ABERFIELD X NZ ROMNEY SHEEP

[BELOWAVERAGE]

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.




I doubt the first cross will shed, but it might breed some of the wool off them? They are great little mums, broad across the back and milky, so should cover most of the exlana’s failings?

How many years do you think it will be before you have the ultimate wool shedding composite commercially available ?

 

[neilo]

Why not just keep it simple and use a Charollais, they are surely easy enough lambing?

Birthweights of Charollais have crept up as mature weight has, with too many breeders thinking that’s a good thing.
On hoggs, I favour a low birthweight, slow growing sire, for an easy lambing as well as dragging them down less during lactation.

Using a maternal ram gives a few extra ewe lambs to select from as well of course, and I certainly wouldn’t keep Charollais or Beltex X females.

Running all the hoggs together with 2 rams was my way of keeping things simple, rather than pulling those ‘big uns’ out to go with something else. My Exlana ewe lambs were mostly 36-42kg at tupping, whilst the bought in ones were 50-65kg!

 

[neilo]

How many years do you think it will be before you have the ultimate wool shedding composite commercially available ?

I’m not sure if I have enough years left. The shedders I started with are a step backwards in pretty well everything apart from their shedding imo. Whether it’s possible to take that shedding gene out, without the rest of the package, in a reasonable timescale, I’m not sure.

I’ll continue playing about with that group of sheep here, but I’ll be breeding some proper sheep again next year too.

 

[Bill dog]

I thought 65 kg would’ve been nearer a mature exlana weight !

 

[neilo]

I thought 65 kg would’ve been nearer a mature exlana weight !

One of those I bought in is still below 40kg as a shearling!

These ewe lambs had been on a hopper I think, a lot of their flock mates having gone through mart sales, so very well fed. They’ve not seen anything since and have held condition almost too well. We had Heamonchus through everything in the winter, and these ewe lambs were knocked hard with everything else. They recovered better and faster than the others.

Back to the OP, I don’t think the Aberfield x NZ Romney will be anything but a big mature weight ewe. I wouldn’t want to have to feed a flock of them.

 

[M-J-G]

Birthweights of Charollais have crept up as mature weight has, with too many breeders thinking that’s a good thing.
On hoggs, I favour a low birthweight, slow growing sire, for an easy lambing as well as dragging them down less during lactation.

Using a maternal ram gives a few extra ewe lambs to select from as well of course, and I certainly wouldn’t keep Charollais or Beltex X females.

Running all the hoggs together with 2 rams was my way of keeping things simple, rather than pulling those ‘big uns’ out to go with something else. My Exlana ewe lambs were mostly 36-42kg at tupping, whilst the bought in ones were 50-65kg!

Fair enough if it keeps it simple.

I don't get the whole slow growing sire thing. Fair enough if it's done intentionally to get late lambs to sell, but this whole saving the hogg idea doesn't make sense to me unless the hogg is being left with twins.
Personally I'd cull a hogg that can't make a job of any single lamb.