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| When I began raising sheep the seller I bought my seedstock from tested for it. Also was required by the breed association to be in their sale. I never had anyone call me interested in knowing if I tested for it or not- it seemed price trumped OPP free status. Read that they didn't want to pay extra for the testing. Later on I was at the association meeting where I believe it was a Pipestone speaker tell us that they wondered how beneficial it was to test and cull for it. So they looked at several flocks that were in the area. Their findings were that it didn't matter; some of the most successful and PROFITABLE flocks tested positive for OPP. The key seemed to be how hard they culled off poor doers, bad milkers, etc. The results he gave seemed to be like a 50-50 shot. One thing to note is that hard udders are only one sign of OPP. Some others are low quantity milkers, high incidence of mastitis, smaller or poor doing sheep, or lungers as the western guys call them- always the sheep breathing hard and unable to keep up with the flock. I am pretty sure there is a website but I can't think of it right now. Now I just cull hard and keep notes on the ewes. Birth and weaning weights helps weed out the low milkers. But that is just a few things I do. I am by no means and expert but I am trying to improve my flock a little at a time. | |
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OPP in sheep
