Extreme ewes: Fleece weight selection - wool, lambs or meat?

Abstract

The negative genetic correlation between clean fleece weight (CFW) and fat depth (Fogarty et al. 2003) is under investigation. Adams et al. (2004) found that as CFW increased, the ability of Merinos to store fat declined under low and moderate feed conditions. The biological impact of reduced body fat during times of nutritional stress is likely to extend to various aspects of reproduction, including fertility, lamb survival, lamb weight (Cloete et al. 2004) and meat quality (Pethick et al. 2005). This paper reports the responses to a regime of restricted feed intake among ewes selected for high (H) and low (L) CFW and (H) and low (L) bodyweight (BWT), after 8 months of treatment.