[Jacob-list] Re: Hornless gene and breed conservation

[Linda]

A couple questions - PS I'm still awake :)
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On Sat, 20 May 2006 03:07:57 EDT, Jacobflock at aol.com wrote:
>The inbreeding
> of this population was determined to be "not high" but should be
> monitored such that it remains at the 2%-3% level or lower.

How do I determine the inbreeding of my flock as a whole?  I think that Breeder's Assistant has the capability to figure it, but I haven't gotten that far yet.


> With the numbers of HMN rams and ewes available and the
> complexities of up-grading, why fiddle with a known sex-linked
> recessive?  What does it contribute to the breed?  Are pink noses,
> white nape, scurs and aberant horns different?

I am not advocating the use of scurred ewes these days when we do have so much more access to different bloodlines than we did 10 years ago.  I wonder, though, just how many scurred ewes, pink noses, black legs, etc we find if we could see pictures of our flocks' ancestors for 10 or so generations back.  While I may elect to remove a ewe with lateral scurs from the breeding population, should I remove a ewe with excellent laterals and a record of producing daughters with strong laterals, because I discover that her great, great granddam was scurred?  

Linda

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