When purchasing an SIS ram it’s important to consider that the ram needs to be eligible at the date of being catalogued for a sale, or at the date of the purchase docket to accomplish the Scheme’s Genotyped Ram Action task.

The easiest ways to find and check SIS-eligible rams are:

1. Ram Search web [www.ramsearch.ie]

2. Sheep Ireland website [www.sheep.ie] by clicking on the SIS Ram Search green button or on the Ram Search tab.

How do I know if a Ram is SIS eligible?

Next to each ram’s ID you will find a green flag when the animal IS eligible and a red flag when it’s NOT eligible:

Which criteria applies for a ram being SIS eligible:

How can a ram be 4 or 5 stars in an evaluation and genotyped, but appearing as not eligible?

1. The genomic result is included in the following genomic evaluation, so a ram can be genotyped but still “not eligible” for some days until de new evaluation is published.

2. Also, the scrapie type is part of the genomic information. So, a ram can be 4 or 5 stars, but if the scrapie type is 4 or 5, will appear as “not eligible”.

Why can a ram change stars after genotyping and having the genomic evaluation?

1. A ram can be 4 or 5 stars in one week, and after getting the genomic evaluation change in the star rating.

2. These changes occur as the extra information is added to the rams stars based on the genomic result, which can move them up or down. On average, a ram’s ranking will remain the same after testing; however, there can still be movements.

3. When an animal is genotyped, we can look at their DNA to see what genes they have inherited from their parents. The €uroStar value for a non-genotyped animal is calculated based on the average of both parents, which assumes all full siblings have inherited the exact same DNA. Genotyping allows us to look at the genes an animal has inherited from both its fathers and mother side of the family and using this we can say that they are very closely related to particular bloodlines in their extended family, and this improves the accuracy of the €uroStar value.

4. Also after the genomic evaluation, rams can still change stars based on the breed’s ranking and stars percentile. Read more here: Why do €urostars change and how often? – Sheep Ireland

Can a Hill ram be genotyped but not eligible?

1. If a Hill ram is genotyped but not Sire verified (means: sire also genotyped and matching progeny’s DNA) will appear as  “not eligible” until getting the sire verification.

2. Also, as the scrapie type is part of the genomic information, if the scrapie type is 4 or 5, will appear as “not eligible”.