It is early days for Mark Tiedemann going non mules, his quest to breed Merino sheep with bare enough breeches started a number of years ago, but the early indications having ceased mulesing last year is that it can be done with the right selection of rams are encouragement enough for him to continue.
The second generation Merino breeder manages a self-replacing flock on the 1300ha aggregation based at Summerhill, Young, in partnership with his wife Nicole and son Kye.
Rams are sourced from Centre Plus and Kambah Poll, and Mr Tiedemann classes his flock in consultation with Sally Martin, SheepMetriX, Young, with the classed out ewes joined to Poll Dorset rams.
The grown sheep on Summerhill are shorn twice a year and average six and half kg of fleece measured at 17.5m.
Mr Tiedemann said his weaning percentage of 120 plus is a consequence of the deliberate selection of plainer bodied rams with a balance of fat, wool cut, crimp and style.
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So when he decided to stop mulesing, his basic criteria during his ram selection had already moved his flock in that direction.
"I had been shearing for 28 years and had ideas about what I should be looking for", Mr Tiedemann said.
"Our rams were already a lot plainer because we were concentrating on our lambing percentage which is very important for us.
"We don't like mulesing, but flystrike is more cruel, and when we made the decision to stop mulesing, our sheep were already plain enough to manage without it."
With his balanced approach to breeding Merino sheep, Mr Tiedemann said he was still focusing on profit drivers like extra lambs weaned and wool while taking into account the various traits associated with reducing breech flystrike.
Traits like wrinkle score and breech cover, the amount of dag and urine stain, are good indicators to focus on to reduce the need to mules.
Mr Tiedemann is also recording the breech wrinkle score at lamb marking to see if there is any correlation with their wrinkle score as the sheep grow.
After trialling a mob of wethers to see if he was on track to non-mulesing, Mr Tiedemann said last years drop were the first complete drop on Summerhill which have not been mulesed.
"For some time, we thought non-mulesing was the best way for us to go, it is going to happen,"; he said.
"There has been a lot of talk about it, but we were encouraged by Sally Martin at SheepMetriX in Young to start with a small mob.
"If you are uncertain, that is the best way to go. And with our complete drop now non-mulesed, we haven't had any trouble with our weaners even through this wet season."
Besides trialling a mob of wethers before going wholesale on non-mulesing, Mr Tiedemann discussed his options with other breeders and also included his shearing team.
"It is very important to listen to their feedback and they have been helping us fine tune our options," he said.
"Because we shear twice a year, we also thought non-mulesing is a better way to do things with our sheep.
"I have also been supported and encouraged by other people who have gone down this path, and with Sally leading a local demonstration group which involves leading breeders, I have the confidence I'm on the right track.
"The demonstration group is full of good information and the other breeders are very generous with their time and ideas."
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