February 2026 Newsletter
Wiltipoll News
Issue #8 February 2026Notice to all members!
Please consider joining the committee at the AGM in July 2026. To find out more information, contact one of your committee.
Do your sheep need a mineral top up?
Sheep often need a mineral top-up, especially during pregnancy, lactation, or when grazing dry/cereal crops, with key requirements being calcium, salt, selenium, iodine, and phosphorus. Deficiencies in these can cause major health issues like staggers or poor growth. Use tailored mineral mixes (sheep-safe) via licks or loose form.
Key Considerations for Mineral Supplementation:
- Critical Times: Late pregnancy and lactation are high-risk periods for mineral deficiencies, such as low calcium (milk fever) and magnesium (grass tetany).
- Forage Quality: Mature, dry, or brown pasture often lacks phosphorus and essential vitamins (A, E), requiring supplementation.
- Grain Feeding: Grain-based diets are low in calcium, making supplementation with limestone (calcium carbonate) essential to prevent deficiencies.
- Coastal Areas: Coastal regions may require selenium and copper supplementation to prevent deficiencies like white muscle disease.
- Safety Precautions: Avoid overdosing with copper and selenium; ensure the supplement is specifically formulated for sheep, as goat or cattle mixes can be toxic due to high copper levels.
- Method: Provide minerals in loose licks or blocks, or supplements to water ensuring they are accessible to all stock. Source: Agriculture Victoria
Lamb with Goiter
Iodine deficiency
Lamb with Polio encephalomalacia
Thiamine deficiency
A Member's Story
"We Thought We Were Bringing the Comedy Act to the Australian Sheep and Wool Show in 2023"
With a new show season approaching, some members may be considering stepping into the ring for the first time. If that sounds like you, this is reassurance that you do not need to know it all to begin, and you will not be doing it alone.
In 2023, we entered the Australian Sheep and Wool Show for the first time. Our Wiltipolls had spent five months on agistment in another state, 1000 kilometres away, and we had just 48 hours to turn unhandled ten-month-old lambs into a show team. Most breeders prepare for months. We had two days.
Our four children, aged 4, 7, 9 and 11, took it upon themselves to get the team ring ready. Within 24 hours those lambs were walking quietly on a halter. It was a true test of the Wiltipoll temperament, and the breed did not let us down.
Long before we arrived, generous breeders had guided us through selection, paperwork, penning protocols and ring procedure. On the day, that support continued. Wiltipoll exhibitors coached us patiently. Breeders from other shedding and meat breeds were equally generous with their time. We observed carefully, asked questions and took on feedback.
After judging, we sought further feedback from the judge, who explained structural traits we were only beginning to understand, including aspects of twist that had never been on our radar. Those insights reshaped how we assess our flock.
There was a moment in the ring when the lamb led by our seven-year-old slipped her halter under inspection. For a second it felt like everything might unravel. Instead, the judge, steward and nearby breeders calmly stepped in, refitted the halter and steadied both sheep and handler. That ewe went on to place fourth, and our team placed third!
More importantly, our daughter walked away steadier and more assured than she walked in. Watching experienced breeders rally around her was a powerful reminder that this community invests in people as much as livestock.
If you are considering showing:
- Find a mentor
- Study up and be uncompromising on conformation
- Read schedules carefully
- Halter train well in advance
- Ask questions and seek feedback
Treat your first show as a learning experience. If you come home having learnt something, you have already gained more than a ribbon can offer.
As one mentor assured us before we stepped into the ring, "We'll be with you every step of the way."
Aimee Jeffress, Vic
Showing/Exhibiting Sheep continued
- Put your entries in for the shows and classes you want to enter
- Start your training – it takes time, be consistent, be gentle
- Check your equipment: trailer/transport, halters/leads, feeders
- Marketing: business cards, posters, brochures, banners
- December '25 Muster Magazine great article — click Showing sheep 101, page 19–22
Want to see Wiltipolls?
Wiltipolls confirmed to be showing at Sydney Royal and Dubbo Show.
Upcoming Events
Australian Field Day ScheduleCommittee Contacts
| President Richard Parker | 0412 250 193 |
| V. President Julie Huie | 0488 188 772 |
| Secretary Kerstin Fraser | 0407 712 709 |
| Treasurer Geoff Lomman | 0414 898 727 |
| Committee Loris Denyer | 0429 846 424 |
| Committee Aimee Jeffress | 0409 931 129 |
| Committee Sarina Lauren | 0438 274 278 |
| Committee John Toll | 0438 871 340 |
Committee Focus
- Newsletter
- Website/Domain management
- Facebook social media
- Succession planning
Vale Rose Young, Abasha WA & Jeff Lucas, Westmoreland NSW.
Their passion and support for Wiltipolls will be sadly missed. Our condolences to friends and families.