Best recipient/maternal ewe?

Tex93

I've recently started into flushing my best texel ewes and transferring their embryo's into crossbred recipients. Overall it was very successful except I don't think the recipients did as good a job at rearing the lambs as the texels themselves.

They we're a blackface x suffolk sheep and I'm wondering what's the best ewe I could get for the job. Is there much of a difference between the mayo mule and the scotch mule, which one is better? What about the Borris ewe? None of which I know a whole load about, but I'd love to know.

Cran

Tex93 wrote: »

I've recently started into flushing my best texel ewes and transferring their embryo's into crossbred recipients. Overall it was very successful except I don't think the recipients did as good a job at rearing the lambs as the texels themselves.

They we're a blackface x suffolk sheep and I'm wondering what's the best ewe I could get for the job. Is there much of a difference between the mayo mule and the scotch mule, which one is better? What about the Borris ewe? None of which I know a whole load about, but I'd love to know.

I would be inclined to go Borris ewe for embryo recipients. This goes against my entire belief in maternal ewes considering I moved away from Borris to Mule over past decade.
But my logic would be as follows: I would think they are only receiving one embryo, they will be lambed indoors, Borris ewes are good milkers, they keep their condition very well while in lamb and should lamb Texels handy enough. I dont see the benefit of having blackface breeding in a ewe for embryo work, big cheviot cross probably do a better job..

ganmo

bigger ewe the better i'd say and definitely a cross
maybe look into getting a zwarble x, they're ment to be a dairy breed.

Green farmer

Thing that puts me off the zwarble is the black fleece, would it be as lowly priced as the hill wool ?

AntrimGlens

I see quite a few men using Dorsets for recips, very maternal ewes, good and milky, will breed out of season for you, will milk off their backs for the lambs and will live on a hard keep themselves and docile.

Sheep breeder

the zwarbles makes a good recep, a guy in scotland that is at the top of the game reckons the best breed is the one that produces the live embryo, every ewe should be fit to feed a single.

Tex93

Sheep breeder wrote: »

the zwarbles makes a good recep, a guy in scotland that is at the top of the game reckons the best breed is the one that produces the live embryo, every ewe should be fit to feed a single.

I've heard of zwarbles being used alright. They're all well able to rear singles, I just think they didn't milk quite as well as the texels especially the quality of the colostrum. Lost one lamb to watery mouth and almost another to scour. I'd actually use texels if they weren't so hard lambed.... a big backwards single often means a c-section or a dead lamb.

Out of interest would you use a purebred Zwarble or a cross? and what cross if so?

grassroot1

Zwarbles x dorset are often used. Hard to obtain I would imagine.
On a side issue it seems to be better if you transfer 2 embryos into recipents as this increases the hormone that helps the ewe to hold the pregnancy.