News

9th September 2010

More Texel Rams for Switzerland

The great success of the first imported ram to Switzerland caused further imports – proof of the good breeding qualities of British Texels.

A minor earthquake among Swiss sheep breeders and enthusiasts is likely to happen in October when the three newly imported Texel rams from England will be on show for the very first time.

The pioneer in Swiss Texel breeding, Heinz Pluess, imported four Texel rams from England after the great success and admiration of his first imported ram, Glenway Pioneer MFZ09001, caused among sheep farmers. As Heinz was very pleased with his first ram that had been selected by the English breeder for him, he decided to go back to the same farmer for more stock. But this time he wanted to make his lifelong dream come true and select the rams himself. Together with three other breeders and an interpreter he travelled to Northumberland where they visited different working farms and selected four rams to import to Switzerland.

The Texel breeders together with Ian Murray (second from the right) and Heinz Pluess (first from the right)

The visit was very well prepared by the young farmer who had penned the sheep according to age groups. Entering the shed you could have heard a pin drop, had it not been for the bleating of the sheep. The Swiss breeders were spellbound to see the excellent flock they were permitted to choose from. As it turned out it was a tough job as most of the sheep would have qualified, the considerable costs and hassle of export/import. It certainly took the four men quite a long time to select the rams – much longer than it would have taken the female interpreter to buy a pair of shoes….! All members of the group still treasure pictures of marvellous stock, wonderful scenery and the unforgettable hospitability of the farmers.

Back home the office work started. As Switzerland is not a member of the EU a little bit more effort is needed to get the necessary papers together for import permission. Also the transport is a hurdle to get over. Luckily Heinz knows a trustworthy carrier with a very well equipped trailer who brings the valuable livestock safely to Germany. From there it’s another 700 km (436 miles) until the sheep arrive in their new home. After keeping a twenty day quarantine, the district vet has to come and check on the animals as well as on the papers. To be accepted in the Swiss flock book the rams have to be assessed by Swiss judges for Texel sheep. After getting over all these obstacles the rams finally are aloud to join the breeding flock.

One of the rams, Glenway Raider MFZ 100054, was selected for a breeder in Germany. After arriving there the new owner called Heinz Pluess and told him that he was devastated! – . “What have I been breeding these last years? This ram goes ahead of my wildest expectations!” he said. He would not have believed that such excellent stock was available. Another ram will go to a shepherd with a flock of 120 ewes. The commercial breeder has problems getting his lambs finished and wants to get a higher carcass weight. Certainly the new ram will prove his Texel qualities in both aspects. The other two rams will be put to pure Texel ewes mainly of German bloodlines to pass on the excellent qualities of British livestock to the lambs.

All imported rams are PRT Texels with indexes of 256 – 356 points and are within the top 1-10 % of the breed.