Welfare
At Haddon Rig, animal welfare is at the heart of everything we do. We are committed to ensuring our sheep are healthy, well-cared for, and able to thrive in all conditions.
Our breeding program focuses on traits that promote resilience, including flystrike resistance, strong structure, and overall hardiness. By prioritising welfare, we not only improve the well-being of our animals but also enhance their productivity, ensuring they perform at their best for our clients while maintaining the highest ethical standards.
Prioritising Health
At Haddon Rig, our focus on welfare traits is fundamental to producing healthy, resilient sheep that excel across all environments. Key welfare traits like flystrike resistance, breech wrinkle reduction, and structural soundness are essential for both the comfort and productivity of our sheep. These traits allow our animals to thrive with fewer interventions, supporting better overall health and reducing the risk of common issues such as flystrike.
Our breeding program incorporates advanced data collection through ASBVs (Australian Sheep Breeding Values) and visual selection, ensuring improvements in key welfare areas without compromising wool quality or growth rates. By selecting for traits like early breech cover (EBCOV) and reducing breech wrinkle scores, we’ve made significant progress in producing sheep that require less chemical treatment and maintenance, contributing to both animal welfare and sustainability.
Additionally, we focus on structural traits such as strong legs and feet, ensuring our sheep can walk, graze, and breed in varying climates and terrains. Increased Yearling Eye Muscle Depth (YEMD) and Yearling Fat (YFAT) also contribute to the overall resilience of the animals, helping them better withstand environmental stressors like drought and recover quickly in adverse conditions.
These welfare traits are not just about meeting industry standards—they represent our commitment to producing sheep that lead healthier, more productive lives, ensuring that Haddon Rig remains synonymous with ethical and sustainable merino breeding.
and Resilience
Traits
Sustainable Merino
The Sustainable Merino (SM) trait reflects Haddon Rig’s dedication to breeding resilient, high-performing merinos that excel in both wool and meat production, while supporting long-term sustainability.
Our SM index consistently surpasses the breed average, as shown by significant improvements since 2020. This progress highlights our focus on breeding sheep with superior adaptability, welfare, and environmental resilience. At Haddon Rig, we are committed to producing merinos that thrive in diverse conditions, ensuring sustainable outcomes for woolgrowers and contributing to a more eco-friendly future for the merino industry.
