Poll Merino Sheep

The Poll Merino sheep is a breed of domestic sheep from Australia. As the name suggests, these animals are polled, that means they have no horns. It was developed in Australia in 1825, and Alexander Riley was the first breeder to obtain a poll ram with a view to establishing a poll Merino sheep flock.

He imported the ram from Germany, along with Saxon ewes, Bungaree, Boonoke, Uardry and Wanganella studs made specific mention of poley or poll rams for sale from the early 1880s. During that time, the first conscious attempt was made to breed the modern type Poll Merino sheep by the Munros at Webollabolla, Moree, New South Wales.

And in Australia, this stud is the oldest Poll Merino stud. During 1932, the Kirkby Poll Merino studs were started in Moree, Merryvile Poll in 1938 and Boonoke Poll in 1934.

The early Western Australian studs purchased Boonoke poll rams. Otway Falkiner started the Boonoke Poll Stud using 13 'sports', which had no horns, from the Boonoke 1934 drop of nearly 9,000 rams, from this group of thirteen rams, eight where put over 400 Boonoke ewes the following year. And in the year of 1937, the first offering of Poll Boonoke rams shown to the public.

Currently many studs are breeding the Poll Merino sheep to cater for the increased demand for these easier to care for animals. Read some more information about this sheep breed below.

poll merino sheep, about poll merino sheep, poll merino sheep appearance, poll merino sheep breed, poll merino sheep breeders, poll merino sheep breed info, poll merino sheep breed facts, poll merino sheep care, caring poll merino sheep, poll merino sheep color, poll merino sheep characteristics, poll merino sheep development, poll merino sheep ewes, poll merino sheep facts, poll merino sheep for meat, poll merino sheep for wool, poll merino sheep history, poll merino sheep horns, poll merino sheep info, poll merino sheep images, poll merino sheep lambs, poll merino sheep meat, poll merino sheep origin, poll merino sheep photos, poll merino sheep pictures, poll merino sheep personality, poll merino sheep rarity, raising poll merino sheep, poll merino sheep rearing, poll merino sheep size, poll merino sheep temperament, poll merino sheep tame, poll merino sheep uses, poll merino sheep varieties, poll merino sheep weight

Poll Merino Sheep Characteristics

Poll Merino sheep are medium to large sized animals. They are relatively large framed animals and are plain bodied. They produce good quality fleece which is soft handling and of good color. They are now found in the various strains of Merino sheep. As the name suggests, these animals are polled. Meaning that, they have no horns. Photo and info from ansi.okstate.edu and Wikipedia.

Uses

The Poll Merino sheep are dual-purpose animals. They are raised for both meat and wool production. But they are especially very good for wool production.

Special Notes

The Poll Merino sheep are very strong and hardy animals. The rams and wethers are less prone to poll strike than most other horned Merino sheep. They are easier to handle and care for. They are also easier to handle during crutching and shearing time. They grow very fast, and highly fertile.

The Poll Merino wethers do not develop the stag horns that regular Merino wethers grow if they are not castrated early. However, review full breed profile of these sheep in the following chart.

Breed Name	Poll Merino
Other Name	None
Breed Purpose	Meat, wool
Special Notes	Strong and hardy, highly valued for their quality wool production, the rams and wethers are less prone to poll strike than most other horned Merinos, easier to handle and care for, also easier to handle during crutching and shearing time, grow very fast, highly fertile, good for both meat and wool production
Breed Size	Medium
Horns	No
Climate Tolerance	Almost all climates
Color	White
Rarity	Common
Country/Place of Origin	Australia

Comments

Murray Grey Cattle

The Murray Grey cattle are a breed of beef cattle from Australia. It was developed in the upper Murray River valley on the New South Wales. The breed was developed in 1905 from an initial chance mating of a black Aberdeen Angus bull and a roan Shorthorn cow during the Federation drought. From these matings the resulting thirteen dun-grey calves were kept as curiosities. And then Peter and Ena Sutherland bred them on the Thologolong property along the Murray River in New South Wales. Murray Grey cattle grew faster and were good converters of feed and produced quality carcases. These are the reasons this animals become very popular after their development. And local farmers became interested soon in these animals and began breeding them. The first large scale commercial farms were established in the 1940s. Today the breed is available in many countries. Both live Murray Grey cattle and embryos have been exported to many countries such as Canada, South America, New Ze...

