During the Sheep Ireland Industry Meeting, speakers highlighted the latest research to be included in the National Sheep Breeding Improvement Programme’s 2026 Genetic evaluation and €urostars rating.
Dr. Orla Keane (Teagasc) presented the research from the OviFEC project which is underpinning the new Faecal egg count trait (FEC) in the health module in the Genetic evaluations.
Why is this research important?
Stomach worm infections are one of the most significant production-limiting disease in lambs. Although typically controlled by anthelmintics, resistance to the commonly used wormers is becoming more widespread. There is a serious need to reduce reliance on wormers, and one method is breeding for host resistance. This impact of breeding for resistance is direct and indirect as resistant animals harbour fewer worms and shed fewer eggs on pasture thus reducing the pasture larval burden.
OviFEC focused on Faecal Egg Count (FEC) as the key indicator of worm burden
Key findings of the project include:
- The heritability of FEC is 6.6%:
- This is high enough to allow meaningful genetic progress through selection.
- Indicates a good opportunity to breed for lower FEC and improved resistance.
- Large within breed variation was identified meaning selection can act effectively within breeds.
How this feeds into the 2026 €uroStars Genetic Evaluation
- A new FEC index will aid selection for low FEC sheep and reduce wormer requirement.
- There are currently 4,000+ FEC records from 2,200 lambs, with 70% from commercial farms.
- The FEC trait will be added under the health module with a new economic value and will be expressed in eggs per gram.
- There will be ongoing phenotyping of CPT and research flocks to train the index.
Click below to view Dr. Orla Keane’s Presentation:
