FOUNDING A CHOICE FLOCK.

Auckland Star, Volume LVIII, Issue 45, 23 February 1927, Page 18

FOUNDING A CHOICE FLOCK.

PRINCIPLES TO EMPLOY. THE "THREE-FLOCK" METHOD. IBy SUXDOWXF.R.) Not Stud Breeding. There are quite a number of farmer?, who, while not wishing to establish a -aid flock, would like to have a first-class lot of grade sheep on the farm with which they could experiment in breeding, with the object of evolving a type of sheep especially suited to their own locality. This desire should most certainly be encouraged, for it will tend to benefit the farmer in several directions. First, by giving him a particular interest in the laws of breeding, which means that he will learn to mate his sheep intellifrently to produce stock of similar or even better type; second, by enabling him to compare the points of those sheep that do well with those which fail to thrive on his farm, and thirdly, by rapidly raising the whole standard of his flock in constitution, frame, woo! and early maturity. Type That "Do" Well. To pursue such a course as we have suggested it is not usually necessary to purchase any particular line of sheep; all the farmer need do is to start on his own Hock.., There are always sheep in the average flock which anneal to the owner ;!S being really good. These will be found to be level along the back line, broad across shoulders, loins and hips, deep through from the back to the brisket, with belly line almost parallel with backline, or to put it briefly, with a body shaped like a brick. The leg 3, according to the breed, would be short, with the hams well let down, giving the appearance of a straight line from the tail to the hocks, and the thighs full and plump. The brisket will be found to be prominent, the neck short and strong, carrying a smallish head set on as though it belonged—i.e., a continuation of the neck and not a clumsy appendage on a 'ewe" neck. There would be found to be unusual breadth between prominent, bright eyes, good width under the head between the jawbones, a broad nose with big nostrils and a fairly big mouth. These are the things a man would find in the sheep that was doing well on his farm, whatever its breed or type of wool, for they are indications of constitution and form, and without constitution each animal will look to be the scrubber it is. When and How to Select.

The first thing the farmer must do, then, is to draft out all those ewes which come up to his standard of first-class sheep, in so far as form and constitution are concerned, ruthlessly culling out every ewe that shows weakness or lack of development in head and chest, for in a round, deep chest and well formed head lie the sure indications of the all-impor-tant constitution.

Presuming that this selection is taking place prior to shearing and that all the ewes are "wet" ewes—for dry ewes with their extra condition and wool growth might prove misleading as to real quality—the farmer goes through these selected sheep for quality of wool. Each farmer has his own opinion as to what constitutes really good wool in the particular breed of* sheep which he fancies, but it may be accepted as a general principle that the wool he should strive to grow is the longest stapled, sound and bright wool, while the more dense the fleece is the better. It is quite useless striving bv breeding or any other method, except improving the pasture to grow sheep higher in frame or heavier in fleece than the country will naturally produce, be the breed Lincoln, Romney or any other, but this does not mean that the'farmer should be content with any class of wool, but should select always the sheep carrying the very best fleeces, even in type "and well grown. These sheep should be marked distinctly from those first chosen for constitution and form, and the marking should be done with indelible pencil or other means on the face, or by opening the wool, on the skin of shoulder or elsewhere. The Three Flocks.

The sheep now are roughly classed into three lots—first, those which most nearly approach the ideal in constitution, form andj wool; second, those having good constitution and form, but wool which is not of the best; and third, those which for lack of constitution and form are rejected, however attractive their wool may appear to be. These sheep, with lots one and two clearly but not permanently marked. go to shearing, and possibly at weanin" time the farmer makes his thial tion. With the wool off the sheep, number one flock can be carefully gone through to correct any misjudgments of form or indications of weak constitutions, usually these rejects can be drafted into flock number two, and this flock in turn, undergoing the same careful scrutiny will have i:.-. rejects drafted into flock number three. The two flocks comprising the first and second choice should now be definitely and permanently marked, either by earmarking or face branding that they may be readily drafted from the balance of the flock at any time desired. Baying the Rams. The chosen number one flock will give the owner a fairly clear idea of the type of rams which he must strive to secure for his sheep. They must, of course, be absolutely sound as regards constitution and form, with wool of similar, ami if possible, better type than that of his best ewes, and should be secured from a breeder whose country and climatic conditions are as nearly as possible the same as the farmer's own. This means that, provided the quality is procurable, it pays to buy rams from as near home as possible. The size of the rams, or, for that matter, of the ewes, is of very secondary importance, as one cannot profitably grow big sheep on light country, and good country will ultimately growbig sheep even though the parents may be on the small side. In any case smaller sheep are quite likely to prove the most profitable in the near future in view of the Home demand for small joints, combined with the fact that more small sheep can be carried on a given area. In purchasing the rams the very greatest pains should be taken to ensure that they are exactly what is wanted as far as their own conformation and wool is concerned, and more Important still, that 1 they have come from a long line of for-

bears, preferably "line bred, - ' of the same type and with the earne predominating characteristics. We say "preferably line bred" because it has been our experience that sheep which are the descendants of families which have had outcrosses introduced from time to time, are much less likely to throw stock true to type, and nothing is more discouraging than a mixed crop of lambs from pood, even ewes. A guinea or two extra for a first pick of a good line of rams should never be; grudged for a moment. Remember that I each season while he is in use that ram is going to brand the offspring from fifty or more ewes, and between the value of a good and had ••pet" for ultimate breedinj purposes there is a difference of shillings per head. Selecting For Breeding. When the rams are bought and safely at home examine each with especial care. "Waste" half an hour to an hour with each one examining even,- detail of wool and carcase. See how'bo stands and walks, and note every peculiaritv together with a record of his breeding in a notebook for future reference. When you have done this, sort the rams into three lots, the first grade to be put to your choicest ewes, the next to flock number two and so on. Culling For Sale. After tupping, the ewes beinp separately marked, can lie run together if desired, but it is advisable in order to save trouble at marking to have them lambing in separate paddocks or blocks. Only the ewe lambs from (locks numbers one and two are dUtinrtlv marked, and when culling i n 111r- set-end year, after those sheen which are beinrr rejected on account of a^ P have been taken out. draft the rejects from number one flock into number two and so on. Xii i ~ will serve always to raise the standard of the whole flock, for those surplus sheep annually so|,l as stores or fats will naturally come from flock number three and will be the poorest constitutioned sheep on the farm. This programme of working with three (looks of ewes on one farm may sound to be a cumbersome one. but it will be found not to be so inactual practice and in four years the improvement of the whole flock will be so jrreat that it will be hard to recognise the sheep as bavinsprung from the original stock. The "Inbreeding" Bugbear. If a ram is found to be getting inferior lambs, discard him whatever he mav have cost, but where the improvement each year is regular and noticeable, always jro back to that family for rams for future use.

Do not he afraid of the bugbear of "inbrcedinjr." for eo lonp as strength of constitution i« made the first and imperative consideration in-breedin<i will do more pood than harm in that each year will the constitution improved bv its concentration in sire and dam while all other inherited virtues can be looked for with confidence in the offspring where ram and ewe are related A violent outcrops is at al] times to be avoided unless a complete change of type is contemplated, and it will'then take probably a number of veaiv to a "a in secure evenness of type.