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Of all the purebred sheep
I've had over the years (Dorsets, Suffolks, Rambouliets, Polypays,
Columbias, Romanovs) , the most profitable have been Polypays. While there
are profitable individuals in every breed, the Polypays have been the
most consistently profitable as a group. Polypays are excellent mothers, have
high prolificacy
and are easy to maintain (they keep condition better than many other breeds).
Performance data of my purebred Polypay ewes:
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Mature ewes average: about 180 lbs
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Mature ewe birth rates are 264% with 81% being weaned by the ewe (2005 - 2009
average)
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Ewe lambs birth rates are 150%, with 100% being weaned by the ewe (2005 - 2009
average)
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Average service life: 4.2 years
The Polypay breed is beginning to suffer the negative
effects of the show ring. In the 10+ years I have raised Polypays,
I have seen them transition from sheep that had a small to medium frame and heavy body to medium-large frames with decreasing body mass. As
we have seen with so many other breeds, the more frame you put into an
animal, the less commercially viable it becomes. Fortunately,
there are still a number of Polypay breeders who are selecting for lamb
production. The new "Percent Weaned" and "Pounds Weaned" EPDs
should be great tools to help improve the breed.
I breed Polypay sheep to make a profit on a commercial basis.
Consequently, my mature Polypay ewes are very prolific. Combined with their
larger size, I find them to be a better choice for cross breeding
systems than Finns and Romanovs. Consider the pounds of lamb weaned by my
Polypays: 54 lbs x 2.64 x 0.81 lambs = 115 lbs per mature ewe. A good Romanov
with a 330% lambing rate, 80% survival rate weaning 40 lb lambs weans
106 lbs per ewe. In addition, Polypay cross lambs will finish at higher
weights, have better pelts and have wool with some retail value (Romanov wool is generally
discarded).
Why not just raise
purebred Polypay
sheep? I feel there are
(4) areas that cross breeding can be used to improve production:
1. First year productivity
/ sexual maturation age. With very high feed costs, first year performance is
is crucial. While Polypays
perform much better than many breeds their first year, there is some
room for improvement. Adding very early maturing breeds such as
Friesians, Rideaus, Finns and Romanovs can help.
2. While most Polypays can
wean triplets, there are some that struggle. Also, first year ewes (ewe lambs)
could often use more milk when raising twins. Crossing with
Friesians or other dairy sheep can help.
3. Growth. Polypays
grow pretty well and can finish at 135 lbs. or more. But on
average, they do not grow as well as meat breeds and can benefit from a
terminal sire.
4. Prolificacy. In
current market conditions, prolificacy is very important. While my
current purebred flock is doing very well, it is a small group. It
is difficult to maintain, let alone improve, a very high level of
prolificacy without crossbreeding. Crossing with prolific breeds such as Friesians,
Finns and Romanovs can help.
Looking forward, Polypay sheep will
provide the base of my ewe flock. I will use crossbreeding to
further improve production of my commercial flock and retain on the best
for the purebred flock.
NEW for 2010: A new
registered Polypay ram, his dam's stats:
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Weight: 180 lbs
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Weaning rate: 240%
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Age: 6 years
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