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Hazeldean rams provide to woolgrowers advantages
over other ram sources as they produce sheep with
higher fleece value. This is due to their ability to
deliver low fibre diameter to their progeny without
the usual sacrifice in fleeceweight.
Only 3 studs in Australia are recognized as being
able to consistently and successfully break the
nexus between high fleeceweights and high fibre
diameter.
Hazeldean is one of them and has demonstrated this
conclusively through independent analysis many
times.
Hazeldean rams go
through a stringent, 3 stage assessment procedure
before being presented for sale:
- Ram lambs are
identified at lamb marking, bodyweighed at
weaning and at 10 months of age visually classed
prior to fibre testing and fleeceweighing.
- Immediately
following shearing they are body weighed again
and scan data and scrotal size recorded.
- Approximately 4
months after shearing they are re-assessed with
the return of processed performance data
including pedigree information.
- Sale grades are
established on the basis of performance ranking
and culls are removed and sold.
- The very best
rams with sire potential are identified as
Reserves and put aside for further analysis.
Sales take place in
October and November and unsold rams are run through
with the Reserves until the following January when
they are again classed, fibre tested, fleeceweighed
and body weighed off shears.
This second stage test of Reserves and unsold sale
rams forms a large contemporary group, giving
greater accuracy to individual measurements. Once
performance data is returned, it forms the basis of
the final selection of the elite young sires
suitable for mating in the stud flock. |
Rams
