Rams
Update July 2026
With current prices, and the optimistic outlook for the sector, sheep and beef farmers are smiling. With record lamb schedules and opening spring contracts looking great there is cash in the system; everywhere you look you can see the effect. Fencers, fert planes, diggers and local farm supply stores are reaping the benefit of our income, debt getting paid down and some long-needed holidays are on the cards.! I don’t think the rest of the NZ population realizes how much we pump back into the economy and keep the country running. Long may this last.
We have had a great year so far with a normal summer dry, lasting a couple of months, and a very kind autumn and early winter. Spore counts were very high through May and many in the area noticed bull calves, terminal lambs with the effect of FE late in the season. I use this natural challenge to screen out any less tolerant animals; all young stock are blood tested and anything with liver damage is culled. The Coopworths did well with only handful of low reactors. However, my experiment shedding crossbreds got cooked! About 60% showed a significant reaction to the high spore counts. There are some good sheep in this experiment group, but the scale needed to have a very high cull rate is daunting. It certainly shows the superiority of the Coopworth, across all traits, and is a great validation of performance recording and 50 years of selection.
Ewes scanned 204 % with 15 % triplets.
Rams are tickling along well. they required an extra drench this year. With more rain in the early summer parasite loads were extremely high. A Feb drench was needed. They have had 3 lifetime. All rams presented for sale will have never been daggy. Dag scoring and using these BVs to cull is proving very powerful and encouraging. Clean sheep with open breech- less work.
The ewe hoggets, on better feed through the summer and autumn, fared better. A great demonstration of how quality feed enhances parasite tolerance in young stock. Ewe hoggets last drench was pre tup. They will not require any more.
Ram Sale
Friday Nov 6, 2026
Frankton Saleyards.
Hogget Lambing
Hoggets are farmed exclusively on grass. I strongly believe that by successfully mating hoggets on grass we are developing genetics to perform in any environment. Over the past 5 years scanning has averaged 143 %, this with minimal drench and no crop. Consistently weaned 120 % +
We did get some high spore counts. All young stock are blood tested to assess GGT- an enzyme released by a stressed or damaged liver. Any showing even slight liver damage are culled. This lifts the integrity of the ewe flock and all rams sold have passed the Natural Challenge test.
Clients using top feeding and management are achieving consistent hogget scanning rates of over 130%. They are realizing the full genetic potential of these sheep. It is a challenge some years getting hogget lambs up to tupping weight by April as they are Sept/Oct born. The only dry hoggets retained in the stud flock are those that are themselves hogget lambs, these must produce twins at their 2th lambing.
Facial Eczema Tolerance
Flock sires are all Facial Eczema (FE) tested at .63mg/kg. FE testing has been done for the past 45 years. Nikau Coopworth is an FE Gold flock, leading genetics for Facial Eczema tolerance.
We also GGT test all ewe and ram hoggets in the face of natural challenge to assess them for FE tolerance. It is very important to be screening out the intolerant females as well as dosing the sires.
GGT is an enzyme released in the blood that is apparent when liver damage has occurred. This gives an indication of an animal’s tolerance to FE. All animals with elevated GGT are culled from the stud flock.
Farming in a very ‘hot’ FE area, meaning we see spore counts each autumn. The GGT screening one of the most important tests done. Screening the ewe flock this way, dosing all flock sires at 0.63mg/kg of sporidesmin and farming in such a challenging area gives us confidence that we have one of the most FE tolerant flocks in the country.
In the hottest FE years on record Nikau clients report higher than average lambing results. With top FE tolerance they were able to take advantage of the good feed available. Nikau clients report minimal effect and good scanning.
SIL ACE
Nikau features highly on the SIL ACE DPX list. This index is a assessment of FE tolerance, however the ACE run does not take dose rate into account. Look at the star rating to differentiate flocks testing at different levels. 5 * is the highest level.
The new NZGE on SIL shows Nikau genetics to be at the top for health traits, FEC and FE. Selection for over 40 years for a strong immune response has rewarded us with top rankings on SIL with over 1100 flocks in the evaluation.
Sheep Industry Award Winner
Nikau Coopworth – Maternal Trait Leader for Parasite Resistance.
Nikau has had a strong focus on parasite resistance. The ewe flock as been no drench since 2002. Lambs are on extended drench intervals and selection is based on above average performance with exposure to high parasite challenge.
Nikau is a founding member of Wormfec Gold. Top breeders in the country for parasite tolerance.
Lambs are weighed and drenched at weaning in mid Nov. FEC levels are monitored and all individually fec sampled in late Jan/ early Feb, weighed and dag scored. This gives a good indication of the ability of the lamb to grow under parasite pressure and reduce fecal egg count. Barber Pole is apparent but no BP long acting drenches are used. Ewe Hoggets may receive a drench pre tup, depending on the season. This is the last lifetime drench they will receive. Hoggets were not drenched pre lamb. They are mature enough at this point to mount a strong immune response to parasites and monitoring fecs has proven they do not need another drench.
Rams
Selection is based on the use of DNA to assess heritable traits, ultrasound CT muscle scanning, faecal egg counts, GGT testing, frequent weight taking, dag score and wool weights.
Rams are sold by auction in early November. They are presented in index order.
Call Kate for more information on 09 2333 230 or email broadbent.ka@gmail.com