The comparative productivity of five ewe breeds. 3. Adult ewe performance

Abstract

Reproductive, wool and liveweight data on adult ewes from five breeds at Temora Agricultural Research Station between 1966 and 1972 were analyzed .The breeds were a Border Leicester x Merino fixed halfbred (BLM), Corriedale, Polwarth, a South Australian strong wool (S.A. Merino) and medium wool Peppin strain of Merino. Mean levels of reproductive performance were 1.22,0.96,0.85,0.78 and 0.88 lambs weaned per ewe joined for the BLM, Corriedale, Polwarth, S.A. Merino and Peppin Merino breeds, respectively. The superiority of the BLM breed was primarily due to a higher proportion of ewes bearing multiple lambs, of ewes lambing. Average greasy fleece weights for the breeds were 4.58, 5.67, 4.75, 6.1 5 and 4.95 kg, respectively. Pregnancy and lactation reduced fleece weight by 6.1 % and 3.3%, respectively. There was no additional effect of litter size on fleece weight. The liveweights of adult ewes prior to joining were 59.6, 54.8, 46.3, 49.0 and 42.7 kg for the BLM, Corriedale, Polwarth, S.A. Merino and Peppin Merino, respectively. The implications of this large variation in adult liveweight to the evaluation of the breeds were discussed.