ONE of NSW's leading Merino studs – Bundaleer – is moving into polled rams, with co-owner Gavin Lieschke saying in 10 years horned animals could be gone completely.
Bundaleer, in southern NSW, expected to bring four poll and four horned rams to the Australian Sheep & Wool Show, before going on to Hamilton, for Sheepvention.
"We are in a higher rainfall zone and getting into polls at the moment, we are heading more towards polls," Mr Lieschke said.
"People want that at the moment, probably because they are early maturing and easier to handle overall – so we are breeding to more pollies, with better meat traits but still cutting good fleece weights.
"Up until now, it's been hard to get a decent pollie, but in 10 years time it's going to be hard to get a decent horned ram."
Bundaleer rams have sold to producers from outback Queensland to the midlands of Tasmania.
"We've been breeding Merino rams since 1985 and cull heavily to achieve our breeding objectives," Mr Lieschke said.
"We have good combing sheep with nourishment, bright white wool with a well-defined crimp and heavy cutting ability.
"We are focusing on improving carcase weights, eye muscle depth and we are currently working towards a barer breached-type sheep," he said.
The average micron for the sheep was 19.5, with a strict eye on color and stain, while aiming to have sheep handle all climactic conditions.
"Sheep that blow out in micron, are harsher or daggy in the wool are culled," he said.
"We like a good-sized sheep, without going overboard with size and weight, which becomes a problem for handling and shearing."
Up to 80 ewes are mated to one sire, to be certain of the ram's progeny, and backed up to make sure of pregnancy.
"The older, proven sires, are mated at 100 plus one, 300 ewes to four rams, with a lambing percentage around 110 per cent," Mr Lieschke said.
The sheep are run on clover and rye, with a small amount of lucerne as the main hay source.
Bundaleer sheep advisor Damian Meaburn, Tasmania, said sales had been strong into that state.
"They are big enough to take north and they are nourished enough to take south, being a white wool sheep, they are a good dual purpose animal in this day and age," Mr Meaburn said.
Connorville (Tas), Cressy manager Adrian Carpenter said the property had bought 18 Bundaleer rams last year, picking up two at Bendigo and the rest from the on-farm sale.
"I like their nice white wools, and because of the robust condition they are in, they do well in our country," Mr Carpenter said.
"We put them over our younger Merinos, we have combined a medium and a fine wool together and we are going for a fine wool flock.
"We have been using them for two years now and they are doing pretty well."
Bundaleer rams would do well in any conditions, he said.
Connorville was one of the oldest, and largest, sheep stations in Tasmania, covering 18,000 hectares at Cressy.
It was currently running 11,000 Merinos, 1500 cattle and another 5000 non-Merino sheep.
"We ran the Bundaleers in commercial conditions, just in a paddock, and they were still cutting 10 kilograms, at 17.5 microns, so we really liked the production," Mr Carpenter said.
"Last year, they lambed about 90pc, and that's another good point."
Connorville ran one ram to 40 ewes, "we have got pretty big paddocks, and don't want to take it any higher.
"We want to make sure they are covering all the ewes."
Sheep were being bred for wool and meat.
"We want to stick in the 17-19 micron bracket and cut between 6-7kg, which we think the Bundaleer will do for us," he said
Mr Lieschke said the stud's emphasis was on breeding, not feeding.
"Our true to type breeding comes from our strong ewe base –- we keep our top ewes as long as they have the ability to lamb," he said.