Ile de France prolific sheep

"One of the greatest discoveries a man makes, one of his great surprises, is to find he can do what he was afraid he couldn't do." Henry Ford (1863-1947)

The history of the Ile de France breed is closely linked with the history of sheep farming in France. After wool prices fell at the start of the 19th century (1800's) French sheep were bred for meat production. As a result, in 1824 Auguste Yvart, a professor at Maisons-Alfort National Veterinary College undertook to breed a new sheep better suited to current economic conditions by crossing Dishley rams with Merino breeds used in France. This crossbreeding began in 1832, and by the late 1800's established a new breed with the qualities of both original breeds.

This new breed spread throughout the Ile-de-France region, where they were especially popular on farms as users of crop by-products.

The Paris General Agricultural Show admitted Dishley Merinos for showing in 1875.

In 1882, progressive farmers created a Flock Book and gave the Dishley Merino its final name, the Ile-de-France. The outstanding success of the Ile de France since then is due to the Flock Book having achieved its objectives and the quality of the stock.

In 1933, Professor Leroy instituted performance recording for the Ile de France; a great step forward.

By 1959, performance recording was adopted by all French sheep breeds.In 1960, due to economic conditions, Ile de France breeders decided to concentrate on reproductive and growth characteristics, especially prolificacy.

In 1968, the Ile de France Flock Book began batch progeny testing of rams and set up a testing station.

In 1972, the testing station opened at Verdilly under the aegis of the Ile de France UPRA. UPRA included all persons and organizations concerned with the Ile de France breed. The UPRA became responsible for the future of the Ile de France breed, taking over the Flock Book.

In 1979, the UPRA decided to leave the Ile de France female progeny on the farm for indexing of breeding stock.

In 1983, the UPRA held the first International Conference of Ile de France breeders in Aisne.

In 1990, Individual Station Recording of rams was introduced into the Ile de France genetic improvement program to satisfy the meat industry's requirements.The final result of all this careful selection is that the Ile de France has become the dominant breed in France. It is also one of the top meat breeds in the world, being exported to more than 30 countries.

The Ile-de-France prolificacy has continued to increase steadily since 1968 when it was 130%, and breeders began selecting for more prolificacy.In 1991, the average productivity for the Ile-de-France breed calculated from 24,666 ewes performance recorded was 168%. The average for UPRA flocks ( 11,737 ewes) was 171% for fall lambing. The five top breeders recorded 198% for spring lambing.

The ability to breed "out of season" is one of the characteristics which the Ile-de-France has retained from its Merino ancestors. In France, about 64 % of all Ile-de-France lambs are born between September and November.

Milking Ability

Ile de France ewes are good milkers. 83 % of twin lambs born are raised successfully on the ewe without assistance.

The Ile de France Breeding Program

Since 1968, the Ile de France UPRA has stated clearly defined breeding objectives: improve prolificacy, reproduction and growth qualities, to breed for meat production demanded by the market, and maintain the ability to breed out of season.

In other words, a truly"well balanced breed".

How has the Ile de France breed been so incredibly successful in attaining its objectives? Let's look at how Ile de France rams are selected.

On Farm Performance Records

12,000 ram lambs are born each year and their performance is evaluated by UPRA on Farm Performance Records. These very detailed records allow individual animals to be evaluated within their flock and by indexes, evaluated against the other genetically linked flocks in the Ile de France breeding program.From the 12,000 ram lambs born, only about 1,200 ( top 10%) are selected to be evaluated at Individual Recording Station. Here top rams about 100 days old are weighed, allowed 15 days for acclimatization, and then evaluated for 8 weeks. In groups of 15 animals, they are fed a standard ration scientifically designed to express the differences in genetic potential. Several parameters are recorded: weight, muscle development, fattening, bone developement, breed standard, wool. Out of the 1,200 rams at the recording station, only the top 20 to 25 rams are kept for progeny testing. These rams are checked for sexual function and spermatogenesis. Only 15 - 18 rams move on for final evaluation of both mothering qualities and meat production.

Meat Production Evaluation at Berry-Test

The final 15-18 rams are mated using A.I. (artificial insemination) with 20 F1 Berrichon x Romanov ewes so that 20 to 30 progeny per ram will be available for testing. All lambs produced are kept under the same conditions and recorded for growth rate. They are slaughtered at 42 kg for rams, and 38 kg for ewes. Carcasses are evaluated for weight, length, breadth, back fat at the last rib, area of noisette, fat covering at first lumbar vertebra, internal fat, fat quality, and conformation. All of this information is processed and an index is formed for each ram.

Mothering Qualities Evaluated

These same 15-18 rams are mated (using A.I.) to about 100 ewes to obtain at least 25 daughters for evaluation. The daughters are in an average of 8 different flocks which makes this method very reliable because of the genetic links between farms. The daughters are evaluated over 2 lambings. The (rams) daughters are evaluated for progeny growth, prolificacy and milk production.

Top Quality takes Time

12,000 rams have now been very carefully selected down to less than 20.

( That is using less than the top 1 % to improve the next generation...only the very best of the best.)

It takes 2 1/2 to 3 years of testing to determine the meat production qualities of these 15 - 18 rams.

It takes 4 to 4 1/2 years of testing to determine the rams growth and reproduction qualities.

Final Classification of the Rams

These rams are then classified into 5 final categories:

Elite , Improver or Service for the purebred or F1 breeding stock production.

Meat Production Improver or Growth Improver for commercial crossing.

Now ask yourself....how much is all of this incredibly detailed, lengthy, proven scientific selection process worth to me, in my flock?

What is a Tamarack Ram worth?

Ile de France Geographic Location

Ile de France is one of the ancient provinces of France, and has been the center of power during most of French history. The name Ile de France first appears in 1387, replacing the older term "Pays de France" when the word "pays" began to refer to a nation rather than a region or area. The ancient province of Ile de France that originally covered most of North Central France, is today divided between the modern Ile de France and Picardie regions. The modern Ile de France region is one of 26, includes Paris and suburbs, and has a population of about 11.5 million people.