Origin and History
The Texel Sheep originates from the Island of Texel,
one of the north-western Islands off Holland where
it has been known since Roman times. Throughout the
centuries, selection, as well as an infusion of British
blood, principally from the Lincoln as well as a
little from the Border Leicester, Leicester, South
Down, Hampshire Down and Wensleydale, has improved
its potential.
About 1933, the Texel was introduced to France and
has since become established, particularly in the
Northern provinces. In 1970, they were
introduced to the United Kingdom with an importation
organised by the Animal Breeding Research Organisation,
who brought in four rams for experimental purposes.
Another four followed in 1971 and ABRO initiated
extensive trials to compare the Texel with other
terminal sires. The verdict was that the Texel excelled
in carcass quality and in particular, in lean meat
yield.
In 1973, thirteen Lanarkshire sheep breeders joined
forces with ABRO to import twenty-seven Texel females
and thirteen rams from France. Further importations
were made throughout the 1970s, with the first direct
import from Holland at the end of that decade.
Description
of type
Head:
The length of head from crown to nose should be one and
a half times the width when viewed sideways. The crown
should be flat and unwooled, the nose dark, preferably
black. The head must be covered with fine white hair;
when spots occur on ears or eyelids, these should be
of a bright black colour.
Body:
The body and the neck should be thick-set, without impairing
the general appearance. Further, it must be well proportioned
with strong loins, a solid square stance and round well
developed gigots. The udder is covered with fine hair
and is usually lined with wool; the scrotum is covered
with fine hair or short wool. The wool of the trunk extends
to the end of the throat.
Legs:
The legs are strong with shanks of sufficient size to
correspond with the thick-set build of the body. The
front legs are wooled at least down to the middle of
the forearm, the hind legs at least down to the middle
of the shank. In so far as the legs are not wooled, they
are covered with fine hair.
Wool:
The wool is highly crinkled, fine and with a close staple.
Adaptability
The Texel has primarily been developed as a meat breed
but its native environment has endowed it with invaluable
commercial traits. The Texel ewe is hardy and exceptionally
thrifty and her lambs have a tremendous get-up-and-go
attitude, searching hard for milk as soon as they are
born. Again, the breed's harsh native environment has
led to the development of a sheep that thrives on poor
pastures and requires only modest amounts of feed in
the run-up to lambing and whilst suckling.
In Great Britain, the Texels have shown that they are
capable of withstanding the rigours of the Scottish winter
without any hardship and their progeny have proved to
be as adaptable in our climate and altitude as the Flocks
in Holland and France.
The Breed is well known in Europe and in the continents
of Africa and South America as a provider of a high quality
carcass that has a high killing out percentage. It is
also well known in many countries as a breed that transmits
its qualities to its progeny when used for crossing purposes.
|
