Southdown Sheep Society, NZ

NEWSLETTER NO. 121.

As 2017 draws to a close and in general the year has been one of surprises, be it the Jacinda media hype, Winston getting all his wishes (NZ First Christmas seem to have come early) and his party linking with Labour yet National getting the most seats but did not win the election. Think many people don’t understand MMP. Donald Trump performing in ways we have never seen a US President do, some of the past ones must cringe. Rugby held our attention again and the Lion Tour was great and a wonderful following of fans. Spoke to a few and they thought NZ was great and the people so very kind and helpful, a nice complement I thought. Weather also a topic that keeps coming up, so very very wet all year and then November came and the drought has set in and the extremely high temperatures, which about here we are not use to, day upon day.
Canterbury Stud Sale.
37 Rams sold at the fall of the hammer and 2 passed in. The Ewes 6 in and all sold. As many will have seen the reports in the paper David Robertson with his Ram Cordyline 15/16 sold for $16000.00 to Dave Gillespie. Chris Medlicott received $8500 for his Ram Clifton Downs 462/16 and there were many good prices paid. The Ewes averaged $530 and we look forward to a new member coming out of that.
To all under bidders thanks because as we all know without them the sale does not go ahead.
Feilding Stud Ram Fair.
16 Rams were sold and 4 were passed at the fall of the hammer. The average was $2206 and $6000.00 was received twice by Willowhaugh with our member Gavin Deadman being the purchaser of Willowhaugh 16/16.
Congratulations to all Vendors and please remember at any sale should you sell a Stud Ram it is your duty to complete the transfer and forward it to the Office. We will then forward a copy of the paper work to the Purchaser. For some where more than one Stud is the purchaser please show the names of the others on your form.
Payment of Accounts.
Thank you to so many of you that pay your account in full on the month you receive it. As the Society balance date is 31st December, we would appreciate it if all of the 2017 accounts were paid by then.
2018 AGM and Tour.
Council has discussed the 2018 AGM and tour and it is being hosted by members in the Manawatu and Wairarapa. The dates are Council meeting on Monday 30th April and the AGM will be held that evening and based in Palmerston North. Day 1 of the tour will be within the Manawatu and you will not have to pack your case as we stay at the hotel that night as well. The second day we head to the Wairarapa and spend the night at Glenburn Station, which is on the Wairarapa coast, (a dry area more ways than one boys). The following morning we will wend our way back to Palmerston North and will arrive at the airport in time for any to catch flights from 2.00 pm on.
Details of costs and your registrations will come out in 2018 once the Committee has all that information completed. The early time of the outline is so people are able to book early flights at hopefully better prices.
Website.
I am sure that there must be some good photos which should be on the Website so please if you have such, send them to Christina at wjordan@xtra.co.nz . She is the Website lady and does such a good job so please help her. If an article about Southdown’s appears in your local paper please advise her also of that.
2018 Ram Trial.
The 2017 trial is in full swing at present and results and lots of information will come out after the lambs are killed, which is to be 15th February. More Ram Lambs will be required again for the 2018 trial and that request will be sent to you all towards the end of February. A very big thanks must go to Dave Robertson, Todd Anderson, Chris Medlicott plus all the helpers and Committee. We must not forget the Englebrecht‘s who have been involved with the trial. They are the people who put their Commercial Ewes up to be used and all have said how great they have been with people coming and going for tagging, docking (sorry tailing in the South) and weaning. It will have interrupted some of their Commercial farming ways but they have never faulted and have co-operated most willingly at all requests. The Committee’s comments have been “great people and very good farmers”.
Again thanks to all who have been involved which of course includes all the Breeders who put Ram Hoggets up for the 2017 trial.

Ram Health and Husbandry.
We attach a paper that Dave Robertson published on the above topic and Council felt it was very worthwhile to be circulated to all Members and for Members to give it to their Ram Clients. Nothing worse than hearing “your Ram left few lambs” but purchasers must in lots of cases be at least partly at fault. Rams must be looked after through their working life, not just for their first mating.
From the Pen of the President.
As we fast approach Christmas for 2017 we need to acknowledge that it has been another good year for the Southdown.
Most breeders report sound Ram sales and the Southdown was again the highlight of the recent Canterbury Ram sale.
2017 has also seen the exciting Ram trial come to fruition. The lambs are being weaned on 21st December, and being shifted to Chris and Shelley Medlicott’s to finish. They will be EMA scanned prior to being killed at Alliance where they will be via scanned and assessed for intramuscular fat. This trial is a great step for the breed and thanks again to the Breeders that have supported this initiative. Given our scale we need to remember that our strength is working together.
Like a lot of people we are very dry with people saying it could be the driest since 1990 in our area.
I would like to thank everyone for being a passionate Southdown breeder, this commitment is what makes our Society special.
Before signing off I would like to acknowledge the passing of one of our great Ambassadors, Bill Medlicott. Margaret and family gave him a great send off on Friday 8th December, at St.Johns Church, Timaru. It was great to catch up with some fellow breeders there and remember some special times. Bill was a legend of the breed and his wisdom will be sadly missed.
Merry Christmas and I hope you all have a safe and happy start to the New Year and here’s to a great 2018.
Todd.

