

together as one mob, except when lambing in their separate breed groups and when dry ewes are separated after scanning and lamb marking to avoid

overfeeding. It is planned to run the trial for at least four adult lambings; with satisfactory progress the trial could be extended.

The breed-types are listed below.

Breed type Background

Border Leicester x Merino

Crossbred ewes

The most common prime lamb mother in the Elmore and northern districts. The time ewes were sourced with the

help of the Victorian State Committee of the Australian Border Leicester Association.

Multimeat x Merino Crossbred ewes

Multimeats are a composite breed based on White Suffolk genetics. They supply rams that are DNA tested to carry 2 copies of the Booroola fertility gene. These rams breed first cross ewes from Merinos. The first cross lambs

carry one copy of the gene. Multimeat breeders claim these ewes consistently rear 30% more lambs than normal

crossbreds.

Cashmore-Oaklea Performance Maternals

(Composites)

Cashmore-Oaklea Performance Maternals (Composites) have bred sheep from the following breeds: Coopworth, Border Leicester, East Friesian, Finn, SAMM (South African Meat Merino), Texel, Poll Dorset, White Suffolk,

Merino, Corridale, NZ Romney and Perendale. They have achieved a reputation for good lambing percentages that

are assisted by the hybrid vigour between the various breeds.

Loddon Valley Merino The second most common prime lamb mother in the Elmore and northern districts. Rams are predominantly

Peppin genetics but some studs contain some South Australian Merino genetics. Ewes were sourced with the help

of the Loddon Valley Stud Merino Breeders Association from three properties in northern Victoria that use Loddon Valley Merino rams.

Leahcim Merinos Leahcim is a South Australian Merino stud that has a long history of selecting a meat type merino with low wrinkle,

bare points, no need to mules but with high quality wool. The stud sells 700 rams annually and many studs and commercial flocks in Victoria are introducing Leahcim genetics.

Centre Plus Merino Centre Plus is a group breeding scheme and registered Merino stud and in Central West NSW that aims to produce

dual purpose sheep. This Merino strain has achieved a good reputation from the high dual purpose and fine wool

index ASBVs on the Sheep Genetics Australia website.

Results Seasonal conditions and supplementary feeding

Dry seasonal conditions were mostly experienced from March to December 2015.

Joined ewes were fed a supplement of 0.2 kg/day (fed every few days) of Coprice sheep pellets and hay from joining to

about one month prior to lambing. The pellet ration was then increased to 0.4 kg/day. Green pasture available improved

immediately prior to lambing and during lambing the GrazFeed computer program predicted the ewes were eating about

1.0 to 1.3 kg green DM per day. The ration was then reduced to 0.2 kg/day pellets plus hay. The supplement was stopped

several weeks after marking and commenced again just prior to weaning to train the lambs to readily take supplementary

feed.

Dry ewes received no supplement from March onwards and continued a moderate weight gain through the autumn, winter

and spring.

After weaning all wet and dry ewes were run together. They had access to a green pick on the display site area as well as

dry pasture residues elsewhere.

Lambs had access to dry paddock feed after weaning; in addition they were fed a Coprice pellet supplement at 0.2

kg/head/day (fed every few days) plus hay. They were all sold as store lambs in mid December.

4

Ewe weight & condition score

Breed Body wt

Fleece Free

26Feb2015

Condition score on

26Feb2015 at joining

Body wt Fleece Free 18May2015

Condition Score

18May2015

Body wt Fleece

Free 3Nov2015

Ewe CondnScr

3Nov2015, Both Wet &

Dry mobs

Border Leicester x Merino cross 56.2 3.5 58.1 4.0 65.0 3.0

Multimeat x Merino cross 47.5 3.0 51.9 3.8 61.4 3.0

Cashmore-Oaklea Performance Maternals 51.6 2.9 57.4 3.8 69.8 3.1

Merino LoddonValley 40.0 2.7 42.4 3.2 53.1 2.8

Leahcim Merino 41.8 2.7 45.0 3.2 57.0 3.0

CentrePlus Merino 40.5 2.8 42.8 3.1 56.5 3.2

Dry ewes were on average about 1 condition score fatter than ewes that reared a lamb. This needs to be considered when comparing condition scores, especially the Merino types with Border Leicester x Merino ewes.

