Squiredale New Breed Of Sheep In Province

Press, Volume C, Issue 29506, 6 May 1961, Page 6

Squiredale New Breed Of Sheep In Province

Y NEW breed of sheep to which has been given the name of Squiredale after its founder, Mr Dunean Squire, has been developed in South Canterbury. Studmaster at Mr Squire’s Ssl verst ream property at Maungati, Mr S. G. Barrett, believes that the breed will have an important place in the foothills and second class country of New Zealand. “The Squiredale was not bred to compete with established breeds,” he says. "On the contrary it was bred specifically to fill a gap between our longwool breeds and halfbred types.” It is described as an open faced three-quarterbred. The history of the new breed goes back to 1945 when Mr Squire, whose family has been fanning and sheep breeding in the Maungati district for four generations, became interested in a system of breeding in which the disadvantages of loss of vigour in closely in-bred

strains is overcome by resorting to what is called a double cross. The properties owned by the Squire family range from river flats to undulating limestone and foothills to high tussock country with a moderate rainfall. In search of a sheep for this type of farming Mr Squire selected for his foundation stock Southdown-Border Leicester cross rams and mated them with Romney-Corriedale cross ewes. By careful selection and mating of the resultant progeny and successive line breeding an all-purpose sheep has been evolved. Versatile Mr Barrett says that under winter conditions they have been found feeding at from 2500 to 5000 ft but they can fit into the pattern of any type of farming being able to feed on the high hills or the most luscious pasture. High fertility is a salient point of the breed, according to Mr Barrett Under test 106 ewes were mated with one ram Only one ewe proved not- to be in lamb and the lambing percentage from the mob was 174 per cent The twinning factor has been closely considered in all selections for mating and similarly importance has been attached to milk production in the ewe. Under ideal con-

ditions fat lambs have been killed at the age of three or four months weighing from 30 to 451 b dressed carcase weight. The ewes should yield carcases of from 70 to 1101 b. Wool grades from 46s to 545. Mr Barrett says it is uniform in character with very little, if any variation from shoulder to britch. It is white, regular, lofty, clean and soft handling. The yolk which is a demi lustre (white), together with the type of fibre, eliminate cotting or matting and weather staining along the back. The back wool cover allows only a minimum amount of water or dust to enter. Bare points and open wool allow quick drying after rain and bare points also facilitate movement on hill country. Attention to the bare area around the tail from the vulva to the crutch also means that a minimum of crutching is necessary. Fleece Weights The fleece of rams weighs from 12 to 201 b and of ewes from 8 to 141 b. "The Squiredale sheep may not suit all types of farming but there is no doubt that it will play an important role in the type of country it was bred for," says Mr Barrett There is a Romney as well as a Squiredale stud on Silverstream.