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While Wiltshire sheep have very
good muscling and growth characteristics, they are primarily developed
as a maternal
breed. Consequently, production efficiency can be
further
improved through crossbreeding with a terminal breed.
While there are many potential terminal sire breeds in the world, the
top three globally are Suffolk, Texel and Charollais.
I have a lot of experience with the Suffolk breed. It is
unsurpassed in growth rate and has very good muscling. It is also
known for large birth weights, difficult births and low newborn lamb vigor.
For my operation, these disadvantages outweigh the advantages.
The Texel is similar to the Suffolk in that it is a breed that focuses
on maximizing a particular trait. In the case of the Texel, the
trait is muscularity. Like the Suffolk, Texel lambs are known to
have high birth weights and somewhat difficult births.
The Charollais is a balanced terminal sire breed. Birthing ease
and newborn vigor are balanced with carcass traits and growth.
They are well suited for ewes of almost any breed or age.
My interest in Charollais goes back many years. In 2009, I was
fortunate enough to buy one of the few high percentage rams in the US.
The picture below shows that Charollais ram next to Polypay and Friesian
rams from that era.
Despite being much shorter, the Charollais in the photo weighed 20 lbs
more than the Polypay to his right. Note the small head and fine
bone structure.
The importation of breeding sheep
from Canada into the US was prohibited from 2003 to 2022.
Consequently, the Charollais breed was unable to develop in the US.
In 2023, I was able to purchase the last remnants of that flock, which
was located in Wisconsin.
These two ewes were of unknown age and had not been shorn for 3 years.
After shearing and quarantine, they were added to my flock. Again,
note the fine bone structure. The ewe on the left weighs 180 lbs,
the one the right is smaller at 165 lbs.
With connections in New Zealand made when procuring the Wiltshire semen,
I was able to purchase some Charollais semen as well. Straws from
the 2 rams below was imported in summer 2024.
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