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Pam Wolf
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I have a friend coming from overseas this Aug to work dogs and search for a new terminal sire. We will be looking for s good meat breed to put to old fashioned corriedale ewes. Would like to have to trave no more than 500 miles from Kansas City. Any suggestions, or breeder reccommendations? This is a grass based operation so no show sheep please!

 

Pam

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I had really good luck growing out Texel cross lambs on grass. Warning though - they are aggressive foragers and you must have good fences or good grass or lots of room and preferably all three.

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I had two crossbred rams from Bill's stock and never had one. I had some before with another ram (mostly BFL) so I know the potential was there in my ewe flock previously.

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Guest carol campion

Hi Julie

 

I have used three different Texel sires (6 to 8 years) and only have had two lambs in all those years with entropion. So I don't think it necessarily a Texel thing.

 

When I get a chance, I'll send a pic of the ram I have and his 6 week old lambs. Blooming! Grass fed. And no problems with fences. In fact, they are a more sluggish kind of sheep kind of plodding on with life.

 

My ewe flock is part B.Leicester, part Border Cheviot and part Texel. The sire this year was a registered Texel onto those ewes. There can be some problem using a Texel on first time lambers carrying single ewes, but used on experienced dams who twin, the lambs are stellar. A Texel is a popular terminal sire they use over seas in the three tier system. Bill has seen my sheep. They have the type/looks of a Border Cheviot with the carcass of a Texel!

 

 

Carol

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I love what my friend's Texel ram puts on the ground! (Before anyone says something, a Texel has been nixed as a ram for the flock I've been looking for- too "funny" looking). The only thing I don't like about the Texel is that the cross bred lambs are nuts. Maybe it's the NCC x Texel, but they just bounce! I had one clear a 6' gate last week. They're sprightly, speedy varmints, but man, oh man do the lambs put on weight and finish beautifully! This is in a grass-fed only operation.

 

If you don't mind holding the lambs a little longer, I've been happy with my NCC (North Country Cheviot) rams. The lambs grow a bit slower, but that works out really well with the way the grass-growing season works here. My NCC cross ewes have also been fantastic producers.

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Thanks for all the info on the texels. I am looking at getting a UK-genetics Suffolk (i.e., old style) or a texel (also UK genetics) or perhaps a cross of the two next year as my terminal sire. I actually really prefer the Suffolk, but it depends on what I can get when I'm ready to buy, so the texel is my second choice at the moment.

 

Ben,

I can kind of understand the "funny looking" comment applied to texels. They certainly don't appeal to my eye.... But I'd manage to overlook that for good lambs! :rolleyes:

 

J.

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Guest carol campion
I love what my friend's Texel ram puts on the ground! (Before anyone says something, a Texel has been nixed as a ram for the flock I've been looking for- too "funny" looking). The only thing I don't like about the Texel is that the cross bred lambs are nuts. Maybe it's the NCC x Texel, but they just bounce! I had one clear a 6' gate last week. They're sprightly, speedy varmints, but man, oh man do the lambs put on weight and finish beautifully! This is in a grass-fed only operation.

 

If you don't mind holding the lambs a little longer, I've been happy with my NCC (North Country Cheviot) rams. The lambs grow a bit slower, but that works out really well with the way the grass-growing season works here. My NCC cross ewes have also been fantastic producers.

 

Texel's don't put any "nuts or bounce" into a cross. Just the opposite. They are a very sluggish, slow type of sheep. It would be the NCC that adds the spirit. If you put a Texel on your NCC ewes and kept the ewe lambs, then the next generation went back to a NCC or Border Chev onto those resulting ewes, you get the looks of the NCC or Border Chev and the bloom & growth of the Texel. I will send pics of the ram and the ewe flock so you can see. I am up to 1/2 Texel in my cross and still have the head & looks of the Cheviot. And enough spirit that they are still good for dog work.

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Guest carol campion
Thanks for all the info on the texels. I am looking at getting a UK-genetics Suffolk (i.e., old style) or a texel (also UK genetics) or perhaps a cross of the two next year as my terminal sire. I actually really prefer the Suffolk, but it depends on what I can get when I'm ready to buy, so the texel is my second choice at the moment.

 

Ben,

I can kind of understand the "funny looking" comment applied to texels. They certainly don't appeal to my eye.... But I'd manage to overlook that for good lambs! :rolleyes:

 

J.

 

 

Julie, it takes more than one generation to start getting the no-neck piggish look of the Texel on your flock. Most of the first generation off them usually still look like your ewe flock. I have even used them on Katahdins and gotten great meat sheep.

 

Texels are pretty ugly. Look more like Hereford cows than sheep. The Suffolks in this country are not the same genetics as you can get in the UK. Their Suffolks are still low bulky meat sheep-not the giant show sheep version we have here in this country. If you can find some UK genetics for your Suffolks, they would be a great terminal sire. Otherwise, it wouldn't result in the same quality they get overseas in their 3-tier system, I don't think. Somewhere I might have some photos of some Suffolks I took in Scotland a few years ago. You'll be able to see the difference.

