The Accidental Smallholder Forum

Livestock => Sheep => Topic started by: Mungo24 on September 30, 2013, 06:38:49 pm

Title: Crossing Jacob ewes with a polled ram
Post by: Mungo24 on September 30, 2013, 06:38:49 pm

Evening

I am planning to put my jacob ewes to a poll dorset ram, will the lambs be fully polled or will they have little malformed horn scurs. I have a ewe with little scurs that I am keeping on for hogget, she is driving me mad getting stuck in the fencing. If they offspring are not fully polled I may have to have a rethink.

Experiences/thoughts very welcome.

Thanks

Title: Re: Crossing Jacob ewes with a polled ram
Post by: shep53 on September 30, 2013, 07:16:24 pm

Have seen jacob x texel  90% of the lambs were  clean but a few wethers had different sized scurs/small horns

Title: Re: Crossing Jacob ewes with a polled ram
Post by: Tala Orchard on September 30, 2013, 07:20:28 pm

We crossed a two horned Jacobs Ewe with a Polled Dorset and we had twins one ewe one ram lamb and they are both horned the same as mum.

If that helps.

On the other hand we had a Horned Dorset ewe crossed with the Polled Dorset Ram and we again got twins ewes this time however one was polled the other horned.

Tala

Title: Re: Crossing Jacob ewes with a polled ram
Post by: Gunnermark on September 30, 2013, 07:51:26 pm

I would imagine you would most than likely get a mix of horned and polled.

Title: Re: Crossing Jacob ewes with a polled ram
Post by: SteveHants on September 30, 2013, 08:31:40 pm

Some will be horned, (big and small - small horns will be more common than big) some will have scurrs, and some will be polled.

Title: Re: Crossing Jacob ewes with a polled ram
Post by: Mungo24 on September 30, 2013, 08:54:17 pm

Thanks folks, I was hoping for either horns or no horns.

Title: Re: Crossing Jacob ewes with a polled ram
Post by: Azzdodd on September 30, 2013, 08:58:23 pm

Farmer down the road has 3 Jacobs who are just on with his pure Dorsets he says there lambs are his lambs loads off flavour

Title: Re: Crossing Jacob ewes with a polled ram
Post by: devonlad on October 01, 2013, 09:30:26 am

we have horned sheep (wilts) which have gone to a polled lleyn for past couple of years- ewe lambs have at most had the odd scur but ram lambs are a mixed bag of scurs and horns. our friend puts his Jacob ewes to a lleyn and generally the ram lambs get horns and the ewes don't. I don't understand genetics at all but it seems that sometimes our crosses are more one parent than the other. we have had crosses that shed at least partly (wilts gene) and some that don't at all despite all having same father

Title: Re: Crossing Jacob ewes with a polled ram
Post by: Slimjim on October 01, 2013, 01:44:22 pm

This will not be that helpful, but just for information, I use a Jacob ram on my all my sheep and the Poll Dorset lambs are polled whether they are boys or girls. They have Jacob markings but the carcase bulk of  the Dorset.

Title: Re: Crossing Jacob ewes with a polled ram
Post by: Marches Farmer on October 04, 2013, 09:25:55 pm

We put our Badger Face ewes (rams have horns) to a Southdown every other year.  All lambs are polled, no scurs.