Milk and Lamb Production of East Friesian-cross Ewes in Northwestern Wisconsin

Two / 2 East Friesian (EF), one / 4 EF, one / 8 EF, and several Dorset rams were mated to crossbred ewes from 1993 through 1996. Growth, reproduction, and lactation performance of their progeny were compared. EF-cross lambs had greater birth, weaning, and postweaning weights than Dorset-cross lambs. When lambing at one and two years of age, EF-cross ewes gave birth to and reared more lambs per ewe mated, had longer lactation lengths, produced more milk, fat and protein, and had a lower percentage of milk fat and protein than Dorset-cross ewes. With the levels of EF breeding evaluated in this study (up to 50%), EF-cross sheep are superior to Dorset-cross sheep for lamb and milk production in northwestern Wisconsin.