ABERFIELD X NZ ROMNEY SHEEP

Valesheep

Member
Mixed Farmer
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
 

Six Dogs

Member
Location
Wiltshire
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
When you say a better scanning ?
Do you mean more lambs if so I’m not sure an Aberfield will increase prolifiacy?
We use a Highlander which helps keep the hybrid vigour going and takes a bit of the wool off them
 

neilo

Member
Mixed Farmer
Location
Montgomeryshire
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

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 :censored:, 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.
 
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 :censored:, 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.😂
 
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neilo

Member
Mixed Farmer
Location
Montgomeryshire
Photos of a few of them with (Exlana) lambs at foot tonight:

229166F0-1FEF-4CBA-B42F-55BA04593CF7.jpeg


B05ACC59-44C6-4D48-9B9F-3DFAE5BE2A47.jpeg


DCAFBB4F-D7C7-42B2-97D7-B23FF53C3320.jpeg
 

AftonShepherd

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
East Ayrshire

Bill dog

Member
Mixed Farmer
Location
Scottish Borders
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.
Up coming rather than on going ?
Are you binning the Swales already ??
 

neilo

Member
Mixed Farmer
Location
Montgomeryshire
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.

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.🤔
 
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.🤔
What's the history of recording/selection behind your bought in replacements?
 

easyram1

Member
Location
North Shropshire
I’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 !🫣😂
DONT YOU DARE
 

neilo

Member
Mixed Farmer
Location
Montgomeryshire
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

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. :scratchhead:


Nice sheep, will you be keeping the Exlana cross ewe lambs ? Surely it'll look like it's been snowing if they start moulting.

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?
 

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Red Tractor drops launch of green farming scheme amid anger from farmers

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quote: “Red Tractor has confirmed it is dropping plans to launch its green farming assurance standard in April“

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