The question of what the difference is between a potential sire and a wether is a difficult one and in truth can only be answered by the stud master in control of the individual studs direction. Everyone is breeding to suit their own circumstances and will have differing ideals as to the perfect animal. That said there are a few things that everyone needs to keep in mind when classing, including confirmation, constitution and coverage.

How many times have you heard someone talking about a newborn cria with a wonderful fleece or great potential? The only things we worry about at birth are colour, weight, sex and teats. What the fleece looks like at next shearing and the one after that have more bearing on its future than the birth coat it comes out in. Avoid the temptation to paw over the fleece for at least the first 6 months, see what the cria can do converting grass to fleece without the luxury of a mobile milk bar (mum).

Look at the growth rate up to weaning and the health of the cria. Is it a sickly animal or tough as an old boot?

Don't be afraid to decide at weaning that some macho cria are just not going to cut it and will be wethered when old enough. The best and worst animals are always the most obvious; it's the ones in the middle that try you out.

If the fleece is too strong, too short, has no weight or just looks and handles badly note it down as a wether. Using the old chestnut of "sometimes they don't show their good fleece until their 2nd or 3rd shearing" is an excuse not a reason to let machos go through. Its hard enough selling the good ones let alone trying to sell the average.

I once asked respected Merino breeder Hugh Beggs what the first thing he looked for in a sheep was?

His reply "A leg at each corner and a hole at each end".

Check that the legs are well placed and structurally correct, the mouth and teeth must be spot on and if the other end isn't right you will have all sorts of problems. Livestock need to be able to walk to water and feed all day for years and years unhindered; if they cant they will die or will not breed effectively. Bad confirmation is a death sentence to any breeding herds future. Confirmation doesn't improve with age it only gets worse.

At this point you should have less that half the machos you started with and the rest should be in the wether mob awaiting the knife. Run through the machos again side by side and take out the lowest quality. If you find a macho you cant decide on, reject him. If you are unsure chances are no one else will be either. If you look around and only the top 5% meet your approval so be it, the animals we breed are a reflection on our ability as breeder. We need to concentrate on selling stock that meets the needs of the industries future; the days of selling garbage as a top macho are long gone.

Make sure he has the nuts to breed with, regardless of what the politically correct try to tell us size really does matter. He needs to be ready for work at between 18-24 months, the older he is before he is ready the further behind he is genetically.

Don't be surprised if a couple of macho blow out or their fleeces test badly, just move them to the wether mob. I would rather go to a property and see only a few animals that were outstanding than have to wade through a heap of rubbish to find those few good ones.

You dictate the direction and quality of your stud not the show ring. Everyone knows of show ribbon winning machos that have never bred anything of quality. By all means use shows to get another opinion but make sure that the opinion that matters is still your own. Just because a judge thinks its good doesn't mean anyone else will or that it will make it as a sire.

Take notice of the huge number of junior machos that turn up at every show and then look at the intermediate and adult sections. The vast majority don't make it no matter how pretty they look trimmed up and titivated. A blue ribbon is no guarantee that in 12 months time you will not be taking its testicles out following micron blow out.

If you don't feel comfortable classing up your machos bring in an outsider you trust. Make sure that they are willing and have the ability to class to your breeding objectives not just their own. This is important, as it's your stud, and your time and effort so you need to be sure they will try to meet your requirements.

Survival of the fittest applies equally to the machos and the stud itself. Deciding that your favourite macho isn't going to make the grade may be tough but not as tough as having to castrate him twelve months later because no one wanted him.