EOTY – whats to come

Even though lambing has ended, we have a fair bit going on here over the next few months. We have around 20 new Damara inbound over the next few weeks, including 3 new rams, and are excited to welcome them to the flock.   Some rams have been chosen to boost genetic diversity, and others for their amazing type.  The boys will join Forge, Genesis and Viracocha and the girls will be introduced to the main ewe flock.  Photos available on the meet the flock page soon!

DNA testing should be done by the end of the year too, so we’ll be able to look at the genetic flock kinship matrix and better understand the flock from that perspective.  It’s going to be interesting to see the difference in the DNA COI vs the pedigree COIs – with any luck, we will find more diversity than less  (click here for an bit of a dive into flock genetics).

We are also testing a few sheep to identify if we have a dominant black gene in the flock – more to come on that soon, and why we want to try and help the Damara stay as colourful as possible.

The final piece on the DNA front will be to put our purebred, lost pedigreed ewes from Wagga Wagga back into the genetic picture of the flock.  With the DNA test, we can select genetically compatible mates for them, and begin the work to get them back onto the registrable Australian flock.

We haven’t been happy with the ram lambs from one of our rams this drop, so most of them will become wethers and at this stage we’re only looking to grow out two from his sixteen ram lambs. Fingers crossed for some good looking boys from our later drop, but ram availability from us will be significantly lower next year because of this.

For the new year (2 months away, really??) we are also getting the flock ovine brucellosis accredited, which is a voluntary biosecurity program that focuses on ram reproductive health.  There are some exciting interstate Damara trades being planned, and we’ve already started drawing up the breeding pools and mate selection for the next round of joining, which we think will happen in January (subject to change!).  We’ll also keep working on the Australian Damara Colour Project and get it really set up to burst into the new year!  Check out the post that explains what it is, and what we hope it will become.  Follow along with all the flock and new members on our instagram gallery or touch base if you have any questions at all.

EOTY – whats to come

Even though lambing has ended, we have a fair bit going on here over the next few months. We have around 20 new Damara inbound over the next few weeks, including 3 new rams, and are excited to welcome them to the flock.   Some rams have been chosen to boost genetic diversity, and others for their amazing type.  The boys will join Forge, Genesis and Viracocha and the girls will be introduced to the main ewe flock.  Photos available on the meet the flock page soon!

DNA testing should be done by the end of the year too, so we’ll be able to look at the genetic flock kinship matrix and better understand the flock from that perspective.  It’s going to be interesting to see the difference in the DNA COI vs the pedigree COIs – with any luck, we will find more diversity than less  (click here for an bit of a dive into flock genetics).

We are also testing a few sheep to identify if we have a dominant black gene in the flock – more to come on that soon, and why we want to try and help the Damara stay as colourful as possible.

The final piece on the DNA front will be to put our purebred, lost pedigreed ewes from Wagga Wagga back into the genetic picture of the flock.  With the DNA test, we can select genetically compatible mates for them, and begin the work to get them back onto the registrable Australian flock.

We haven’t been happy with the ram lambs from one of our rams this drop, so most of them will become wethers and at this stage we’re only looking to grow out two from his sixteen ram lambs. Fingers crossed for some good looking boys from our later drop, but ram availability from us will be significantly lower next year because of this.

For the new year (2 months away, really??) we are also getting the flock ovine brucellosis accredited, which is a voluntary biosecurity program that focuses on ram reproductive health.  There are some exciting interstate Damara trades being planned, and we’ve already started drawing up the breeding pools and mate selection for the next round of joining, which we think will happen in January (subject to change!).  We’ll also keep working on the Australian Damara Colour Project and get it really set up to burst into the new year!  Check out the post that explains what it is, and what we hope it will become.  Follow along with all the flock and new members on our instagram gallery or touch base if you have any questions at all.

Want to ask just some questions?? Contact us here, head over and take a look at our flock in the Gallery or have a read through the About the Damara section.