Afrino

We started our Afrino stud in 1978, at the same time that the South African Department of Agriculture was requested to develop the Afrino sheep to stop the indiscriminate crossing of the Merino with hair breeds, leading to contamination of the South African wool clip. The breed had to be as tough and hardy as the Dorper, yet have good wool. The breed is 25% Afrikaner (an indigenous fat tailed sheep), 25% Merino and 50% SA Mutton Merino.

Unique Gene Composition

The unique development of the Afrino breed over many years makes it the only good woolen or dual purpose sheep in South Africa and probably the world that has fat-tailed blood in it. This gives it the edge over the other breeds in the Merino family regarding fertility, mothering ability and easy lambing, ensuring total easy care with high production.

Excellent Wool and Survival Rates

Our Afrinos carry excellent wool of 16-22 micron and like all Afrinos are free of kemp or colored fiber. Afrino’s have never participated in shows, but were selected in our extensive wool farming areas to become popular money makers due to low input costs and an ability to survive severe droughts.

Our rams carry high quality fine wool and have good muscling, but more importantly our strong-headed, open faced rams are alert, extremely virile and very fertile. Afrino’s are not prone to blindness or fly strike and have very good legs and hooves.

Afrino Capable of Creating its Own Market

Because I  feel so strongly that, of all South African breeds exported to Australia, it should have been one of the first to go, I am prepared to help whoever I can to get more Afrino genetics into Australia in an attempt to establish the breed on as wide a genetic base as possible.

Once the Australian agricultural department has some Afrino’s to test, the wool, meat and especially their fertility and adaptability results will be so impressive that this alone will create the necessary momentum for the Breed. Total easy care, low death rate of lambs and strong survival instinct when times get tough, will undoubtedly still further the Breeds' popularity.

Something all Stud Breeders talk about...
...but few are bold enough to practice.

All our Afrino’s run only on natural veldt and receive no concentrates or licks other than pure rock salt. There are also no lands for winter grazing or for lambing purposes, just natural pasture. By not supplementing any form of feed or minerals, and dosing no more than twice a year for internal parasites, ensures for natural selection.

Being able to eliminate all the sheep not performing under these adverse conditions has been our biggest asset. Only Afrino sheep best able to utilize the natural pastures to perform adequately will make it into the Stud. Being fanatical about natural selection we will rather see the un-adapted dying than supplying the sheep with better feed management and more drenching.

This is the secret to our sheep being able to outperform other Breeders animals when comparing them under the same conditions. The tougher the times, the bigger the difference between the best and the worst. Only the best performers make it, and this makes my selection so much easier and more accurate.

By mating, lambing and weaning under natural conditions, no matter how tough the year helps us breed a type of sheep that is hardy and extremely fertile, capable of adapting to any conditions under which our buyers might like to farm with them, and all with the minimum of care.

It has been important for us not to just concentrate on the tough, hardy and fertile aspects but also to make sure that our Afrino’s can render to the market the quality product it demands.

On the meat side we have always selected for good growth and have recently put extreme effort into selecting Lambs that are capable of being sold off their mothers from these natural conditions. We have been rewarded with Lambs being marketed from their mothers off the veldt at an average weight of 43.1kgs at 5 months.

Some of these Lambs were taken to the National Slaughter Lamb Competition where there were 59 Groups entered and 236 Single Carcasses. Our Afrino Lambs received a 4th Place in the Group Competition and a 19th, 24th and 43rd Place in the Single Competition. These Lambs were mostly up against Lambs from Feed Lots having being specially fed for the Competition.

At another Carcass Competition held in Rouxville, Afrino’s also prepared in the Feed Lot received 5 of the first 10 Places. The Afrino Carcass that won the Competition had a slaughter percentage of 60%. 2nd was also an Afrino with a slaughter percentage of 58,85%. In 2003 an Afrino also won the Carcass Competition with a slaughter percentage of 60%.

