All Ewes May Be Twins In Four Years

Press, Volume C, Issue 29536, 10 June 1961, Page 6

All Ewes May Be Twins In Four Years

In four years’ time Watson and Topp, Ltd., of Waipara, may be in the unique position of having a flock of ewes every one of which was born a twin. For the last two years flock replacements have all been twins. Last year the lambing percentage in the 2250 ewe flock was about 136 per cent. The year before it w>as 134 per cent, but it has been up to 142 per cent, and Mr Topp is looking forward to better results this year as feed conditions at tupping this season v.’ere more favourable than they have been for several years.

Mr Topp embarked on a policy of breeding his own flock replacements about 18 years ago. Before that he bought in replacements at the Culverden ewe fair always making a point of buying what he considered to be the best two-tooths available His interest in breeding tor fertility was, in fact, first aroused by two of these Culverden ewes. One was a big bold sheep and the other was small and insignificant, yet living under identical conditions for five years, the small ewe produced twins each season while the big ewe gave a single lamb each year. The only possible explanation for this, in Mr Topp’s mind, was that there must have been some hereditary influence, and it occurred to him that this offered a means of increasing lamb production without an additional outlay. When he began breeding his replacements he selected 600 of his best ewes and mated these with a Romney

ram to produce a sheep with a big bone, open wool which he considers essential for early maturing lambs, and a capacity to produce a high percentage of lambs. These first cross ewes were crossed back to twin Corriedale rams, which have been used ever since. On this programme. Mr Topp conferred with Mr P. G. Stevens, who until last year was a senior lecturer in the animal husbandry department at Canterbury Agricultural College, and he showed great interest in the project. Mr Topp admits that he has been greatly assisted in this by having first choice of twin Corriedale rams selected under progeny testing at the college. Experiment Just to prove for himself the possibilities of breeding for fertility. Mr Topp conducted a five-year experiment in which a record was kept of the performances of twin and single ewes from the two-tooth ewe to the five-year stage. 'Riis showed that all twin ewes gave more lambs than singles, with all ewes producing more lambs as age increased and the advantage in favour of the ewes with a twin background becoming more marked at the four and flve-year-old stage. This has influenced Mr Topp to retain ewes in the flock for as long as possible. He could, of course, have had a complete twin ewe flock long ago. but he has not wished to overlook other desirable characteristics in selecting his replacements, and the emphasis has been on the selection of only good twins. These, he says, may not be as big hoggets as singles, but he considers that these twins do grow to be as

big sheep as the singles, in keeping with the dictates of their inheritance. Improved milking_ ability goes hand in hand with high standards for female progeny of twin ewes, he states. Mr Topp is of the opinion uhat there is a great deal of room for improvement in farming practices generally and that the approach to increased production should be through the individual animal rather than through intensive carrying capacity. Two yeans ago when his Sock clipped a little better than 13lb a head he said it was clear than quite a few ewes clipped 18 or 171 b indicating that the upward process was really a never ending one. The V’aipara flock lambs mainly in August and in a district prone to summer drought around 50 per cent, of the Wether lambs may go fat off the mothers at light weights in early November, and in anything like a favourable season all wether lambs go to the works In the first 10 years of the present owners’ occupancy of the property with 100 to 150 acres of wheat being grown, the flock was around the 1000 to 1200 ewe mark with lambs being bought in to fatten on the rape grown before the wheat, but with increasing areas being sown to lucerne ewe < numbers were gradually stepped up until three winters ago sheep numbers reached 3600 including 2500 ewes, 900 hoggets and 200 dry sheep. In the height of the recent drought seasons the flock was cut back 1000 head but it is now building up again and this winter comprises 3250 head with 2500 ewes. 600 hoggets and 150 dry sheep.