Conclusion.
If you have an email address or even changed it please advise us so we can keep in contact. If you received this Newsletter through the post and now have an email address and that is Members without Flocks also, yes, we would like to have it.
Photos and Southdown stories direct to Christina please.
AGM and Tour for the early birds fly to Palmerston North on Monday 30th April, 2018 and you can fly out after 2.00 pm on Thursday 3rd May, 2018, from Palmerston North.
Sale of Ewes to a person wishing to become a Member of the Society the Ewes must be inspected on your property before they leave. Ring the Office prior to them being transported so we can arrange an Inspector, just give some advanced warning of your request.
Ram health and husbandry, please spread the word.
For some of you Christmas is an exciting time with perhaps new family members at your table. For others it will be a sad time because you have lost a loved one and it will be the first Christmas without them. Others have had health problems during the year and we hope that you are well on the road to recovery. Please be rest assured if any Southdown members can be of a help or a comfort to you just ask, as we are part of your family.
Joanne and I again thank you all for your friendships over the year and your co-operation and wish you and yours a very happy Christmas with family and friends and may 2018 be a safe and prosperous year.

Joanne.M.Pinfold,(Mrs) and Christine.H.Ramsay (Miss),
Secretaries.
20th December, 2017.
Live every moment
Laugh every day
Love beyond words

Ram Health and Husbandry: a summary for getting the best out of your genetics
Dave Robertson BVSc BSc
Oamaru Veterinary Centre

The health and longevity of commercial ram teams is an area where farmers can invest a small amount of time and attention to make a big impact.
Having healthy rams that last mean you can focus more on culling for production based traits rather than preventable ill thrift or diseases that are not a genetic basis.
In the Beef and Lamb Genetics ram health and husbandry study we identified some key reasons for ram losses, many of which are not due to the genetics but rather the management and husbandry of those ram teams.
Below is a summary of some those areas and some management practices that may improve the outcomes for ram teams.

1. Body condition (BCS)
In the study rams lost on average 13% of body weight over mating. This seemed to be a reasonable amount to lose. However many rams were losing between 20-30% of body weight over the mating period. These rams had slower recovery of that condition and higher death and culling rates. This body condition loss was not bred-specific, rather farm specific. That is, certain farms pushed rams harder regardless of whether they were terminal or maternal types. If ewes lost a small amount of BCS over mating then ram teams lost more than 13%.
2. Parasitism
Parasite burdens on rams were very high in mixed aged good condition rams pre-mating. Add to a worm burden the stress of mating and body condition loss, then it is fair to assume that worm burden will have a significant impact on ram health and recovery of BCS post mating.
Recommendation:
– Get rams in good condition pre-mating. BCS 3.5. Fitness of rams also can make a difference. One suggestion to exercise rams was to train the pup on rams for 1-2months prior to going out.
– Drench with an effective combination drench and boost with minerals (B12, Se, Iodine) pre-tup.
– Post mating Drench again on removal from ewes. Checking feet (see feet section below).
– Make feeding a priority over the winter to recover BCS which will help get immune function back on track.
e.g. 100kg will need at least 3kgDM daily to gain weight and this will ideally have some quality green feed or ever concentrates. Ideal live weight varies widely in rams ranging from 90 to 150kg. Therefore rams that have 130kg optimal weight will have almost 50% higher maintenance feed requirements than ram that is 90kg at optimum. This maybe part of the reason for big sheep “not lasting”.

3. Teeth
Excessive tooth wear or broken mouths were associated with ill thrift, deaths and a main reason for culling.
Recommendation
-Checking teeth of rams twice yearly, pre-mating and prior to working ram purchases for next year.
– tooth wear is influenced by age and the grazing pressure applied to stock. Running rams on longer pasture covers is likely to not only improve BCS but also reduce tooth wear.

4. Feet
One of the main areas of early culling of rams was for feet issues, mainly infectious foot problems such as footrot or foot abscess.
There was a wide range of opinion and attitudes toward hoof care in rams, however farmers in the survey and the ram study who made hoof prevention a priority with rams had less culling for feet related issues.

Recommendation
– Eradicate footrot from the ram team. This is possible as they are an isolated group for 10 months of the year. But not easiliy achieved in some cases. Inspect feet whenever the opportunity arises, ideally 3 x year. Pre-and post-mating most critical. 2 clear inspections at least 30 days apart are required to deem a group clear of footrot.
– Troughing in zinc sulfate during wet conditions will help reduce the scald. Rams leading up to mating seemed to have higher incidence of lameness, so 7-14 day troughing cycles leading up to mating will prevent simple infections becoming abscesses/footrot. Part of the fitness-pup training program!
– Outside of mating select drier paddocks or areas where rams can camp out of the moisture will reduce infection rates.
– Treating feet lesions early with systemic anti-biotics and topical spray will give best recovery rates. Some will require careful paring to relieve infection and allow healing. Hoof abscesses occur when simple lesions are neglected. Once into the joint an abscess will not respond to antibiotics.

5. Other
Get your rams vet checked annually. Testicular lesions are not uncommon and brucellosis can have a devastating effect on a flock.

Boost with 5 in 1 every year. This is a very simple way to prevent sudden death in rams

Fly protection, especially around the head pre-summer and late summer.

Social pressures. Injuries from fighting are not uncommon, but can be reduced by keeping a stable mob dynamic and not mixing rams. New 2 tooth rams are best kept separate until after mating if possible.