Hill Ram over BFL ewe

[countrylad]

Right so I understand the concept of why we use mules and why they are bred from hill ewes and not the other way round. But would “reversing” them cause any significant change in the offspring? Has anyone tried this? Just curious rather than anything else

 

[gwi1890]

Probably because there are more hill ewes than pure bfl ewes and , and its much easier to keep a flock of hardy ewes than a flock of bfl in a commercial environment, I imagine there would not be to much difference in progeny but larger % of twins I suppose

 

[Bury the Trash]

 

[Anymulewilldo]

Only seen the resulting lambs of a swale on a Leicester once. Definitely nothing like a mule. Pretty crap lambs really

 

[Eiddwen]

We once had a pure Suffolk ewe that was tupped by a Welsh Speckled ram and the twins didn't look remotely like a Suffolk cross at all which seemed strange.

 

[countrylad]

Only seen the resulting lambs of a swale on a Leicester once. Definitely nothing like a mule. Pretty crap lambs really

What made them crap? The look of them? Size? Did they get kept or end up on the one way trip?

 

[Anymulewilldo]

They had a terrible bone structure. Narrow from the nose too the tail. Very gorky looking things. They were in the store sale. I will fatten most things if they are cheap. But I didn't fancy trying them? Even when they got down to £35

 

[Devil's advocate]

They had a terrible bone structure. Narrow from the nose too the tail. Very gorky looking things. They were in the store sale. I will fatten most things if they are cheap. But I didn't fancy trying them? Even when they got down to £35

So just one pen. I've not tried it or seen results but it is the same genetics, unless there are sex linked genes they should be similar.

The equine mule is I think Donkey over horse the other way around is much less common & called a hinney & not as sucessful. Maybe worth googling.

 

[Agrivator]

So just one pen. I've not tried it or seen results but it is the same genetics, unless there are sex linked genes they should be similar.

The equine mule is I think Donkey over horse the other way around is much less common & called a hinney & not as sucessful. Maybe worth googling.

All the geneticists on here who are determined that they are improving their flocks by selective breeding will know exactly why the mirror image of any particular cross will often produce a very different hybrid.

The BFL X Blackface is a prime example. But it would also have severe social implications, because as any wife or sister will testify - sheep have a peculiar effect on farmers.

Crossing 500 Blackface ewes with BFL tups causes mild behavioural problems at various times of the year.

Crossing 500 BFL ewes with Blackface tups would result in severe psychotic raving-lunatic symptoms for the whole year, and for a number of years after the breeding policy had been abandoned.

 

[johnspeehs]

Went to a local farm here to do some spraying and he showed me some ewe lambs out of mule ewes and a Lanark bf ram who had gone on the lash one weekend,, I was surprised how good they were and just looked like dark faced mules.

 

[Anymulewilldo]

So just one pen. I've not tried it or seen results but it is the same genetics, unless there are sex linked genes they should be similar.

The equine mule is I think Donkey over horse the other way around is much less common & called a hinney & not as sucessful. Maybe worth googling.

Yeah just one pen. One pen was enough!!
It's a long time since I did genetics in biology but isn't there a difference between genetics from the X chromosome and the Y chromosome? As in it does make a difference which side the genetic make up comes from?

 

[Devil's advocate]

Yeah just one pen. One pen was enough!!
It's a long time since I did genetics in biology but isn't there a difference between genetics from the X chromosome and the Y chromosome? As in it does make a difference which side the genetic make up comes from?

There must be something because if you cross

A rhode island red cock onto Light sussex hens you get red pullets & yellow cockrills

A light sussex cock onto Rhode island red hen you get all yellow chicks

So you are right, don't know why though.

We had an accident with Hereford x Fresian bull calf & heifers bred the same way, we had everything
Polled fresian looking calves
Red Hereford looking calves with horns
Lots of black herefords

So the genes all tumbled around, just showing F2 not like F! which tend to be uniform

 

[Devil's advocate]

I was not there but at Holmfirth store sale, I'm told a nice pen of BFL ewe lambs made £95 per head.

I'm supposed to be a closed flock, but would have liked to have bought those.