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Romanovs are a truly amazing breed. They are capable of bearing and raising large
litters of lambs and are quite hardy. Raising triplets is not a challenge for a purebred Romanov ewe and she is
more than capable of raising quads unassisted.
The secret to the Romanov's reproductive performance is their small size (most ewes weigh between
110 - 135 lbs). Their small bodies and low birth weights prevent
gestation and birthing difficulties. The nutritional requirement
of the lambs is not very high, as they are generally in the 5-7 lb range
at birth. This is not to say that they are not vigorous!
These tiny lambs are quicker to their feet than just about every other
breed I've seen. They also seem the be the first ones to 'figure
out' solid food.
So why not just use purebred Romanov sheep? Consider the numbers: 3.3 lambs
per ewe x 85% survival rate x 90 lb lamb = 252 lbs of finished lamb per ewe.
Not bad, but you can do the same thing with a good Suffolk that has 2.0
lambs per year, 80% survival and 155 lb lambs.
In my opinion, the value of the breed to the commercial sheep
producer is in cross breeding to improve traditional breeds. Consider
the example above. Let's say you use a Columbia x Romanov ewe bred
to Suffolk ram. Birth rates should be around 255%, survival rates
around 85% and finishing weights 145 lbs. That's 315 lbs. - a 25%
increase per ewe. That 25% is mostly profit.
If it were only that easy! First of all, when you park your 350 lb Columbia
ram next to your 125 lb Romanov ewe, you might guess at the problems at
hand. Is she going to handle those lambs? Alternately, can a
short, 140 lb Romanov ram actually 'reach' a towering, 240 lb Columbia ewe?
Assuming you can get that first cross, will the cross ewe be able to
carry (3 or 4) 12 lb fetuses? Will she be able to feed triplets or
quads? After all, in the example above, we are expecting 55% of
the crossbred ewes to have triplets.
After years of experimenting, I've come to the conclusion that the problems
created by ill-planned Romanov crosses can quickly erode the advantages
offered by their reproductive strengths. In short, I have found:
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Percentage Romanov ewes lose their 'low birth weight'
characteristic. The result is a very heavy fetal load that
can make the ewe prone to ketosis, prolapses and ruptured stomachs.
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Many percentage Romanov ewes are not able to provide enough milk to feed
3 hungry, large framed, fast growing lambs. Consider the
example above - those lambs would be 50% Suffolk x 25% Columbia x
25% Romanov. They will probably weigh 10-12 lbs at birth.
The weight of the litter will be around 30 - 40 lbs; that's a far
cry from the 15 - 20 lb litter the purebred Romanov is able to
feed.
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High percentage Romanov ewes have very poor wool quality - making
shearing an even less profitable proposition.
These are problems that can be overcome. The key is moderation.
Remember, increasing your revenue per ewe by 10% without increase costs,
will increase your profit by as much as 50%. So, don't get carried
away! To keep things brief, here are my recommendations:
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Shoot for 1/4 Romanov ewes. She will have a lambing rate around
220-260% and still have good size and reasonably good wool.
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Add Friesian or similar genetics to the mix. Any ewe expected to
consistently lactate for triplets or quads will need to have the
tools to get the job done. I like about 25% Friesian.
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Don't get carried away with the 'terminal sire' concept. Not
that it doesn't have its advantages, but it is not everything.
On very prolific ewes, I prefer moderate sized sires.
I use Romanov x Friesian rams on various ewes (mostly Columbia and Polypay). The daughters have been
been early maturing, heavy milking and more prolific than their dams.
Performance data of my 1/4 Romanov ewes:
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Mature ewes average 185 lbs, depending on foundation breeding
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Mature ewe birth rates are 235% with 85% being weaned by the ewe (2005 - 2009
average)
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Ewe lambs birth rates are 153%, with 84% being weaned by the ewe
(2004 - 2008 average - I didn't have any Romanov cross ewe lambs in
2009)
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Average service life: 3.2 years
I currently keep a small number of registered Romanov ewes. I breed these to
my dairy ram to produce Romanov x Friesian ram lambs.
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