Based on your quiz results, we recommend a
Prime Sucker Sire
ASBV’s:
- Prioritise early growth WWT
- Increased PEMD figure will improve yield in lambs
- Choose sires with positive pFAT to compensate the lean merino.
Management:
- Consider early weaning.
- Consider supplement feeding early.
- Manage condition of ewes prior to lambing.
Keep scrolling for detailed report!
We have 100+ rams in our 2023 drop that fits your criteria!
Your target
- Hit kill weight within 5-6 months of age
- Sell lambs before grass growing season is over.
- Sell lambs unshorn.
You need a sire with
- Superior EARLY growth. Prioritise WWT (indicates growth in the first 5 months)
- Improve muscle depth for maximum yield. PEMD (The higher, the better)
- Positive fat to compensate for lean merino genetics. PFAT > +0.0
- For your small frame ewes, avoid excessivly large framed rams and keep BWT range 0.0 to 0.4
Consider this
- Lambing during Autumn & Winter can be cold; exposure is a real risk. Avoid unnecessary low birthweights, aim for strong healthy lambs at birth. Autumn pastures are generally of low quality and hand feeding can be managed so the risk of overgrown lambs is low.
- Early weaning (in a 6 weeks lambing period, wean 6 weeks after the last lamb is born) – Make your best pasture go further and focus on feeding the lambs – not the ewes. By taking the lambs away from the ewes you also reduce the worm pressure on the lambs drastically.
- Consider adding grain to the lambs diet early. “Grow when the growing is good”, rather than trying to introduce grain later in the season as a last attempt to finish them in time. Creep feeding on the ewe is a great way to train the lambs on grain and on feeders. Young lambs eat a lot less grain then a 5 month old lamb. Make your grain go further by starting earlier.
