A Sheep For Tougher Going

Press, Volume CIV, Issue 30919, 27 November 1965, Page 8

A Sheep For Tougher Going

The Perendale breed of sheep—based on a cross between the Romney and Cheviot—would fit into the South Island scene where feed supplies were very poor and conditions hard, but rainfall was too high for sheep with Merino blood, Sir Geoffrey Peren, founder of the breed and honorary secretary of the Perendale Sheep Society of New Zealand, said in Christchurch the other day.

Sir Geoffrey Peren is at present on a visit to owners of registered Perendale flocks in the South Island and to talk to others interested in the breed. He sees as the sort of districts in the South Island where his hardy breed might well have a place as the Sounds country in Marlborough, the Kaikoura-Hundalee country, parts of South Canterbury in the neighbourhood of Cave and Albury, some of the tougher country in Southland, and also the West Coast. Sir Geoffrey Peren recalls that the Perendale was the result of agitation in the 1930’s from people in the Manawatu whose lambing percentages were falling and who seemed to be unable to reverse the trend. Bearing in mind that there was a lot of third rate country and that where a breed was being improved it needed better treatment and so became too soft for the tougher conditions, he saw the need for a sheep with a cross of a much tougher breed. In the North Island, Sir Geoffrey Peren believes, the Perendale has now definitely turned the corner in having proved its worth, and the de-

mand for good sheep he says cannot now be matched. He says he has had many inquiries from the South Island, particularly from the harder areas.

At this year’s Royal Show at Palmerston North exhibits of the breed were the third largest after the Southdown in the sheep show, he said. The breed’s wool exhibits were the- biggest.

What were the symptoms of sheep performance that would indicate that a change to the Perendale might be desirable, Sir Geoffrey Peren was asked. He said that this would be the case if the lambing percentage was low, many of the lambs were born weak, there was a tail to the hoggets, and hogget mortality was heavy, there were too many two-tooths not sufficiently developed to take the ram, fleece weights were light, and there were a lot of cots and tender wool, and prices for cast-for-age ewes were not satisfactory.

Under these circumstances he said that a 20 per cent improvement in lambing percentage could be expected when the farmer got into the Perendale. There would be a 10 per cent improvement from crossing of the Cheviot with the Romney. Actually the Perendale had a big potential, he said, and it was surprising how many percentages of 130, 140, 150 and even up to 170 and 180 there were. In one selected line of ewes it was up to 186 per cent. There was a loss in weight of wool, particularly, if the Romney was not doing too badly, and this could be of the order of 1 to l£lb of wool and even 21b and the Perendale should not be introduced into what was real Romney country. But where wool weights were as low as 61b there would actually be a gain.

There would also be 20 per cent more surplus stock to sell and over 10 or 12 years this would more than compensate for the loss on wool. There was also a much lower death rate in hoggets and the hoggets were much better.

There was a significant saving in labour costs in mustering. The Perendales should be left alone to lamb and under these circumstances lambing losses would only be between a } and 1 per cent and ewe losses of negligible proportions. A big Romney fleece could not be expected off the Perendale and its lambing percentage also retained, said Sir Geoffrey Peren. It was no use trying to grow strong wool. The wool should be in the 48’s 50’s and 50’s 52’s range. It generally earned a premium of 3d to 4d a pound over Romney. At sales this season Sir Geoffrey Peren said that Perendale hogget wool had brought up to 58 Jd a pound in Napier.

With the Cheviot characteristic of being able to handle more fibre in the diet Sir Geoffrey Peren said that Perendale wethers could be used in place of cattle. In moving into the breed by way of the Cheviot Sir Geoffrey Peren said it was important that the right Cheviot should be used. This Cheviot should have wool that opened cleanly and had reasonable lock formation and definite character, style and crimp.

The Perendale, he said, should have some height in the withers to enable it to pick its front feet up easily—if it could not do that it could not climb. It should also hold its head up.