Karmala
HERITAGE KELPIES
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The stud is situated about 40 km south of Toowoomba near the historic village of Nobby, famous for Rudd’s Pub; here Australian writer Arthur Hoey Davis, better known as ‘Steele Rudd’, wrote some of his well known Dad and Dave stories. The old house where he lived is just down the road from Karmala.
Established at Lake Bolac in the Victorian Western District, the move to the Downs was made in 2001 when Jan ‘retired’ from farming. This move necessitated an adjustment in breeding emphasis to suit the Queensland market’s demand for dogs that can work cattle as well as sheep.
2020
All the Karmala sires I am using have tested clear for CA. Top row, Brock, Landy, Wills.
All bitches have also tested clear of CA or are bred from clear parents.
There’s a lengthy CA discussion in the May 2020 post.
Foundation dogs were chosen from lines of clever mustering dogs and sires are generally chosen from dogs performing well in testing conditions. This is very important, as there is insufficient work on a small property to fully assess dogs.
October 2025
The September news seems to have vanished! I’m totally over Word Press, the programme I use to update my website! I used to find it easy to use but every new version just complicates my life. Good luck that this one turns up on the website…
September has been very dry and the crops will be battling to fulfil their early promise. This wheat crop opposite me has been fortunate to get irrigated this last week, but others have been cut for hay.
I have three litters of pups at present, all doing well. Vamp’s litter to Jack are on solids and loving their mince brew, they’re beautiful pups and very smart; usually the change of diet means a bit of mess because the bitch stops cleaning them, but this lot go onto the mesh floor and as far away from their bed as they can. It’s a new kennel and the fibre glass flooring is easier for them to walk on than the wooden slats on the older kennels.
Clover overdid things a bit, I told her one nice bitch pup to Jack would be really nice but she had eight total! Six are doing well and she has two nice bitches. We are very pleased with Holdem from her last litter to Jack, so hoping one of these girls is a keeper. Holdem’s litter sister is now in WA and going well.
Minmin has eight pups to Riana Gundee and most have a bit of white which was expected. But perhaps not to this degree! We are well aware that using dogs that have Glenville Prince and Glenville Swannee up at the top of the Homozygosity table often means some white on the pups as both dogs carry a lot of matings going back to Shanahan’s Loo. Scanlon’s Tippy her dam, was by a Collie dog. In this mating Swannee is on top with 16 appearances over 8 generations and Prince with 17. Gundee himself has Prince on top with 25 and Swannee with 19! Some of our best workers and stud dogs have come from similar litters and we know that the pups without the white don’t breed it on, so it’s worth the risk…but this time there’s a lot!
As some of you will know Min is with Marina at Texas helping with the goats she and Bob run. I’ve been lucky Bob keeps me in beautiful meat for the bitches when they’re feeding pups. Very sorry to report he had a nasty accident on the weekend while fencing and was flown over to Prince Alfred Hospital in Brisbane where the specialist eye dept is. It’s a nasty injury that will require many trips to and from Brisbane for surgery; he’s a real bushman and it’s his shooting eye. Oh Dear! Knowing Bob he’ll overcome anything that threatens one of his favourite things. We wish him all the luck in his recovery.
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