Since 2010 we have targeted and specially selected animals into the Bare Breech family, adding a management and marketing advantage to our animals and wool. Our Bare Breech family have developed with exceptionally well-nourished wools and a distinct bare strip below the tail, inside the crutch and a bare scrotum on the rams. 2021 was the first year sires were made available for public sale.
The need for a productive bare breech Merino is imperative to further advance the great merino breed for those looking for a dual-purpose animal. Our approach is a productive skin to remain profitable in the future market, while adding the non-mulesed appeal that some consumers of our great fibre require.
Sheep classing is a multi-trait selection system. Too much pressure on the bare breech trait leads to a rapid wool loss, the biggest problem being the loss of underline (or wool coverage underneath). A classing system aiming for as much bare area under the tail whilst maintaining traditional stud breeding qualities provides a far more balanced approach. Now that we are deriving the bare breech trait from both ewes and rams we can move away from the single-trait selection system. Our bare breech family can now stand side by side with our traditional merinos—their outward appearance is the same whilst maintaining a bare strip below the tail and moving towards a fully bare crutch.
Always bearing in mind, the stud needs to retain the ability to put wool on if required, you can’t just keep taking wool off every generation to achieve a bare breech – you need to know how you’re going to maintain wool cut.
