Production and quality of wool from contemporaneous Merino and first cross ewes at three consecutive shearings

Abstract

The majority of prime lambs slaughtered in Western Australia are first-cross lambs from Merino ewes. The recent introduction of the new meat, milk and dual-purpose sheep breeds has provided producers with the option to produce prime lambs from first-cross ewes. Proponents of the new breeds claim the growth and carcase characteristics of the second-cross progeny from these ewes will be superior to first-cross lambs from Merino ewes. However, little is known about the quantity and quality of the wool produced by these first-cross ewes in comparison to Merino ewes used for prime lamb production in the south west of Western Australia. This paper reports the quantity and quality of wool produced by Merino (Mer) and Merino crosses of Border Leicester (BL), East Friesian (EF), Poll Dorset (PD) and South African Meat Merino (SAMM) ewes run as contemporaries from birth on a commercial farm.