Managing Flystrike
The new FlyBoss website was officially launched via webinar on 21st June.
For the latest information on Managing Flystrike please go to www.flyboss.org.au
How long will it take?
Dr Kevin Atkins and Jessica Richards (NSW I&I) have modelled the rate of change in a commercial flock in response to various strategies of ram selection and the combination of ram and ewe selection in a self-replacing flock starting off with an average wrinkle score of 3. The three options are summarised below.
Purchase rams with low breech wrinkle
- Low breech score and, preferably low breech score breeding values
Select plainer ewes
- Select replacement ewes with low wrinkle score
Mating Strategy - mate selected rams with selected ewes.
- Nucleus flock (wrinkle-free, scores 1 or 2) to breed replacements
- 2nd tier animals (score 3 and above) are used to breed sale animals
The results represent the application of ‘best practice’ genetics and within flock selection and not all producers will achieve this rate of change. The introduction of genomic selection may speed up rate of genetic gain but is unlikely to significantly change the predictions of Atkins and Richards.
CJ Hawkins Homestead, University of New England, Armidale NSW 2351