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STUD MANAGEMENT
Our aim at Wellwood over several generations, has been to produce sheep that are adapted to natural conditions on the farm, with well-defined, high quality wool and an economically productive animal for both wool and meat value. The Wellwood flock size varies from 3000 to 3500 head, as conditions allow. All Wellwood stud rams and ewes begin their lives on extensive veld conditions prior to selection at 11 months of age.
Ewes
Wellwood Stud has consistently focused on the quality of their ewes and believes that the breeding value is in the ewes which are strictly classed every year.
700 stud and 700 commercial ewes,
run extensively on the rugged veld
with no supplementation and
minimum medication
Rams
Wellwood Stud sells between
100 to 150 rams annually.
We select and use our best 18-month-old rams in the stud every year.
Wool clip
The Wellwood flock wool clip average is a fleece weight of 5kg with a fibre diameter of 19.2 microns.
Mating
Mating takes place in April for a Spring lambing season.
Each year the best 10 – 12 eighteen-month old stud rams are mated to
60 or 70 stud ewes each. These rams are then offered on the national sale
in August.
Lambing
Lambing takes place on the veld in
spring on Wellwood apart from 200 ewes that lamb on pastures in
Neiu Bethesda where lambing percentages of between 160 and 175 % are consistently obtained.
Ewes that do not conceive are
culled and sold.
Performance Testing
Stud Ram and Ewe lambs are performance tested under natural conditions at ten months of age in flocks ranging from 250 – 300
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