Breeding value for sheep foot health

Foot issues in sheep could become a thing of the past, with a new project calling for ram breeders to help further the research.

A project which aims to develop breeding values to avoid foot issues in sheep is calling for nominations of sheep.

Ram breeders have until mid-January to volunteer sheep to be part of the program, and while it is counterintuitive to put rams at risk to footrot, it’s exactly what is needed to further the industry according to those involved.

SheepMetrix director Sally Martin said the project would investigate the genetic variation in foot conditions “to inform the Merino industry on appropriate selection strategies”.

“The health of sheep feet is a significant issue in the Australian sheep industry, especially Merinos in high rainfall zones and in wet years,” Ms Martin said.

Footrot is one of the key challenges and susceptibility has been shown to be heritable.

In New Zealand, a breeding value has been developed for footrot and has been found to reduce the chances of sheep getting the condition.

A project funded by Animal Health Australia showed there was a similar genetic variation in the chances of sheep getting footrot in the Australian flock.

While it is possible in New Zealand to still sell rams if there is footrot on their property, this is not the case in Australia.

That’s why the project will be run at research sites where stud breeders can expose their rams to the challenge of footrot and see how their genetics stack up, without having to expose their rams to footrot at home.

The research will also look at factors such as foot shape and susceptibility to ovine interdigital dermatitis or scald, which may also help ram breeders make genetic gains in disease susceptibility.

“There is great potential to improve the productivity and welfare outcomes of sheep farming in Australia’s medium to high rainfall zones by reducing the susceptibility of sheep to foot ailments,” Ms Martin said.

The project will run for three years and those breeders wanting to take part must have a full pedigree on the sheep and be using Sheep Genetics or be willing to submit their data to Sheep Genetics.

The project is funded by Australian Wool Innovation, Animal Health Australia and will be run by Murdoch University and neXtgen Agri in collaboration with AGBU and SheepMetrix.