Welcome to Mumblebone Merino Stud.

Mumblebone is a family operation situated in the central west of NSW, 20 km’s east of Wellington. We are proud to be recognised as a progressive & innovative stud offering early maturing, heavy cutting SRS(r) merino’s that are highly fertile and do not need to be mulesed.

Breeding Philosophy.

The Mumblebone breeding program combines early maturity and high fertility with exceptional wool quality.
Fertility.

The first step to improving fertility is simply to remove excessive skin wrinkle and breed a plain bodied animal. This is easily done and is the obvious first step to seeing more lambs hit the ground. (graph of skin wrinkle v NLW. Still to come)
Fertility is further improved by breeding from the ewes that conceive & rear twins. Ultrasound scanning six weeks after the rams are pulled out of the ewes is used to identify the twinning ewes and also to remove any dry ewe from the flock. All ewes, maidens included, that miss a lamb are sold.
To compliment the work done on the ewe’s fertility, the ram’s fertility is also very important. SC (scrotal circumference) is an easy way to select for fertile rams with a high serving capacity. This trait is readily passed on to the ewe progeny and will assist them to breed more twins.

Early Maturity.

Once the lambs are on the ground we need them to grow quickly.

PWWT (post weaning weight) is a valuable trait for identifying the lambs that grow quickly.

YWT (yearling weight) is also measured to give an indication of mature body size. The aim is to breed sheep that reach a mature size quickly then stop. We are not looking for sheep that grow into bullocks by the time they are 5 years old. These sheep tend to be slower growers with poor feed efficiency.

We place great importance on the combination of positive EMD (eye muscle depth) and positive FAT (fat cover). Fat cover is the energy reserve sheep draw on when under pressure. A positive fat reserve helps prevent sheep from slipping in condition when under pressure from lambing, worms, drought, etc. It also helps them recover more quickly. We must not let our sheep get too lean.

 

Some MLA FAT facts.

* Selection for CFW (clean fleece weight) alone will reduce FAT.

* Selection for higher mature weights will make sheep leaner.

*Reducing FAT will impact on NLW (number of lambs weaned).

* Reducing fat in merino’s is just plain dumb!

A large eye muscle means there is more meat in the right area. There is also a correlation between a large eye muscle area and feed efficiency meaning these sheep perform better.

Some MLA Muscle facts.

* EMD is positively related to weight and proportion of muscle in the loin and hind-quarter of the carcass in Merino lambs.

*Muscle helps with milk.

*Muscle is linked with SS (staple strength).

* Muscle is a no brainer for merino’s!

The Wool.

The Mumblebone wool continues to improve Our ewes cut good weights of long, soft, bold crimping white wool grown from a skin that is completely free of skin wrinkle. These characteristics ensure the quality and quantity of fleece is maintained throughout the life of the sheep.
Our sheep have eliminated the need to treat for body strike.

Our ewes remained untreated through this time and body strike was negligible.

Mulesing is still a hotly debated topic with two distinct schools of thought on the subject. In our view, our collective wool buying customer is asking for non-mulesed wool. It seems ridiculous for growers to then respond to our customer by saying we will keep mulesing while also expecting our customer to keep buying our clips.

breed more fertile sheep and faster growing lambs.

plain bodied sheep that have a dramatic effect on profit.

SRS(r) breeding principles

high quality wool to these plain bodied sheep that is not susceptible to fly strike.

AI (artificial insemination)

inseminate 340 to 400 ewes This program continues to increase the rate of improvement in our sheep

quality of rams and the depth of selection for clients. AI is also a quick way to introduce the best genetics from other studs that may be trait leaders in one or more of the traits important to profitability.

Ewes.

Flock overview:

800 stud ewes

2700 general stud ewes

3 year average micron - 22.5 microns

2009 - 18.9 microns

Fleece weights: 6 -7 kg’s depending on season

Breeding aims:

Mumblebone sheep are bred to combine early maturity and high fertility with exceptional wool quality.

Structure:

Structure is the most important trait. All Mumblebone ewes are assessed every year for all structural traits to ensure they can meet the challenges of living and breeding in the vast pastoral areas of Australia.

Temperament:

Mumblebone ewes have a very calm temperament and awareness is growing as to the importance of this trait. A calm ewe is more likely to conceive and less likely to be frightened away from her lamb. A calm ewe will also burn less nervous energy when handled leaving greater energy reserves for milk, meat & wool production.

Early Maturity:

Early maturity is important for lamb survival, fecundity and milk production. It is also important to help young ewes reach a joinable weight.
Having ewe lambs conceive early stimulates their appetite to consume the feed needed to produce the energy to sustain a pregnancy. This increased appetite stays with the ewe for the rest of her life making the animal far more productive and profitable.
At Mumblebone, we think the best thing we can do for our ewe lambs is join them at a young age.

