MERINO wethers have long been regarded as an optional extra in wool-growing enterprises depending on the nature of the season.
For Bombala woolgrowers Charlie and Anne Maslin, Merino wethers were a safe option when they purchased a neighbouring property earlier this year and wanted to bolster their numbers quickly.
The timing of the annual Bombala circuit sheep sale in February enabled the Maslins to top up their Merino wether mob by more than 1000 head from the one on-property sale.
They bought 1095, 11/2-year-old Merino wethers from Ned and Anne Kater, “Red Cliff”, Camabalong, for $53 (for 852 head) and $46 (for 243 head).
To further build on their 1500-head wether flock they retained all their Merino wethers from their lambing last August.
They are now running 3600 Merino wethers, of which 2600 are two to three years old and about 1000 are one year old.
Mr Maslin said increasing their wether mob had allowed them to reduce the weed burden on their new property.
“We are using the wethers to open up the country on the new place, to make it easier to spray the weeds present, which are mostly serrated tussock,” Mr Maslin said.
He said the more sheltered country on their new property was reserved for running Merino ewes.
Mr Maslin anticipates Merino wethers will remain a long-term commitment on their new property.
“Wethers are one of those good pressure release valves in the enterprise – when it gets dry the wethers will be one of the first things to go.”
Mr Maslin said their wethers were typically sold before three years of age.
“It’s been a long time since we have kept wethers on to that age, but the last couple of years have been some of the best seasons we have had, which has enabled us to keep them on that year longer.
“Usually we would have them off the property by two years old as there is still a good return for the meat side at that age.”
With the lamb market not as lucrative as it was two years ago, Mr Maslin said they were currently better off keeping on their Merino wether lambs for their wool clip.
Mr Maslin said they usually managed to shear the wethers three times by age two.
The August-drop lambs were first shorn in January or February as lambs for ease of management, when they reach an average staple length of 50 millimetres or more.
They were shorn again in November with nine months’ wool to bring them in line with the “Gunningrah” main shearing.
Mr Maslin said provided seasons weren’t too tough their two-year-old Merino wethers would cut about six kilograms of wool on average at a 12-month shearing, with a staple length of 100mm.
“In really good years we have had some wethers cut 8 to 9kg of wool, but we were probably understocked at the time, so they would have had a better feed opportunity,” he said.
The Maslins’ wool clip averages 21 micron.
He said the wool cut of their adult Merino ewes would be comparable to that of two-year-old Merino wethers.
“It really depends on the season and what the ewe has been through – we try to look after the ewes reasonably well and run the wethers a bit harder so there is probably not that much between them,” he said.
The Maslins run about 4500 Merino ewes, with about 65 per cent joined to Merino rams and 35pc to Border Leicester rams.