 

There is a woman named Bev Pearsall in MD that has been breeding Texels for many many years. That's where I got my present ram. OPP free and scrapie free.

 

Carol

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I know of a good breeder in eastern SD for Hamps if you might be interested. I have had their rams for many years and have always been pleased. I ask them for a range type ram andgo pick them out from many choices, they sure add frame and meat to my lambs. My lambs on feed would fatten at 4 to 5 mo old and

weigh 140 lbs - 148 lbs. I never had any health issues with these rams, easy to handle ect. I also have Corridales and the crosses were nice lambs. If you be interested email me and I'll look up their contact number for you.

 

Denice

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Hey Carol,

The Suffolks I'm looking at are high percentage UK and NZ genetics, so they do look like the short, meaty old-style sheep--I wouldn't touch the American-style Suffolk with a 10-foot pole. The person breeding them is developing the flock specifically for use with a three-tier system. (He's also got some UK texels I believe.) This year I'm using a production dorset ram as my terminal sire.

 

J.

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Guest carol campion
Hey Carol,

The Suffolks I'm looking at are high percentage UK and NZ genetics, so they do look like the short, meaty old-style sheep--I wouldn't touch the American-style Suffolk with a 10-foot pole. The person breeding them is developing the flock specifically for use with a three-tier system. (He's also got some UK texels I believe.) This year I'm using a production dorset ram as my terminal sire.

 

J.

 

 

Good deal Julie! Is that the man from Wisconsin? You should have something special then.

 

On the Texels, if you don't choose a big headed ram and if you don't get too much Texel blood in your ewe flock, you should be OK. Pam, You don't want first time lambers that will single bred to a Texel unless you can scan and see who needs to be fed up (twinners) and who shouldn't. I use a Texel cross on those.

 

I don't know anyone in the MO area with Texels. Google th Texel breed association.

 

I tried loading a pic but it didn't work. I am off for the weekend. Will do it when I return.

 

Carol

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The problem you are going to get with the Texel sire on a cheviot-type white faced ewe in flocks such as Carol C. or I have is not so much the head as the shoulders: a simgle ram lamb and a first time mother can be a very tight squeeze.

 

Texels cross really well with cheviot types in most respects. They are both easy keepers and do well on grass. The Texels tend to grow out faster than the cheviots and give a better carcass. The cheviots are smaller and so easier to handle, but they grow slowly. The Texels are much duller for the dogs to work, but they are also much easier to handle if you jug your sheep during lambing. (Anyone who has had to pull a lamb from a yearling cheviot mother will appreciate this.) It is a good cross for people with a lot of grass who are patient for their lambs to grow out. I have also bought some registered Texels from Bev Pearsall in Thurmont, MD, and have been very happy with them. My flock has substantial amounts of Texel in it, though I try to keep any individual below the half Texel mark.

 

I'd caution people who are accustomed to the very active nursing and mothering activity that I have found characteristic of the cheviots: it is not as prevalent as you get a higher proportion of Texel in the cross. At lambing time, the Texels are lazy compared to the cheviots: they may lie around and recover for a bit after lambing. The lambs may do the same. While the mother in me finds it hard to begrudge a new mom a few minutes of rest after delivery, I worry about this a lot in cold weather. The cheviot lambs that are up and trying to nurse before their hind end is properly out of the mom, coupled with a mom talking and licking them immediately she lambs, is very reassuring to me and helps me sleep at night. Once an animal is more than half Texel, they can get lazy during lambing, so I try to keep individuals in my flock below that. That is also the point about when they start to lose the Bob Peep ears and face of the cheviots and look like little piggies, so that is another reason for keeping the Texel strain minimized.

 

Most of my ewes are about something like 1/4 Texel, 3/4 cheviot, although I don't plan this with exactness. They are great for the dogs and good for me, too.

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Huh, my friend's Texel must be the odd one out! He's anything but sluggish, and his daughters out-bounce the NCC cross ewes anyday. My NCC ewes are bouncy but they settle in a pen and for handling. The Texel cross ewes just go NUTS. I'm willing to bet, though, that it's a combination of the Texel, NCC, and some hair sheep back there that does it. I'm happy enough with the lambs' growth rate that I'll keep borrowing him from time to time for my own ewes, though. The Texel cross lambs we just butchered had the nicest legs & loins I've had in ages.

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http://www.usatexels.org would get you to the US Texel Sheep Breeders Association.

 

If the ram that Carol has is representative of Bev Pearsall's flock, they would be worth trucking for some distance. There are a lot of Texels coming out of the Midwest that I don't particularly care for these days. I bought a ram that had been the reserve champion when he was a yearling (five or six years ago) and he has thrown lots of pink-nosed lambs, which makes me suspect that he has some Columbia in him to put that all-important air under his belly to make him win in the show ring.

