Emphasis on records

Press, Volume CXII, Issue 33064, 3 November 1972, Page 14

Emphasis on records

The writer of the accompanying item is V. R. Clark, lecturer in animal science at Lincoln College.

The Coopworth Sheep Society of New Zealand insists that its members keep and use records to breed highly productive sheep, and it is anxious that when owners of commercial flocks buy rams they should also be supplied with records about their purchases. The breed is comparatively new, but it is felt that it offers the prospects of increased production to farmers in many environments from one end of the country to the other. It has the attributes to keep sheepfarming viable. Coopworths are prolific, fast growing, producers of quality wool, excellent mothers and milkers, and easy-care and free-moving sheep.

The original basis of breeding was traditional culling, aided by use of production records, and as the breed has evolved increased emphasis has been placed on recorded production and easy-care characteristics — so important in these days of increasing flock size per labour unit.

The society’s rules and regulations are framed so that it is mandatory for registered breeders to apply levels of selection and culling never before required by any breed society.

To retain registration every owner must operate an efficient recording system and base his selection on these records. To enforce this, the council of the society has this year drawn by ballot a number of flocks, whose records have been scrutinised by a special committee. And it is the society’s intention to continue this anually and to deregister any flocks that are not applying the society’s rules correctly. To improve early conception, lambing percentage, lamb growth rate and wool weight and quality, the society insists that the following sheep should be deregistered:— (a) Any ewe (other than a hogget) which is barren; (b) any ewe which on more than one occasion fails to lamb in the first 38 days of lambing; (c) any ewe which does not rear a set of her own twins at or before her four-tooth lambing;

(d) any ewe which does not

lamb naturally, has a faulty udder, or has bearing trouble; and (e) any ewe which prematurely develops poor wool or loses constitution. Culling at the hogget stage and after the two-tooth lambing shall be such that 40 per cent of any age group must be culled between weaning as ewe lambs and mating as four-tooths. To qualify for single entry a ram must: (1) Pass inspection, be of multiple birth and born within the first 21 days; and (2) Be

either out of a merit ewe (which is required to have reared six lambs by the time it is four and a half years of age) and have hogget fleece weight and adjusted weaning weight above average, or be from a registered ewe, which in her lifetime to date has weaned 160 per cent of lambs, and be in the top 40 per cent for fleece weight and adjusted weaning weight. The regulations have been formulated and will be enforced to ensure that the owner of flock ewes is able to procure rams which have been bred from stock with a recorded background of fertility, in particular, and with other attributes already mentioned. The flock rams available from all registered flocks will have records which should be available to all prospective purchasers. During the last selling season the society’s atten-

tion was drawn to the fact that some farmers, not able to select their rams personally, did not receive records with the rams. The society regrets that this was so but considers it may not have been the breeder’s fault. However, an attempt to correct this situation is being made by encouraging registered flock owners to supply with each ram sold a record card which is to be printed for each registered breeder. A sample of the card is illustrated on this page.

The card contains the ram’s production information as well as that of his sire and dam. For fertility actual figures are given but for growth rate and fleece weight deviations from the average are more meaningful.

The society makes it plain that it wants to do everything possible to increase the standard of all stock released and to provide the industry with information about them.