Lambing as ewe lambs

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100Border Leicester x Merino

Multimeat x Merino

Cashmore-Oaklea Performance Maternals

Merino, Loddon Valley

Leahcim Merino

Centre Plus Merino

Ewe weightkg

Ewe weights, fleece free, from birth on farms of origin and after arrival at Elmore

The lines indicate the average weight of each group over time. A birth weight of 5kg was assumed for all teams. The average birth date was determined after discussions with the breeder of each team.

Dry ewes removed and run separately after preg scanning and marking

Lamb weaning

Preg. scanning

Ewes under 40kg not joined

Birth weights on home farms

Joining

15

7%

22

1%

12

9%

76

% 54

%

71

%

12

9%

17

8%

10

5% 7

9% 56

%

69

%

12

1%

14

2%

93

% 68

%

53

%

52

%

0%20%40%60%80%

100%120%140%160%180%200%220%240%

Border Leicesterx Merino crossEwe wt 56 kgCond Scr 3.5

Age 10.5 mths

Multimeatx Merino crossEwe wt 48 kgCond Scr 3.0Age 9.7 mths

CompositesCashmore-Oaklea

Ewe wt 52 kgCond Scr 2.9Age 8.1 mths

MerinoLoddon ValleyEwe wt 41 kgCond Scr 2.7

Age 10.3 mths

LeahcimMerino

Ewe wt 43 kgCond Scr 2.7

Age 10.2 mths

Centre PlusMerino

Ewe wt 42 kgCond Scr 2.8Age 7.3 mths

Preg scan rate

Lambs born

Lambs markedPercent

Lambing details 2015, Joining 26Feb, Preg scan 18 May, Mid lambing 12 Aug.Ewes not joined (under 40 kg) are not included in these analyses.

Details at joining: Ewe weight - fleece free, condition score and age at joining

5

Pregnancy scanning

2015 breeding season as ewe lambs, lambs under 40 kg were not joined. Ewes joined 26 Feb2015.

Team Ewe lamb age at mid joining, for

2015 joining.

Age in months

Average weight of

joined ewe lambs (lambs too light to join

not included)

kg

Ewes joined, ie 40

kg and above

Ewes scanned as

dry, (percent of

ewes joined)

Ewes scanned as

carrying singles,

(percent of ewes

joined)

Ewes scanned as

carrying twins,

(percent of ewes

joined)

Ewes scanned

as carrying

triplets or more,

(percent of ewes

joined)

Pregnancy scanning result for

joined ewes.

Number of foetus per

ewe joined

Lambs born percent

(lambs per ewe joined

and present at start of lambing)

Lambs marked percent

(lambs per ewe joined

and present at start of lambing)

BL x Merino cross 10.5 56.2 42 of 42 2.4% 42.9% 50.0% 4.8% 157% 129% 121%

Multimeat x Merino 9.7 48.2 36 of 42 7.9% 13.2% 31.6% 47.4% 221% 178% 142%

Cashmore-Oak PM 8.1 51.6 42 of 42 26.2% 21.4% 50.0% 2.4% 129% 105% 93%

Merino LV 10.3 41.0 28 of 42 29.0% 61.3% 9.7% 0.0% 76% 79% 68%

Leahcim Merino 10.2 42.6 36 of 42 48.6% 45.9% 5.4% 0.0% 54% 56% 53%

CentrePlus Merino 7.3 41.8 29 of 42 40.6% 46.9% 12.5% 0.0% 71% 69% 52%

Lamb weights

Wool

0

10

20

30

40

Border Leicester x MerinoMultimeat x MerinoCashmore-Oaklea Perf. MaternalsMerino, Loddon ValleyLeahcim MerinoCentre Plus Merino

