Accounting for Ewe Source Effects in Genetic Evaluation of Merino Fleece Traits

Abstract

The significance of ewe bloodline sources and their interactions with sire effects were examined for Merino fleece traits recorded on progeny of Macquarie Merino Sire Evaluation and Merino Lifetime Productivity sites. Ewe source effects significantly influenced fleece traits expressed at post weaning, hogget and adult ages. Sire x ewe genotype interactions on fleece traits across ages were generally unimportant i.e. consistent sire rankings, accounting for small amounts of the phenotypic variation (less than 2%) in the fleece traits. These results support the methods to account for these effects that are used routinely in MERINOSELECT genetic evaluations.