Felix Rams White Suffolk

Felix Rams White Suffolks: Bred for Merino-Cross Lamb Production

The Felix Rams White Suffolk flock was founded in 1987 through the mating of selected Suffolk ewes from our very successful Greenhills Suffolk Stud with Poll Dorset rams. Introduced early-generation White Suffolk sires from Elouera and Langley Heights gave the stud a solid foundation. The flock is maintained at 250 ewes joined, plus a selection of ewe lambs is joined each year.

Felix White Suffolks are ideally suited to producing prime lambs out of Merino ewes (as well as first-cross ewes). Their clean points, natural strong constitution and hardiness, combined with ease of lambing, are advantages in Merino-cross lamb enterprises. Felix breeds rams targeted to produce 20–26 kg carcase weight lambs, fat score 2–3. The White Suffolk breeding program includes heavy emphasis on eye muscle depth and shape to improve the carcase characteristics of Merino-cross lambs. Whilst our current market is for heavy trade weight, this means we have rams in our sale group with the genetic ability to easily meet the requirements of heavier export markets.

Felix Rams White Suffolks are not big, rangy White Suffolks. We don’t try to breed the biggest rams. We recognise the need to have carcases that meet the requirements of the market for shape and muscularity, and that producers need to be able to consistently finish their lambs.

We have found our White Suffolks to be exceptionally good maternally, conceiving and rearing high percentages of lambs, and they are naturally “good doers”. Our focus on commercial performance in the paddock continues to select for this sort of easy-doing sheep. Felix Rams White Suffolks would make exceptional maternal sires. Recently, a stud client commented favourably on the outstanding maternal instincts of the White Suffolk ewes they purchased from us.