Lamb weightkg

Lamb weights in the wool from birth to sale, 2015 dropNote: All lambs were by White Suffolk rams. Lambs were not weighed at birth, the assumed birth weight was 5 kg. There will be differences between the breeds and birth type (singles, twins or triplets). For example; it was obvious that the Multimeat x Merino cross ewes reared at least several sets of triplets that were lighter at birth,

Birth

Marking

Sale

4.764.19 3.79

5.01 4.86 5.26

01234567

Border Leicesterx Merino cross

Multimeatx Merino cross

Cashmore-OakleaPerf. Maternals

Merino,Loddon Valley

LeahcimMerino

Centre PlusMerino

Greasy fleece weight, Oct2015 shearingkg

Fleece weights were adjusted on a daily basis to reflect a common 'start' shearing date of 1Dec2014. Ewe lambs were delivered to Elmore from Dec2014 to Jan2015. Some teams were shorn on their home farm before delivery and some were shorn after arrival at Elmore. The actual shearing

date thus differed between property of origin.

6

The number of days wool growth from their first shearing as lambs to their second shearing at the field days in Oct 2105.

Breed Border

Leicester x Merino cross

Multimeat x Merino cross

Cashmore-Oaklea

Perf. Maternals


Leahcim Merino

Centre Plus Merino

Days of wool growth at

shearing

354 313 287 347 360 269

Note: Ewes were shorn over the Elmore Field Days from 6 to 8 October 2015. The date of their first shearing varied. Some teams were

shorn in October 2014 on their home farm, while others were shorn after delivery to Elmore. Ewes that had more wool at shearing, ie shorn early, would be expected to produce less wool per day than ewes shorn later, ie after delivery to Elmore. This is because twice

yearly shearing, as done on some farms, generally gives more wool over the complete year than one annual shearing. There will also be carryover effects from better nutrition before delivery to Elmore because ewes on good nutrition will continue to produce more wool per

day for up to 8 weeks than ewes on poorer nutrition after they are run together.

3.432.77 2.51

3.36 3.34 3.44

0

1

2

3

4

5





LeahcimMerino

Centre PlusMerino

Clean fleece weight, Oct2015 shearingkg



27.7 25.8

33.0

18.3 18.6 17.5

05

101520253035





LeahcimMerino

Centre PlusMerino

Fibre diameter, Oct2015 shearingmicron



$28.12$25.74

$13.91

$43.19 $42.40$44.74

$0

$10

$20

$30

$40

$50





LeahcimMerino

Centre PlusMerino

Wool value, Oct2015 shearing$/head

Wool prices are the average of each diameter and type over the preceding year.

7

Bale core and grab sample measurements

Wool bale core tests, 2015 shearing Note: These sheep were shorn either before or after entry to the Elmore site, the days of wool growth for each team within a breed varies. This is especially true of staple length due to the different shearing date at their initial shearing.

Breed Border Leicester x

Merino

Multimeat x Merino

Cashmore-Oakley

Composites


Leahcim Merino

Centre Plus Merino

Bale brand AAAFX AAAFX AAACX AAAM AAAM AAAM

Fibre diameter Micron um 28.5 25.8 33.3 18.5 18.8 17.9

CV % 21.4 21.3 24.3 19.5 19.1 18.4

Comfort factor (% fibres under 30 um)

65.7 82.3 38.8 99.3 99.1 99.2

Curvature 53 68 63 55 53 55

Hauteur mm 100 85 84 76 86 74

Yield VM % 0.4 0.5 0.3 1.2 1.4 0.8

Sch dry yield % 77.3 71.1 66.7 69.3 68.9 65.9

Staple Length mm 118 101 86 98 110 86

CV% 13 17 15 12 13 18

Strength n/kt 37 35 35 41 32 50

Position of break Tip % 2 24 6 8 67 5

Mid % 50 66 89 79 31 70

Base % 48 10 5 13 2 25

AWEX ID XF5E XF5E XF5E MF4S MF4S MF4E Sale price, c/kg greasy 630 723 360 970 948 999

Sale price, c/kg clean 815 1017 540 1400 1376 1516

Additional details by team and breed . . .