Fertility:

Lambing percentage is a key trait for fast genetic progress as well as turn-over of surplus stock. All Mumblebone ewes are pregnancy scanned to identify multiple and single pregnancies with dry ewes removed from the flock.

Skin & Wool:

The skin on all Mumblebone ewes must be soft, smooth and wrinkle free. The wool must be long, soft, bold crimping and white. These characteristics are indicative of high levels of fibre density and length and ensure the quality and quantity of fleece is maintained throughout the life of the sheep.

Section 5: Ram

Philosophy on ram production.

Mumblebone rams are bred to combine early maturity and high fertility with exceptional wool quality.

AI Sires

The 2010 semen sires will be added to this list once all breeding values have returned from SGA.

Mumblebone 080273

sire micron SD CV CF YWT YEMD YFAT
mum50 18.0 3.1 17.4 100 4.2 1.3 0.2
273 carries a very long, soft, bold crimping, white wool that measured 90mm for 6mths growth. His structure is excellent and his breeding values are a great combination of growth & muscle with a positive fat cover. A great all-rounder.
Semen available $40 / dose +gst
Sale price $10,000

Mumblebone 080038

sire micron SD CV CF YWT YEMD YFAT
Gow286 17.8 3.1 17.4 100 1.6 1.8 0.2
38 carries a pearly white, bold crimping, silky soft fine wool. His structure is very correct & his EMD at +1.8mm puts him in the top 2% of all merinos. A superb fine wool ram with outstanding muscle.
Semen available $40 / dose +gst
Sale price $10,000

Karbullah 060052

sire micron SD CV CF YWT YEMD YFAT
Leahcim 218 20.4 3.4 17.1 99.6 6.6 0.8 1.2
52 was purchased in 2009 for his exceptional structure and carcass figures, particularly his very positive FAT. He has been joined to Mumblebone wool ewes with his first lambs hitting the ground in May 2010.
Semen available $40 / dose + gst

Well Gulley 061275

Pedigree unknown.
1275 was purchased, without figures, for his long, soft, white wool. He has bred exceptional wools with very good bodies.
Semen available $40 / dose + gst
Other studs to have influenced Mumblebone are Wallaloo Park, AMM and Longford.

Ram Sales.

The SRS(r) Classic Ram Sale

Saturday 9 October 2010, Wellington Show ground.
Offering 10 selected SRS(r) merino and poll merino rams.
The SRS(r) Classic Ram Sale is a sale to provide buyers with a chance to see and compare the best stock from the seven SRS(r) studs involved.

The Mumblebone On-Property Ram Sale

Saturday 16 October, Marapana, Wellington.
Offering 80 selected SRS(r) merino and poll merino rams.

This is the highlight of our breeding year and we are proud to once again be holding our on-property sale. After five years of selling at The SRS(r) Classic and after much interest in our next on-property, we have decided to do both.
There is a more general acceptance now that plain bodied sheep are the sheep merino growers must breed in order to lift fertility and growth rate while cutting good weights of high quality wool. The 2010 Mumblebone on-property sale is the best chance to see the gains made within the stud and to select rams to infuse those gains into your own stud or flock.

Grade Rams

400 merino and poll merino rams available after the on-property sale.
It is the depth of selection that Mumblebone offers that sets us apart from the pack. A clear breeding objective combined with extensive natural and AI (artificial insemination) programs now gives clients more rams of a higher quality than ever before to select from.

Section 6: Commercial benefits

Mumblebone rams are bred to combine early maturity and high fertility with exceptional wool quality.
Mumblebone rams will give you:
* Versatility. Rams used in flocks from Sth West Qld to The Snowy River high country.
* Exceptional quality fine medium wool
* Wool that maintains its quality throughout the life of the sheep
“In just three generations, Mumblebone rams have completely revolutionised the quality of our sheep enterprise.  We have witnessed outstanding improvements in both carcase and wool quality, without any compromise in wool yield. Testament to this, our wool classer assessed our most recent crop of lambs and wool clip as being the best he had ever seen produced from the property - a fantastic achievement in what was the second driest year since 1853”. Angus Hobson, Bukalong, Bombala 
* High fleece value
*High resistance to flystrike
* High resistance to weather damage
“My family has been utilising the Mumblebone bloodline for over 50 years. I believe our sheep now have a bigger frame, produce a finer and more even micron, produce a more “elite” style wool and are a more blowfly resistant animal. Blowfly resistance is critical. We have not mulesed our sheep since 2003”. Stuart Mackenzie, Plevna Downs, Eromanga
*High surplus sheep values
- Chris Horton sold 5yr old scanned ewes for $160 on farm in 2010
- Phillip Ridge topped the Narromine sale with maiden ewes selling for $138 in 2010
“As long term Mumblebone clients we have always valued the wonderful wool qualities and in recent years have come to appreciate the increase in cut and evenness. And in response to lamb and mutton market trends, the improvement in body size and shape is really doing the job” Phillip Ridge, Jandra, Bourke

