Hill sheep farmers with rams which may be destined for breeding are being encouraged to identify them now, along with the ewes that bred them, so that genotyping can take place at a later stage. The advice is originating from the OviFlock Project team who are gearing up for a second season of genotyping female hill sheep.
The OviFlock Project is funded by the European Innovation Partnership (EIP) and aims to improve breeding in the hill sheep sector through the identification of superior performing sheep and establishment of flockbooks.
Run by Sheep Ireland, the project had a successful first year with genotyping taking place in over 120 flocks and in excess of 7,000 female sheep being genotyped.
This has built upon the significant level of hill sire genotyping that has taken place in the last three years, stimulated by demand for genotyped rams in the Sheep Improvement Scheme.
Recruitment of new flocks
Eamon Wall of Sheep Ireland explains that a recruitment drive for new flocks has started while further genotyping will take place in flocks which linked up to the project in 2025. The goal in 2026 is to continue to front-load genotyping to the early years of the five-year project with a goal of genotyping in the region of 8,000 females.
A facility to submit an expression of interest is available for breeders on www.sheep.ie. For a flock to be considered eligible, they must be an active breeder of their respective ram-breeding group.
Each participating breeder will be allocated a set number of free genotypes which can be used annually.
This will be influenced by factors such as flock size, number of breeding rams sold, etc. There will also be a small financial benefit for participating groups that optimise the resources of the project. Costs of genotyping these sheep will be covered by the project.
Pictured in Roscommon at the show and sale of Vendeen sheep were Shay Kennedy from Waterford and Eamon Wall from Sheep Ireland, also from Waterford.
Additional information
Other information will also be collected during flock visits. OviFlock technicians will collect data such as ewe ID, ewe age, ewe weight, body condition score, teeth/mouth quality scores, lameness scores, cases of mastitis, etc.
Eamon stresses that a critical component of the project is for breeders to identify the ewes of potential saleable ram lambs in advance of breeding this year.
“This is a critical step as if the ewes which bred the best-performing rams are not identified now it will be nearly impossible to do so with accuracy as the year progresses.”
Flock benefits
Genotyping of sires carried out for the Sheep Improvement Scheme has already uncovered wide-ranging issues with high levels of inbreeding identified.
“These issues would have continued to go unnoticed without genotyping and OviFlock now allows such questions to be asked of females in the flock. The establishment of flockbooks and performance recording will also allow data to be tracked across years to develop a profile of superior performing genetics.”
Any breeder wishing to join the OviFlock project can register their interest via the Sheep Ireland website (a link to OviFlock is located on the homepage).
Any queries on the project can also be directed to query@sheep.ie or 023 882 045.
Hill sheep farmers with rams which may be destined for breeding are being encouraged to identify them now, along with the ewes that bred them, so that genotyping can take place at a later stage. The advice is originating from the OviFlock Project team who are gearing up for a second season of genotyping female hill sheep.
The OviFlock Project is funded by the European Innovation Partnership (EIP) and aims to improve breeding in the hill sheep sector through the identification of superior performing sheep and establishment of flockbooks.
Run by Sheep Ireland, the project had a successful first year with genotyping taking place in over 120 flocks and in excess of 7,000 female sheep being genotyped.
This has built upon the significant level of hill sire genotyping that has taken place in the last three years, stimulated by demand for genotyped rams in the Sheep Improvement Scheme.
Recruitment of new flocks
Eamon Wall of Sheep Ireland explains that a recruitment drive for new flocks has started while further genotyping will take place in flocks which linked up to the project in 2025. The goal in 2026 is to continue to front-load genotyping to the early years of the five-year project with a goal of genotyping in the region of 8,000 females.
A facility to submit an expression of interest is available for breeders on www.sheep.ie. For a flock to be considered eligible, they must be an active breeder of their respective ram-breeding group.
Each participating breeder will be allocated a set number of free genotypes which can be used annually.
This will be influenced by factors such as flock size, number of breeding rams sold, etc. There will also be a small financial benefit for participating groups that optimise the resources of the project. Costs of genotyping these sheep will be covered by the project.
Pictured in Roscommon at the show and sale of Vendeen sheep were Shay Kennedy from Waterford and Eamon Wall from Sheep Ireland, also from Waterford.
Additional information
Other information will also be collected during flock visits. OviFlock technicians will collect data such as ewe ID, ewe age, ewe weight, body condition score, teeth/mouth quality scores, lameness scores, cases of mastitis, etc.
Eamon stresses that a critical component of the project is for breeders to identify the ewes of potential saleable ram lambs in advance of breeding this year.
“This is a critical step as if the ewes which bred the best-performing rams are not identified now it will be nearly impossible to do so with accuracy as the year progresses.”
Flock benefits
Genotyping of sires carried out for the Sheep Improvement Scheme has already uncovered wide-ranging issues with high levels of inbreeding identified.
“These issues would have continued to go unnoticed without genotyping and OviFlock now allows such questions to be asked of females in the flock. The establishment of flockbooks and performance recording will also allow data to be tracked across years to develop a profile of superior performing genetics.”
Any breeder wishing to join the OviFlock project can register their interest via the Sheep Ireland website (a link to OviFlock is located on the homepage).
Any queries on the project can also be directed to query@sheep.ie or 023 882 045.
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