There are EPDs for sheep, but many producers are unfamiliar with them and the information they provide.
David Copeland, a hair sheep breeder from Fulton, Mo., is participating in the National Sheep Improvement Program and told Ozarks Farm & Neighbor that EPDs are just another tool in selecting breeding stock.
“You don’t want to use a really bad looking ram that is not structurally correct, and doesn’t have the phenotype that you like, just because he’s got good EPDs,” he said. “But if you’re just doing visual selection, you’re probably always going to pick a single out of a 3- or 4-year old mom, and that’s probably not the genetics that you’re really looking for. I have two rams that both look really good visually, but genetically one is vastly superior to the other, and if you’re not using numbers and science you’re not going to know – you’re just going to pick the one that you like.”
Copeland said he has 15 years worth of data on his farm, and has been able to make particularly good genetics progress on parasite resistance.
“I think Katahdins are the only breed in the NSIP that have a parasite resistance,” he said. He also selects for weight gain, but said with hair sheep it’s not necessary to pick for high birth rates or weaning weights because they’re so prolific.
Some buyers seek lambs for different holidays throughout the year, and he noted, “If you want to gain weight more quickly, shooting for a particular ethnic market, you can get one with rapid weight gain.” Producers can also select a ram for prolificacy, to correct for producing too many single births in the flock.
Still, the information is scarcer than it is with the cattle industry, where breed associations have voluminous production records. University of Arkansas Extension Animal Scientist David Fernandez told OFN there are some tests available for buck goats. The University of Maryland Extension conducts a pasture-based buck test, and the USDA Agricultural Research Service station in Booneville, Ark., keeps data on their bucks, including some information about parasite resistance.
Fernandez said for either a buck or a ram, the buyer should look for structural correctness.
“You want to make sure that that animal’s body is put together just the way it’s supposed to be – that the legs are in proper alignment, that the hocks are not too far out or too far in,” he said.
In addition, look for a good cover of muscle, the muscle should be carried down the leg and be thick.
“A longer back is nice, because we’re looking at those expensive loin cuts that run along the backbone and down to the hip,” he added.
Where birth weight records are available, moderate birth weights are preferable; those that are too high can cut down on survivability at birth, and those that are too low won’t have enough energy to get up and nurse right away when they’re born in the spring.
Another important factor is the seller’s reputation.
“If people are happy with that seller and the animals that person produces, you’re probably going to be happy with them, too,” Fernandez said. “The other thing about having a seller with a good reputation is many times, they will in some way guarantee that animal. A lot of them have tested their animals for a variety of diseases, including Johne’s, caseous lymphadenitis (CLA) and caprine arthritis encephalitis (CAE), to be sure they’re not sending you an animal that’s going to give you a serious disease condition in your herd or flock. They’re also guaranteeing the fertility of that animal.”
