^^ £20/test---Innovis £14 (I think)
Breeding Sheep With Myomax
- Thread starter Newby
- Start date
^^ £20/test---Innovis £14 (I think)
Woolless
Member
- Location
- Berwickshire, Scottish Borders
I don't think Innovis do them any more? I was sending my samples to NZ until TL started up.
- Location
- Montgomeryshire
I've been using Lincoln Uni in NZ for the last couple of years. £16/test plus postage. They call the MyoMAX test T+ as Pfizer own the rights to the 'M' name.
http://www.lincoln.ac.nz/Lincoln-Home/Research/Research-and-testing-service/Gene-marker-laboratory/
- Location
- Montgomeryshire
100+ samples to get down to £20. 1-28 samples are at £28!
As above, Innovis don't offer it any more. Have to go via Pfizer now I think, if you want a certificate with the 'MyoMAX' name on it.
NZDan
Member
- Location
- Broomfield, New Zealand
At 28 quid you'd be as well of getting Zoetis 5k done and get a few other gene tests as well!!!100+ samples to get down to £20. 1-28 samples are at £28!
As above, Innovis don't offer it any more. Have to go via Pfizer now I think, if you want a certificate with the 'MyoMAX' name on it.
NZDan
Member
- Location
- Broomfield, New Zealand
In fact if you've got Texel sires get them 5k tested then we might get some mBVs going!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I do all my sires with 5k and all my FinnTexel 2th ewes, gives me Sire, Dam, Myomax(GDF8), Lambmax(9GDF), Inverdale(BMP15), BCO2, iScan(Microphthalmia), plus hopefully soon for Texels it will give mBVs( It already does for Romneys, Coopworths, Perendales)
Danllan
Member
- Location
- Sir Gar / Carms
Just come across this old thread, are you still using them, or a more local alternative now? What's the process, do you do the sampling yourself or do they require a vet' to do it? Thanks in advance.I've been using Lincoln Uni in NZ for the last couple of years. £16/test plus postage. They call the MyoMAX test T+ as Pfizer own the rights to the 'M' name.
http://www.lincoln.ac.nz/Lincoln-Home/Research/Research-and-testing-service/Gene-marker-laboratory/
If you are after higher muscled and better growing lambs you will get further for your money by measuring DLWG and muscle depth
Myomax is one of many genes (1000's??) that effect these traits
Myomax carriers are not always the best muscled animals nor do they always have the best kill out
lambs by our hi index muscle/growth animals have better kill out than those from Myomax carriers
But ----it's easy to say ''they carry Myomax and therefore are great'' ---an easy sell
On topic ---- I used Lincoln for the last tests i think
Myomax is one of many genes (1000's??) that effect these traits
Myomax carriers are not always the best muscled animals nor do they always have the best kill out
lambs by our hi index muscle/growth animals have better kill out than those from Myomax carriers
But ----it's easy to say ''they carry Myomax and therefore are great'' ---an easy sell
On topic ---- I used Lincoln for the last tests i think
Danllan
Member
- Location
- Sir Gar / Carms
Thanks for that, and I agree with it all, but I still want to know who has what in my flock. What is the process of doing the tests, do you take tissue / blood samples and post them off or do you have to use a 'qualified' intermediary?
Off topic, this years ewe lambs are doing so well that I might be in the market for a decent Exlana ram from you this year rather than next year as I had originally planned.
- Location
- Montgomeryshire
If you email them, they will send you a sampling book, which is a small pad with 5 swabs in it. pr*ck/nick the sheep to get some blood, dab the swab on it, let it dry and post it off. They will run whatever tests you want, then email you the results in a fortnight, followed by an invoice (£16/test on the invoice that arrived this morning) shortly after. You can email them a credit card authorisation to pay, or send a cheque, or do a money transfer. No vet is required to take a cut out of it.
I am still screening my potential stock rams and ET donor ewes, but I will still use a good animal that is either a single carrier or a non-carrier. MyoMax (or T+ as Lincoln call it) doesn't automatically mean an animal is muscular, but it does mean that it is more muscular than an animal with similar genetics that isn't a carrier. From animals that have had their gigots measured by CT here (& CT'ed lambs that I've bought in), very few of the top ranked animals are not double carriers IME.
