When you say a better scanning ?Good morning, I’m wondering if anyone on here has or have had aberfield x Nz Romney ewes. Looking at crossing our Nz Romney ewes with an aberfield or even a Nz texel so have crossbreed ewes. Hoping for better scanning % and less wool. Many thanks
Good morning, I’m wondering if anyone on here has or have had aberfield x Nz Romney ewes. Looking at crossing our Nz Romney ewes with an aberfield or even a Nz texel so have crossbreed ewes. Hoping for better scanning % and less wool. Many thanks
You've allowed BFL genetics onto your flock, I never thought I'd live long enough to learn that.I bought 60 ewe lambs in last Autumn, that are Aberfield x NZ Romney. They are very smart sheep, sharpening up the heads on the Romney no end (oh, so important , but nice to look at). They have been exceptional mothers and very milky, lambing as hoggs, showing up the shedders here even more!
However, most of them still have plenty of wool. They came too late to shear in the Autumn, and I had to clip in front of the udders on about half of them so the teats could be found. That's not something I've ever had to do with my Highlanders. Some of them are sharp headed and bare bellied, others have taken more after the Romney in appearance.
I would have thought the Aberfield wouldn't improve prolificacy at all (likely reduce it) and the cross will be a bit variable in type.
The Highlander is effectively a Romney X NZ Texel, with a splash of Finn in it. I'd be more tempted to use a NZ Texel on Romneys myself, perhaps one with the GDF9 gene to improve prolificacy (assuming @easyram1 is still testing for that), or a Highlander/Easydam.
You've allowed BFL genetics onto your flock, I never thought I'd live long enough to learn that.
Hell their woolly!!!!! That’s more than my ewes!
They look very similar. I put an Aberfield over some of my cheviots and when you looked at the hoggs there was a mixture of cheviot mules, big cheviots and texel crosses. All good ewes but I'd have to question how standardized the breed is.Photos of a few of them with (Exlana) lambs at foot tonight:
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Up coming rather than on going ?They look very similar. I put an Aberfield over some of my cheviots and when you looked at the hoggs there was a mixture of cheviot mules, big cheviots and texel crosses. All good ewes but I'd have to question how standardized the breed is.
Tups and most ewes are gone now anyway, due to an upcoming change in policy.
They look very similar. I put an Aberfield over some of my cheviots and when you looked at the hoggs there was a mixture of cheviot mules, big cheviots and texel crosses. All good ewes but I'd have to question how standardized the breed is.
Tups and most ewes are gone now anyway, due to an upcoming change in policy.
No, happy with Swales. Doing away with "in-bye" ewes to allow more regenerative grazing (and a shorter winter) with the cows. Not convinced it will work in this area but the man with the chequebook wants to try.Up coming rather than on going ?
Are you binning the Swales already ??
What's the history of recording/selection behind your bought in replacements?That’s my impression too, from these and others. A crossbreed still, and a long way from ‘standardised’ yet.
If I were looking for a Texel/BFL though, I would certainly look at those with some sort of recording and selection, rather than a tidy looking crossbred in the market that every Tom, Dick and Harry seems to be trying to turn out now.
DONT YOU DAREI’ve crossed my Romney’s with a nz texel from the dark Lord @easyram1 in the past, and liked them . Now crossing those offspring and pure Romneys with his easydam composite things . The lambs look smart , so fingers crossed they work out. Too scared of him to suggest that they are just Highlanders with a different name !🫣
Nice sheep, will you be keeping the Exlana cross ewe lambs ? Surely it'll look like it's been snowing if they start moulting.Photos of a few of them with (Exlana) lambs at foot tonight:
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Are you going soft in the head using an Exlana across those hog's ?, surely good strong quality hog's like those should have had a Charollais on themPhotos of a few of them with (Exlana) lambs at foot tonight:
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What's the history of recording/selection behind your bought in replacements?
Are you going soft in the head using an Exlana across those hog's ?, surely good strong quality hog's like those should have had a Charollais on them
Nice sheep, will you be keeping the Exlana cross ewe lambs ? Surely it'll look like it's been snowing if they start moulting.
Why not just keep it simple and use a Charollais, they are surely easy enough lambing?I must be. I put a couple of exlanas over all the hoggs last year, partly looking for an easy lambing, but also to breed some 3/4 shedders from the Highlander crosses.
Surprisingly, I probably pulled as many stuck lambs from the hoggs as when I’ve used Beltexes.