These Afrino’s were up against the best of our Meat Sheep namely Dorpers, SA Mutton Merinos, Dormers and Dohne Merinos. This is indeed remarkable and almost unbelievable. We are pleased that not only do our Afrino’s perform regarding their growth, fertility and wool capabilities but are rendering a carcass that compares with the best.

Our Afrino’s all run on the veldt on a multi-camp system and change camps every two weeks. They are mated and lamb only in the natural veldt. All twin Lambs are born out there and are left in the big group to survive. No special treatment of any kind is ever given to any Afrino Sheep. In our selection we encourage twinning but demand that the Ewe must be capable of rearing them effectively in the natural environment.

Ram and Ewe Lambs are weaned at a 100 days, again just onto the natural veldt. All cull Lambs are left with their mothers and sold at the age of 4-5 months for slaughter.

At the age of 12 months all Lambs will be classed and linear scored for the following:

• Wool amount
• Wool quality
• Wool micron
• Head
• Pigment
• Condition
• Forequarter
• Hindquarter
• Legs
• Confirmation
• Size

After scoring, the 12 months old Lambs are mated and must lamb at the age of 18 months.

2 Lambing seasons, one in spring and one in autumn, is the practice. Every Ewe has to Lamb once a year and no excuses are accepted. Ewes whose Lambs die before weaning will also be culled out.

All Rams also remain just on the veldt at all times with no feeding whatsoever. Before mating and sales the no feeding norm remains. The only Afrino’s that might receive feeding would be those old Ewes that are classed out and must go for slaughter.

We have stressed the no-feeding because most Farmers don’t consider licks or periodic feeding as having fed their sheep. We only give rock salt to all our sheep and will never supplement anything else. We will only dose our Sheep if it becomes absolutely necessary.

We firmly believe that these very difficult conditions our Afrino’s perform under allow us to more accurately select the better performers. Under harsh conditions the difference between the best and the worst is always much more evident than under good conditions, thus making the selection easier and a great deal more accurate.

Recording Afrino’s for Profitability

All Afrino’s are recorded on the Shepherd Recording Program. The aim is to accurately select the most profitable Sheep.

The following data is all recorded and calculations are made to determine the most productive ewes:

• First lambing date,
• Inter lambing period,
• Lamb deaths between lambing and weaning,
• Weight of lamb to 100 days.
• Weight of lamb at 270 days

Very strict selection on ewe productivity is done throughout.

For further accurate selection of young animals, BLUP values are also taken into account. We record eight linear scores to help us select sheep that are not only productive, but also adhere to the breed standards of the Afrino. We have more than 20 years of records on our Afrino’s. We started the breed with the Government more than 25 years ago, thus making us the second oldest stud in the country.

Afrino World Exports

Witnessing the growing popularity of Afrinos in South Africa, and realizing their great potential as a woolen sheep in the station country of Australia, and also as the maternal dam in the meat industry (due to the fact that they will in all regards outperform the Border Lester as mother, while clipping very much better wool), we decided to export 200+ embryos to Australia.

Having firsthand knowledge of the South African woolen breeds that are doing very well in Australia, I have no doubt once Afrinos have been tested for fertility, wool and meat production under Australian conditions, it would become obvious that Afrinos, of all the South African duel purpose breeds, have the most to offer the Australian sheep farmer.

Now that the Australian Agricultural department has some Afrinos to test, the wool, meat and especially their fertility and adaptability will be so impressive that this alone will create the necessary momentum for the breed.

Total easy care with a big bear patch at the back like a natural mewled sheep, low death rate of lambs and strong survival instinct when times get tough will undoubtedly still further establish the breed’s popularity abroad.

Farmers in the Falkland Islands have also realized the advantages that Afrino’s can offer their Sheep Industry. Two hundred Embryos have been sent to them and we look forward to learning about their success achieved.

Australian Partners

Evan & Ruth Maddock from Mukinbudin, Western Australia had the first field day of this totally unique Merino type "Afrino" in Australia during September 2004.  Ram lambs of 51kg at 120 days with excellent wool amazed all visitors at the field day.  Everyone commented on their excellent hooves & legs.