I did buy a good, high muscularity lamb once that was a non-carrier, and his single carrying progeny were an improvement over him. One of those sired a lamb that I identified as a double carrier, which was another step up again.
All of my maternal stock rams since 2008 have been double carriers, so it must pretty well run through my crossbred flock by now too, especially as they started from a Texel base before that. Something for nothing if you like and it would be daft to ignore it totally IMO.
Danllan
Member
- Location
- Sir Gar / Carms
Thanks a lot for that, very useful indeed, very grateful. I'll e-mail Lincoln now.
I really don't know who you could be referring to.
On a different point, the French breeds imported here as terminals have Texel influence in them somewhere so it could just be said to be a matter of timing...
Agree with that 100%. We used to have a ram with one copy of Myomax which meant that his lambs were fairly inconsistent. Myomax also means a %age increase in muscling, so if the base flock is poor it doesn't have much effect.
Used to get far better grades from lambs by a ram bought from a recorded flock who was in the top 5% for eye muscle.
- Location
- Montgomeryshire
IFAIA MyoMax will only give an extra 5 or 10% in the hindquarter, not the loin (eye muscle). I would agree that, if muscling is your thing, looking for a high muscle depth ebv ram will indeed bring better, more consistent results than just looking for a MyoMax carrier. However, if you get the MyoMax effect on top of that, what's not to like?
. However, if you get the MyoMax effect on top of that, what's not to like?
Agree, as long as the Myomax carrier ram you use actually has better carcass traits than the non carrier ----if he has worse carcass traits (even with Myomax) then your lambs will have a lower potential . If you can add Myomax without loosing too many other good carcass genes then you are onto a winner
It could be that the Myomax carriers other carcass genes are poor
So the answer must be that you want to use the animal with the greatest performance regardless of if it carries Myomax or not?
If you are selling rams though it is a far easier concept for buyers to grasp ---''ram carries Myomax therefore must be vastly superior to any other sheep ''
Danllan
Member
- Location
- Sir Gar / Carms
Interesting. We had a manager from Dunbia here at the weekend - in a social capacity, his Mrs is a friend of Mrs Danllan - and I got him to cast an eye over this years lambs, with particular reference to the rams... because he was here, and I was in control of the beer.
He was very impressed with the difference made by the new ram, obviously with the rears, but also with the length of loin. One of the reasons I have been thinking about Exlana rams is because, generally (hard hat on), I think they have better length than Easycares. My new ram is good and is a myomax gold, so it is a win win for me there. But wanting to build on this, it makes sense to bring in another with good conformation too. That written, if anyone has a really good Easycare ram that isn't too closely related to Huw Thomas's, I may be in the market.
@neilo have you found Lincoln to be a bit slow on their correspondence?
He was very impressed with the difference made by the new ram, obviously with the rears, but also with the length of loin. One of the reasons I have been thinking about Exlana rams is because, generally (hard hat on), I think they have better length than Easycares. My new ram is good and is a myomax gold, so it is a win win for me there. But wanting to build on this, it makes sense to bring in another with good conformation too. That written, if anyone has a really good Easycare ram that isn't too closely related to Huw Thomas's, I may be in the market.
@neilo have you found Lincoln to be a bit slow on their correspondence?
- Location
- Montgomeryshire
No, they've always replied within a day or so, bearing in mind that our day is their night, etc.
Danllan
Member
- Location
- Sir Gar / Carms
Thanks for that, it's only been one working day, but usually these sort of places answer directly.
here's an example of what i was trying to get across ---the graph shows a steady increase in fat/muscle weights across a nine year period. The only time the progress slowed (went backwards) was when they used Myomax carrying rams ---that were inferior for muscle/fat/growth
what did they do ---kill the Myomax sons/daughters and continue selecting on measurements
what did they do ---kill the Myomax sons/daughters and continue selecting on measurements
who produced the graph?