[Jacob-list] Killgorlin Hercules for sale; terminal sire

[Kathryn Shirley]

What they don't tell you is that most of the lambs in a little are bottle fed.
There goes your return.  Also, more lambs per birth equals greater chances for
dystocia.

Finns also litter, but their wool is not particularly nice for handspinning.

Kate

Gary Tomas Fay wrote:

> List,
>
> New breeds get created all the time. It is a matter of research, planning, hard
> work and a heck of a lot of luck. If I had more land I would consider doing
> about the same. Could you imagine a Jacob crossed with a Romanov. That breed has
> litters, not lambs. 3-5 is average, 6-8 is not uncommon, I think the record ever
> was 14. They are sexually mature at 3 months and can have 2 litters a year. How
> is that for return on investment!
>
> Of course, with 14 lambs you would be grafting like crazy!
>
> G
>
> Jacobflock at aol.com wrote:
>
> > Generally speaking, if one wants to move to a meat sheep, retain the Jacob
> > quality and produce longer loin, leg, etc., the shepherd might use the Jacob
> > in a terminal sire program.  This has been done in England and Europe with
> > some success.  Thus, one would keep the Jacob ram and replace the ewes with a
> > ewe breed with the desired carcass quantity/quality.  There is more on this
> > in "Raising Sheep the Modern Way"; a paper back with some pretty good
> > suggestions and guidance for raising sheep.  What you want is maternal
> > heterosis ... unless you know you already have significant paternal heterosis
> > ...
> >
> > Another consideration is dystocia.  Using a significantly "muscled" ram or a
> > "fat" ram over Jacob ewes may increase ... again may increase ... dystocia.
> >
> > Blasphemy?  Hey, not everyone is conserving the "breed".  Fred Horak
> >
> > Fred Horak
> >
> > Fred Horak
> >
> > _______________________________________________
> > Jacob-list mailing list
> > Jacob-list at jacobsheep.com
> > http://www.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/jacob-list
>
> _______________________________________________
> Jacob-list mailing list
> Jacob-list at jacobsheep.com
> http://www.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/jacob-list