“There is a big responsibility to produce a shedding sheep that strips out as many costs of production as possible, to ensure the viability of lamb production in Australia. It is increasingly vital to breed a tough, 100% shedding animal which thrives in low rainfall country but copes equally well in wet, cold conditions.”
our difference
The SheepMaster breed has been developed over 30 years, with the result being a highly functional breed of sheep that is ideally suited to a wide range of production and management environments, from the high rainfall intensive areas to marginal pastoral zones.
Why sheepmaster?
Silky,100% clean skin
Highly productive under a range of climatic conditions and variability
Ease of management (containment and temperament)
Correct make and shape (walk, eat, reproduce)
Acceptable to animal welfare sensitive consumers (no mulesing, tailing, shearing or crutching)
Reduce chemical usage – no external parasites
Highly fertile, outstanding maternal traits, can lamb down by 13 months old then 8 monthly (with sound management)
Can be run in conjunction with existing sheep or cattle enterprises with little or no additional infrastructure costs
Bred for commercial outcomes, not the show ring. The only blue ribbon we are interested in is our clients success.
The SheepMaster Parent Stud uses a visual scoring system, along with genomic data and ASBVs, ensuring the highest quality control within all ram breeding ewes, without discouraging new ideas and the need for regional variation. This is a very different approach to many other shedding sheep breeds. We strive to constantly improve the quality of our sheep and believe that this is best achieved through co-operation and exchange of ideas with our clients. Breeding animals must be a constantly evolving process which meets market demand with maximum productivity.
The key points that cannot be compromised in breeding animals in or out of a stud breeding program are fertility, skeletal structure/conformation, constitution, feet and productivity.
TEMPERAMENT, RESILIENCE & SELF-RELIANCE are KEY TO EASe of MANAGEMENT
SheepMasters have a great desire to live, thrive and maintain close, family orientated groups. This results in a stay at home animal with minimal stress on fencing and highly protective mothers. SheepMaster animals are highly intuitive, responsive to quiet, gentle handling, soft voice tone and no dogs in stock yards. Here at SheepMaster Parent Stud we select for these positive management traits.
Maternal traits
An over-muscled, fat sheep loses productivity. We are breeding shedding maternals, not terminals. With a foundation ewe flock in place, any terminal sire can be used to produce quality, processable lambs. The key commercial profit driver is kgs of lambs weaned/hectare, so we focus on maternal traits and growth. The ewe needs to be highly fertile, able to easily get in lamb, lamb down by 13 months of age then repeat every 8 months and rear her lambs to early weaning weight.
For this we look for a long bodied, feminine ewe with excellent feet, leg and body structure that can potentially wean her own body weight in a 12 month period. A ewe must be feminine, have long ears, a long muzzle and width between the ears. These 3 indicators directly relate to length of the body, width of the shoulders, width of the rump and fertility. These are the key principles that make up a perfect breeding ewe. Basically, the same applies to rams, except they must be very masculine.
Let's Chat.
Use the form below to contact us regarding your enquiry. If you prefer, you can email us via enquiries@sheepmaster.com.au or call Andrew 0472 646 426