Sorting Cattle

Sorting cattle is important if you have a large number of animals. For better management you will need to separate the animals into different groups depending on their age, size, gender or condition score. If some cattle of your herd need to be examined by a veterinarian or confined due to injury or illness, then separation may also need to be done. Sorting is also needed for separating the calves that need to be weaned from their mothers. And separating the bulls is also necessary after they have done their duty with breeding cows. Sorting Cattle Sorting cattle is not actually a difficult task. It can be done easily if you understand stockmanship principles that take advantage of bovine psychology and behavior. However, here we are describing more about the ways of sorting cattle. Sorting From a Squeeze Chute In this system you can move your cattle through a working corral into a chute system into the squeeze. In this system you can check and process animals f...

Andalusian Black Cattle Farming

Andalusian Black cattle farming is not too popular, even in it's native area. It is a relatively rare breed which is valued for meat production. But today, the breed is listed as 'endangered', and total number of the breed is very less. The Andalusian Black cattle is a taurine cattle breed, and it was originated in west Andalusia, Spain. It is also known by some other names such as Negra de las Campiñas, Negra Campiñesa and Spanish: Negra Andaluza. The Andalusian Black cattle is actually a beef cattle breed which is raised primarily for meat production purpose. The breed is found in two main areas of west Andalusia (from Cordova to the foothills of the Sierra Morena), and in the provinces of Seville, Cádiz and Huelva. Today, total population of the Andalusian Black cattle breed is very less. And there were about 800 purebred cattle in the year of 2007. Total number of this breed decreased mainly for crossbreeding with other local cattle breeds. Other reason...

Belted Galloway Cattle Farming

Belted Galloway cattle farming is popular, especially in it's native area. It is a beef cattle breed and raised mainly for meat production purpose. The breed is also known by some other names such as Beltie, Oreo Cow and Panda Cow. The Belted Galloway cattle breed was originated from Galloway in the west side of Southern Scotland. It is a heritage breed, and is well adapted to living on the poor upland pastures and wildswept moorlands of the region. Exact origins of the breed are unclear. But it is often surmised that the white belt of the breed may be a result of cross breeding with the Dutch Lakenvelder belted cattle. And the breed is named so mainly because of the belt. An association for the breed named the Belted Galloway Association was formed in 1921 in Scotland. And the name of the association was changed to Belted Galloway Society in the year of 1951. The association keeps and records pedigrees for Belted Galloways and oversees the registration of White and Re...

Cleaning A Cow

Cleaning a cow in the proper way can keep the animal look and feel fresh. Cleaning also help to prevent external parasites. You may also need to clean your cow to show it off at your local county fair or other occasions. And you need to clean your cows more often especially if you have dairy cows. You can integrate a spraying system for cleaning a cow once a day or so. Along with cleaning the body, you should also provide a footbath for better health of the cow's hooves. However, here we are describing more about the process of cleaning a cow. Sprinkler System Add Sprinkler in a Pre-milking Wash Pen You can construct a pre-milking wash pen with sprinklers for cleaning multiple cows. In this system, install sprinklers all along the pen you hold the cows in before milking. Using concrete for the floor will be good. It will help to keep the floor dry quickly and you will not have a constantly muddy area. You should spray sprinklers both up and down to wash the cows th...

Agerolese Cattle Farming

Agerolese cattle farming is not common, even in it's native area. It is a dairy cattle breed which is raised mainly for milk production purpose in it's native area. It is a pretty rare breed and not available outside it's native area. The Agerolese cattle is actually from the area of Agerola, in Campania in southern Italy. It was developed from cross-breeding of indigenous Podolica cattle with Bruna Italiana, Italian Holstein-Friesian and Jersey cattle. The breed is particularly associated with the Sorrento Peninsula and Monti Lattari. The Agerolese cattle is one of the 16 minor Italian cattle breeds of limited diffusion recognized and protected by the Ministero delle Politiche Agricole Alimentari e Forestali, the Italian ministry of agriculture. There were a total of 200 animals available according to a census completed on 1 January 2002. And the conservation status of the Agerolese cattle breed was reported by the FAO as 'endangered-maintained' in 200...

Ankole-Watusi Cattle Farming

Ankole-Watusi cattle farming is pretty popular, especially in it's native area. It is a multi-purpose breed of domestic cattle which is raised and valued for show, draught, meat and milk production purpose. The Ankole-Watusi cattle is a landrace breed, a type of Sanga cattle and originally native to East Africa. It is also known as Ankole Longhorn, and also sometimes known simply as Ankole or Watusi. Ankole-Watusi cattle is actually an ancient breed, and ancient rock paintings and depictions of these animals have been observed in the Sahara region and in the Egyptian arts and pyramid walls. The Sanga breed has spread to the Sudan, Uganda, Kenya and some other parts of Eastern Africa, becoming the base stock of the indigenous African cattle populations. It has most of the usual Zebu characteristics such as the pendulous dewlap and sheath, hump of variable size and the upturned horns. The Ankole-Watusi cattle have played a very important role in the lives of various ...

Search This Blog