 

One of the major problems in the Texel breed is OPP. I have lost two rams and several ewes to it. The last I knew, the TSBS was taking this issue seriously within the breed and were encouraging breeders to test and cull. I believe that Texel sheep had to be OPP negative to be entered in the national show and sale for the last couple of years.

 

My experience with Texel cross lambs and purebred Texel ewes has not been the lethargic mothering that Caroline describes. While they are not Cheviots (and nothing is, believe me) they are usually pretty vigorous lambs, and I feel the mothers are among the more promptly attentive sheep that I have shepherded. I have only had one bad Texel mother out of about 20 ewes -- not a huge sample, but the others are good enough that I wouldn't consider inattentive mothering a major breed issue.

 

I have used Texel rams on several different types of crossbred ewes under extensive lambing systems where the sheep are checked only once or twice a day. I had very low losses and very little dystocia in the Texel sired groups on pasture. When we used Texel sires on shed-lambed ewes, it seemed we had more dystocia than we should have expected, but we were also very much in attendance so perhaps some of the lambs we pulled would have eventually been delivered naturally if we weren't there to interfere.

 

What Carol says about not using Texel sires on first-time lambers is very good advice and bears repeating. Even if you're breeding ewes for the first time as tooters, you'll be more likely to see problems in the singles. Three-year-olds and upwards seem to have few if any problems delivering the blockheads.

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Pam,

 

Here is the contact info for the hamps that i have liked - Jody Fuller - lambs4u@itctel.com While they do have some "show" sheep they also had some of the older lines and older style hamps when I was last there several years ago.

 

There is a gentleman in western SD that raises Suff. that I trust as well - never used them but he is a very honest, great guy

Dwight Kitzan 605-257-2105 He raises those and merino/ rambou. crosses.

 

Denice

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I've been reading all the comments on Texel rams and am a little concerned. I have dorset/BFL ewe lambs and bought a Texel ram from a breeder in SE Ohio who got his stock from Bev Pearsall. He said they should be Ok if I don't grain the ewes heavy. The Texel web site said that they are a docile breed with not much flocking instinct, so I don't want to breed up any more than once. My ewes born in Feb. are about 70-75lbs. now, and I don't plan to breed till Oct. Do you think they will be OK?

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I've been reading all the comments on Texel rams and am a little concerned. I have dorset/BFL ewe lambs and bought a Texel ram from a breeder in SE Ohio who got his stock from Bev Pearsall. He said they should be Ok if I don't grain the ewes heavy. The Texel web site said that they are a docile breed with not much flocking instinct, so I don't want to breed up any more than once. My ewes born in Feb. are about 70-75lbs. now, and I don't plan to breed till Oct. Do you think they will be OK?

 

What exactly is your concern? Are you planning on breeding the lambs born 2/09 to a Texel ram in 10/09? At 8 months old, I wouldn't expect a lot of the lambs to get pregnant in the first place. I would certainly be concerned that they might have difficulty delivering Texel cross lambs, especially single male lambs.A problem with not graining 8 month of pregnant ewe lambs is that these animals are themselves still growing and so need a lot of extra nutrition to supply both their own needs and the needs of their unborn lambs. If they get pregnant in the first place (and my exeperienc- albeit with late-maturing cheviot crosses) is that they only get pregnant if you don't want them to. But if they do get pregnant, you will have to manage them very very carfeully and supervise them at lambing.

 

But I might be misunderstanding your question.

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Tari,

The consensus here seems to be NOT to use texels on first time lambers, and I think that would be even more important when those first time lambers are basically lambs themselves. I think you'd be courting trouble. Bill F. suggested a texel cross for the first timers, so maybe you'd want to consider that option.

 

J.

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Is there some reason that you must breed your 8 month old lambs? My experience is that ewes lambing as rising yearlings are stupid beyond belief, are small and so have difficulty delivering, do not have a lot of milk, may run away from their lambs, stomp on them, can't relax enough to let them nurse... the list goes on. And for the most part they only single with small lambs. I have seen yearling moms run away from their hungry newborns in terror, drop kick them halfway across the barn as they deliver them, chew off their ears and tails as they dry them, squash them in the jug as you try to do whatever innocent shepherding job the occasion demands, and (best of all) jump over fences and race around fields with part of a lamb hanging out of their backsides as the try to run away from it. Makes you want to cry. As to the small yearling with a humongous Texel crossed single ram lamb that needs you to pull the blessed thing out: I will just pass over that scene in silence.

 

By contrast, yearling ewes out in my field in late winter and spring are fresh, energetic, fun to work, and give me something to do with my dogs while their mothers and older sisters are lambing out. They are stupid, yes, but that stupidity just puts wings on the feet and bells on their toes: you and your dog can have a blast. Sheep are never as fun to work as when they are yearlings. Why not wait a year?

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