Abershedder

[Al R]

Just had a look at their faceache page. Louise Hobson from the Easycare society is giving them a right howking
They're also doing recorded Cheviots now, I see.

The last post I can see is a few days ago or would I have to “like” their page to see more recent posts?

 

[Woolless]

The last post I can see is a few days ago or would I have to “like” their page to see more recent posts?

Last post I saw was from Sunday. Not really sure how fb works.

 

[Sheepfog]

Most of their flocks aren’t Mv accredited, but that doesn’t mean they have it, or are likely to ‘spread it about’.
They’d likely be a safer bet, on that score at least, than a lot of market Tups.

Yes they do screen. But screening isn't enough for me. I would only buy a tup off an accredited breeder.

A good friend bought a tup from a screened flock that had an iceberg disease. Luckily this was identified whilst in quarantine.

As I'm sure you'll agree a good health status is the cornerstone of a productive flock and more and more commercial ram buyers are quite rightly demanding accredited stock.

 

[ford4000]

Using aberfields on lleyn ewes here to breed a much better ewe than the lleyn is.
Next problem is what ram to use on the best Aberlleyns to breed replacements and cut out the lleyns. Aberfield SR is supposed to be the answer to this question.... But I didn't like the look of the ones I've seen! Maybe Logie maternal?
Picture of a aberfield x lleyn single I moved today

 

[Tim W]

Yes, I understood they screened for disease, rather than go down the accreditation route, which only covers a couple of icebergs anyway.

@Tim W ‘s group do the same I believe.

Out of the 5 Exlana stud flocks 2 are MV accredited (SRUC), 2 are MV monitored (Axiom) and the last is on the road to becoming MV Monitored
All rams are BD tested pre sale
All flocks are screened for other icebergs

Multiplier flocks are screened for MV as a minimum

How much disease testing we do is governed by many factors including
1) Economics ---none of it is cheap
2) Reliability of the test results
3) How devastating any of the diseases are/could be in naive flocks

 

[Johngee]

I don't know, haven't read the facebook post. If so, then it removes once concern that I would have about them i.e. how consistent will shedding be. But I've read very mixed reviews of the Aberfield on here and heard similar from people I know.

Maybe not then. It won’t be the first time that innovis have marketed a first cross as a composite. It’s also pretty amazing that they’re lambing now but will have shearling rams (not sheared hopefully) at their sale in August

 

[Al R]

Maybe not then. It won’t be the first time that innovis have marketed a first cross as a composite. It’s also pretty amazing that they’re lambing now but will have shearling rams (not sheared hopefully) at their sale in August
View attachment 957596

You do realise shearling rams will be 17 month old.

 

[Nithsdale]

How can they be shearlings... if you don't shear them

 

[Johngee]

You do realise shearling rams will be 17 month old.

I do, but do Innovis?

 

[Al R]

I do, but do Innovis?

I’d hope so considering a fair number of ram lambs get sent to Devon every year for “wintering”

 

[Johngee]

I’d hope so considering a fair number of ram lambs get sent to Devon every year for “wintering”

Obviously their breeding programme is more advanced than they admit

 

[Bill dog]

What can an aberfield bring to the mix that the easycare can’t already do ?
Genuine question. Is is just more ways to use a tup that hasn’t lived up to their expectations?

 

[CopperBeech]

Yes, I understood they screened for disease, rather than go down the accreditation route, which only covers a couple of icebergs anyway.

@Tim W ‘s group do the same I believe.

All exlana multiplier flocks have to carry out regular screening for icebergs and implement a suitable level of bio security.

 

[Tim W]

What can an aberfield bring to the mix that the easycare can’t already do ?
Genuine question. Is is just more ways to use a tup that hasn’t lived up to their expectations?

Here's the confusion (i am repeating myself here )
The term Easycare is used in 2 ways with shedding sheep
1) The ''Purebred original '' from Anglesey
2) Any shedding sheep in UK regardless of how any other attributes it carries

So folk breed a shedding ewe by crossing their base woolly ewes with a shedder and then call the result an easycare
Which is like calling all woolly sheep Romneys (or Lleyns or Shetlands or Suffolks )

As shepherds from different farming systems begin to realise just how much work and hassle wool is and that there are alternatives they will start to define and name their own types of shedding sheep
Some will be suited to hill ground
Some will be suited to Feb indoor lambing
Some will be suited to 3 crops of lambs in 2 years
Etc

 

[Tim W]

How can they be shearlings... if you don't shear them

They do it themselves

 

[Nithsdale]

They do it themselves

That makes it a Shedling... not a Shearling

 

[neilo]

Maybe not then. It won’t be the first time that innovis have marketed a first cross as a composite. It’s also pretty amazing that they’re lambing now but will have shearling rams (not sheared hopefully) at their sale in August
View attachment 957596

This particular project has likely been ongoing for a while. I believe Pearce had an Aberfield multiplier flock as well as a flock of Easycares, so it would be perfectly possible to have been using shedding genetics across the Aberfield ewes as well as Aberfield genetics cross the best Easycares.

I don’t know, but they could easily be several generations into the program by now, and just ready to launch them onto the marketplace?

 

[Woolless]

Here's the confusion (i am repeating myself here )
The term Easycare is used in 2 ways with shedding sheep
1) The ''Purebred original '' from Anglesey
2) Any shedding sheep in UK regardless of how any other attributes it carries

So folk breed a shedding ewe by crossing their base woolly ewes with a shedder and then call the result an easycare
Which is like calling all woolly sheep Romneys (or Lleyns or Shetlands or Suffolks )

As shepherds from different farming systems begin to realise just how much work and hassle wool is and that there are alternatives they will start to define and name their own types of shedding sheep
Some will be suited to hill ground
Some will be suited to Feb indoor lambing
Some will be suited to 3 crops of lambs in 2 years
Etc

And there's also the wider definition where 'easy care' refers to pretty much any breed or cross that hasn't been selected purely on the basis of a bonny heid or similar...

 

[Woolless]

What can an aberfield bring to the mix that the easycare can’t already do ?
Genuine question. Is is just more ways to use a tup that hasn’t lived up to their expectations?

Might add some hybrid vigour? I have done similar with shedding Texels, as you know, which add muscle, myomax and hybrid vigour without adding much in the way of wool.

 

[neilo]

Might add some hybrid vigour? I have done similar with shedding Texels, as you know, which add muscle, myomax and hybrid vigour without adding much in the way of wool.

Would the Aberfield infusion make for a much nicer head too?