Of all the purebred sheep I've had over the years (Dorsets, Suffolks, Rambouliets, Polypays, Columbias, Romanovs) , the most profitable have 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:

• Mature ewes weigh 160 - 190 lbs

• Mature ewe birth rates are 286% with 77% being weaned by the ewe (2003 - 2007 average)

• Including bottle lambs, my mature Polypay ewes produce 2.31 lambs per year - from once-a-year lambing (2003 - 2007 average)

• Ewe lambs birth rates are 150%, with 95% being weaned by the ewe (2003 - 2007 average)

• The group average daily gain for Polypay sired lambs in 2005 (last time I measured) was 0.78 lb/day.  This includes everything, ewe lambs, wethers, triplets, quads, but NOT in-tact rams.  ADG for in-tact, purebred rams was 0.91 lb/day - respectable for any breed.

The Polypay breed is pretty new and is changing rapidly.  While some breeders are striving for size and style, others are going for out of season lambing ability.  Still others are focusing on prolificacy and production.  I breed Polypay sheep to make a profit on a commercial basis and to provide a good-sized prolific sheep for crossbreeding programs.  

You may notice that my mature Polypay ewes are very prolific. Combined with their larger size, I believe they are a better choice for cross breeding systems than Romanovs.  Consider the pounds of lamb weaned by my Polypays: 54 lbs x 2.31 lambs = 125 lbs per ewe.  A good Romanov with a 330% lambing rate, 80% survival rate weaning 40 lb lambs produced 106 lbs per ewe. The purebred Polypay has outproduced the purebred Romanov.  This extra production will carry into cross breeding systems as well. In addition, Polypay cross lambs will finish at higher weights and have wool with some retail value (Romanov wool is generally discarded).

Why not just raise purebred Polypay  sheep?  For me, the first reason would be that my purebred Polypays are so prolific that not all of them can feed their lambs and I have very little interest in bottle lambs. The other would be that purebred Polypays cannot reach my target finishing weights due to their smaller frame size.

Looking forward, Polypay sheep will continue to play a major role in my flock genetics, both as purebred and crossbreds. On the purebred side, I will breed only the most prolific, heaviest milking, easy lambing purebred ewes to purebred Polypay rams.  On the commercial side, I will use my very prolific ewes to improve lambing rates without sacrificing size.

My current top Polypay ewe - weaned 13 lambs in 5 years - no bottle lambs or assisted births (left).  Current Polypay Ram (right).

2 Polypay Ewes and their 7 lambs!  The ewe on the left (deceased) weaned 17 lambs in 6 years - no bottles, no assisted births