Design and phenotyping procedures for recording wool, skin, parasite resistance, growth, carcass yield and quality traits of the SheepGENOMICS mapping flock

A major aim of the research program known as SheepGENOMICS was to deliver DNA markers for commercial breeding programs. To that end, a resource flock was established, comprehensively phenotyped and genotyped with DNA markers. The flock of nearly 5000 sheep, born over two consecutive years, was extensively phenotyped, with more than 100 recorded observations being made on most of the animals. This generated more than 460 000 records over 17 months of gathering information on each animal. Here, we describe the experimental design and sample-collection procedures, and provide a summary of the basic measurements taken. Data from this project are being used to identify collections of genome markers for estimating genomic breeding values for new sheep industry traits.