How do I get the most genetic gain?
The pace of genetic change depends on four key things. Three of these are relatively easy to manage:
Accuracy of the breeding objective.
- Making the correct selection decisions – getting it right.
Intensity of selection.
- Selecting the best genetics to breed with.
Generation length.
- Breed from them sooner.
The fourth takes more time and it is:
Genetic variation.
- The spread of genes in your flock and, therefore, the sheep are different enough to pick from.