Thread: Waimak gorge Woodstock sheep

Hi guys

Probably a long shot but if any hunters are up the waimak gorge and come across any of the wild sheep up there I know someone who would be very keen to get a live lamb or two(preferably a ram lamb). they would be willing to pay a reasonable rate for it as farmed Woodstock sheep have very limited genetics as they haven't had fresh blood for over 20years.

Cheers

I might know a guy that can help

I hunt the gorge regularly and boof the occasional Woodstock hogget from the boat .
Your last sentence sums it up for me.
Inbreeding - lack of blood.They are only the size of a half sucked acid drop.
So out of interest what merino genetics is your breeder targeting from the runty Woodstock strain? Curious...

They have about 50 woodstocks and want some fresh blood. The woodstocks have good wool and feet and get very little fly. I imagine the main reason they are runty is lack of feed in the gorge. The ones on the farm are small sheep(around 50kg) but fairly round by merino standards

Very rare breed in captivity
Good luck with your search
Would be keen to touch base sometimes and catch up about wild sheep and a few projects underway
B

@Shearhuntfish my observations from the eye of a hunter of the wild Woodstock strain up the gorge.
As a developed unmanaged feral line,you would naturally assume due to Charlie Darwin that the long tails with daggy arses would get culled by the bloweys,therefore improving the flocks resistance to strike.But ive seen plenty up there heavily struck and also woolblindness in others as well.But I spoze you get the odd throw back in any feral population

Originally Posted by Shearhuntfish

They have about 50 woodstocks and want some fresh blood. The woodstocks have good wool and feet and get very little fly. I imagine the main reason they are runty is lack of feed in the gorge. The ones on the farm are small sheep(around 50kg) but fairly round by merino standards

I have asked my contact, should have an answer today

Pretty rare to see one from the boat these days, let alone be able to catch one…most are on private land too.

These are a couple I've shorn this week.

https://www.facebook.com/share/r/14VJKLY9c3/
https://www.facebook.com/share/r/18QxsPzAAf/

Originally Posted by Shearhuntfish

These are a couple I've shorn this week.

https://www.facebook.com/share/r/14VJKLY9c3/
https://www.facebook.com/share/r/18QxsPzAAf/

Woow the cut side of that fleece like a mink coat,buitifull.

Tidy shearing there fella, did it take long to learn to blade shear? Used to dag with them but shearing with them is a step up I imagine

Bit late to get this one’s genetics but here’s a close up… can’t believe how small they are

Originally Posted by outdoorlad

Tidy shearing there fella, did it take long to learn to blade shear? Used to dag with them but shearing with them is a step up I imagine

My father was a blade shearer so I started doing the odd one since 12 years old. Blade shearing is actually easier to learn than machines as there's less foot work too worry about. Won the world championships in blade shearing in 2019