*

Fertility

- A syndicate of 4 & 5 yr old Mumblebone ewes by “Muscles” marked 168% lambs!
- Chris Horton marked 118% lambs from maiden ewes
“...the Glenhurst flock is 95% in lamb including maiden ewes and this is a testament to the fertility of the Mumblebone sires. These sires have given our flock early maturing lambs, highly crimped long wools on a large, easy care frame” Chris Horton, Glenhurst, Nyngan

Early maturity

- David Bonnington sold 10mth old wether lambs for a fleece & carcass total of $120
"For us, Mumblebone is a progressive and innovative stud, breeding easy care, productive and profitable sheep” David Bonnington, Bonnayr, Curban

Chris Horton, Glenhurst, Nyngan
*

Phillip Ridge, Jandra, Bourke

David Bonnington, Bonnayr, Curban

Stuart Mackenzie, Plevna Downs, Eromanga

Angus Hobson, Bukalong, Bombala

Please contact us with your breeding results.

Section 7: Sales

Ram Sales.

The SRS(r) Classic Ram Sale

Saturday 9 October 2010, Wellington Show ground.
Offering 10 selected SRS(r) merino and poll merino rams.
The SRS(r) Classic Ram Sale is a sale to provide buyers with a chance to see and compare the best stock from the seven SRS(r) studs involved.

The Mumblebone On-Property Ram Sale

Saturday 16 October, Marapana, Wellington.
Offering 80 selected SRS(r) merino and poll merino rams.

This is the highlight of our breeding year and we are proud to once again be holding our on-property sale. After five years of selling at The SRS(r) Classic and after much interest in our next on-property, we have decided to do both.
There is a more general acceptance now that plain bodied sheep are the sheep merino breeders must produce in order to lift fertility and growth rate while cutting good weights of high quality wool. The 2010 Mumblebone on-property sale is the best chance to see the gains made within the stud and to select rams to infuse those gains into your own stud or flock.

Grade Rams

400 merino and poll merino rams available after the on property sale.
It is the depth of selection that Mumblebone offers that sets us apart from the pack. A clear breeding objective combined with extensive natural and AI (artificial insemination) programs now gives clients more rams of a higher quality to select from.

Semen

Semen packages available. Semen sire details in “Rams” section.
Section 8: News & Events

Field Days

Nyngan Ag Expo Young ram display
Bathurst Ram Expo TBA Young ram display
Glenhurst Field Day TBA Young ram display,
Glenhurst ewes & lambs
Quilpie Show Offering 6 selected SRS(r)rams
Severn Park Field day Young ram Display
Wellington Field Day Preview of sale rams

Ram Sales

SRS Classis Ram Sale Saturday 9 September 2010. 10 Selected SRS(r) rams
The Mumblebone On-Property Sale
Saturday 16 October 2010. 80 Selected SRS(r) rams

Section 9: Land

Location: 20km’s east of Wellington in the Central West of NSW
Size: 3 joining properties totalling 2800ha / 7000ac
Altitude: 400m
Rainfall: 600mm / 24 inches
Soil types: A mix of granite, light basalt & shale country with some alluvial creek flats
Pastures:
A change in pasture management over the last 10 years has seen a move towards native species on all soil types for the Mumblebone sheep.
Native pastures have adapted best to the subtle soil variations and seasonal variations in the country to provide the best source of year-round feed. A diverse range of native grasses will provide feed after rain at any time of the year.

Grazing system:

The native species are now encouraged in a rotational grazing system that sees a short graze period followed by the required rest. To do this, a grazing chart is used to match stocking rate to rainfall and avoid running run sheep on the land when the land can’t run them.
Larger paddocks have been divided with a central watering point and electric fences to provide smaller paddocks and more of them. This ensures complete ground cover is maintained year round.
Maintaining good ground cover is a way of providing the environment for the most desirable grasses, like microleana, to thrive. This in turn discourages the less desirable species, like saffron thistles, and creates greater water holding capacity in the soil.

Pasture Cropping:

Pasture cropping is a new system that sees cereal crops sown straight into a dormant native grass pasture with minimal chemical and fertilizer needed. The crop grows while the summer active pasture is dormant and is stripped as the pasture comes into its growing season. This system has seen rapid regeneration of the best country without having to reduce stock numbers.
By combining rotational grazing with pasture cropping

Section 10: Contact:

Chad & Louise Taylor
“Marapana”
456 Wuuluman Rd
Wellington NSW 2820
P: 02 6845 3620
F: 02 6845 3608
Chad Mob: 0458 453 608
Louise Mob: 0428 453 620
e-mail: mumblebone @activ8.net.au
www.mumblebone.com.au