Skintagain
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- Perched on the Pennines
I think a middle ground would be superI know a lot of fowk putting swale INTO their Blackies to try and breed a tougher hill sheep less prone to the usual “Blackie” problems!
I think a middle ground would be superI know a lot of fowk putting swale INTO their Blackies to try and breed a tougher hill sheep less prone to the usual “Blackie” problems!
A bit of hybrid vigour won’t do them any harm, but then you get the blackie horns and belly. There are decent swale tups about with colour and power.Thinking of putting either Scotch Blackface Lanark type or Northumberland Blackie over the Swale to get the power and the frith back in them people's thoughts
What about putting a Dalesbred over Swale yowes instead of a Blackie? You'll get the hybrid vigour and keep them more like a traditional swale rather than getting the Blackie horns and bellyA bit of hybrid vigour won’t do them any harm, but then you get the blackie horns and belly. There are decent swale tups about with colour and power.
Probably a better bet, they started off the same sheep until the societies fell out. Just get a bit more wool but modern dalesbreds have better skins. You can get decent bodied Swales and a few folk performance recording now as well. Blackies less prolific as wellWhat about putting a Dalesbred over Swale yowes instead of a Blackie? You'll get the hybrid vigour and keep them more like a traditional swale rather than getting the Blackie horns and belly
A wise moveThinking of putting either Scotch Blackface Lanark type or Northumberland Blackie over the Swale to get the power and the frith back in them people's thoughts
Did just that 2 years ago, you can tell the blackie cross just by the width of them, much more powerful sheep. Just put them back on the swale tup again for now and they seem alright. Ran the blackie tup twice as an experiment and will see how they go compared to the pure swales before we get another, most likely plan will be a blackie every 3 or 4 generations to get more power into them.Thinking of putting either Scotch Blackface Lanark type or Northumberland Blackie over the Swale to get the power and the frith back in them people's thoughts
How do they go on for lamb numbers compared to the swale?Following up from lambing time heres how the cheviot x swales are doing. Lambs are back to the cheviot so 3/4 chv. View attachment 972072View attachment 972073View attachment 972074View attachment 972075
You got some good buildings to convert into houses there.....................Nice sheep as well.Following up from lambing time heres how the cheviot x swales are doing. Lambs are back to the cheviot so 3/4 chv. View attachment 972072View attachment 972073View attachment 972074View attachment 972075
Off the top of my head the Cheviot’s were 135% scanned and the Swales 142% I think. They were all shearlings.How do they go on for lamb numbers compared to the swale?
More belly capacity, more ability to digest rough hill grass, no?A bit of hybrid vigour won’t do them any harm, but then you get the blackie horns and belly. There are decent swale tups about with colour and power.
More belly capacity, more ability to digest rough hill grass, no?
More belly leads to mules more likely to get stuck on their backs. Also drop with age with more weight to carry round.More belly capacity, more ability to digest rough hill grass, no?
LonkThinking of putting either Scotch Blackface Lanark type or Northumberland Blackie over the Swale to get the power and the frith back in them people's thoughts
Whats frith?Thinking of putting either Scotch Blackface Lanark type or Northumberland Blackie over the Swale to get the power and the frith back in them people's thoughts
Steady… we don’t want too see 90% scanning as standard…Lonk
She look's like she will defend those lambs to the death!One of our 1 crop blackie/swale ewes with her swale fatheredView attachment 972356 twins on her.
Edit… your death. Not hers…She look's like she will defend those lambs to the death!