Ewe weight and condition score Breed Team Body wt

FlcFre 26Feb2015

Condition score on

26Feb2015 at joining

Body wt FlcFre

18May2015

Condition Score

18May2015

Body wt FlcFre

3Nov2015

Ewe CondnScr

3Nov2015, Both Wet

& Dry mobs

Ewe CondnScr

3Nov2015, Ewes in

WET mob

Ewe CondnScr

3Nov2015, Ewes in

DRY mob

BorderLeicester x Merino cross 1 60.9 3.9 62.3 4.1 65.6 3.2 3.2 4.0

2 50.5 3.1 53.0 4.0 64.2 2.9 2.8 4.0

3 57.2 3.6 59.1 4.0 65.3 2.9 2.9

Breed average 56.2 3.5 58.1 4.0 65.0 3.0 3.0 4.0

Multimeat x Merino cross 4 52.5 3.0 58.2 3.9 66.1 2.9 2.8 4.0

5 39.5 2.9 43.2 3.7 55.5 3.3 2.8 3.7

6 50.6 3.1 54.4 3.9 62.6 2.7 2.5 3.8

Breed average 47.5 3.0 51.9 3.8 61.4 3.0 2.7 3.8

Cashmore-Oaklea Perf. Maternals 7 55.8 3.1 61.7 3.8 69.7 3.1 2.9 4.0

8 54.8 3.0 60.0 3.8 71.3 2.9 3.0 4.0

9 44.2 2.6 50.6 3.8 68.5 3.3 2.7 3.8

Breed average 51.6 2.9 57.4 3.8 69.8 3.1 2.9 3.9

Merino LoddonValley 10 35.5 2.6 37.2 3.1 50.3 3.0 2.3 3.3

11 40.8 2.7 43.5 3.3 56.7 3.1 2.8 3.2

12 43.7 2.7 46.5 3.3 52.3 2.3 2.1 3.5

Breed average 40.0 2.7 42.4 3.2 53.1 2.8 2.4 3.3

Leahcim Merino 13 37.4 2.6 40.8 3.2 53.9 3.2 2.5 3.3

14 45.6 2.8 49.3 3.5 60.5 2.8 2.7 3.8

15 42.4 2.7 44.9 3.1 56.5 2.9 2.1 3.3

Breed average 41.8 2.7 45.0 3.2 57.0 3.0 2.4 3.4

CentrePlus Merino 16 40.7 2.8 43.3 3.2 57.9 3.5 2.9 3.5

17 41.7 2.8 43.5 3.3 56.6 3.1 2.9 3.3

18 39.0 2.6 41.6 2.8 55.1 3.0 2.5 3.3

Breed average 40.5 2.8 42.8 3.1 56.5 3.2 2.8 3.4

8

Wool

4.7

7

4.8

4

4.6

6

4.2

8

3.9

4

4.3

5 3.9

5 3.4

9

3.9

2

4.8

5

5.4

1 4.7

7

4.9

0

4.8

6

4.8

2

5.4

4

5.1

5

5.2

04.7

6 4.1

9 3.7

9

5.0

1

4.8

6

5.2

6

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

Individual team

Breed average



Greasy fleece weight, Oct2015 shearing

kg

3.4

4

3.4

9

3.3

6 2.8

3

2.6

0

2.8

8

2.6

2 2.3

1

2.6

0

3.2

8

3.6

2 3.1

8

3.3

7

3.3

4

3.3

1

3.5

6

3.3

7

3.3

8

3.4

3

2.7

7

2.5

1

3.3

6

3.3

4

3.4

4

0

1

2

3

4

5

Individual team

Breed average



Clean fleece weight, Oct2015 shearing

kg

29

.5 26

.5

27

.2

26.3 24.1

27

.1

29

.6

34

.0

35.3

17

.7

19

.1

18

.2

18.2

19

.0

18

.6

17

.5

17.7

17

.5

27

.7

25

.8

33.0

18

.3

18

.6

17

.5

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

Individual team

Breed average



Fibre diameter, Oct2015 shearing

micron

ewes for the future - multimeat · 12/31/2015 · lambing details 2015, joining 26feb, preg scan...

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