Texel

Why Texel:

• remarkable muscle development and leanness

• emphasis on the highest quality portions of meat as loin-eye area

• Best race for correcting the quality of the meat

Purpose of use of TEXEL race in the "RAM GEN" center:

terminal sires for the final carcass correction of prolific, dairy breeds, or domestic sheep.

Texel sheep in Serbia (Branko Milovanovic, Matijevac, Serbia)

Texel sheep breeds (known as Tekselar, Teksels improvement in Texel, ...)

History

Texel sheep are grown in countries around the North Sea for centuries. Originating small Texel breed has developed into a large and fertile sheep which has become popular due to well-developed muscles, without distinct fat deposits. Characteristics race were established early on the Texel island. The emphasis is on producing strong muscular lambs of superior quality and appetite. Since the primary market of lambs was continental Europe, where the excess of fat on steaks has always been unpopular, significant effort is invested to produce a sheep that has a low tendency to deposition of fat.

Texel breed today is the white color without wool on the head and legs. The breed is characterized by a distinctive short, broad face with a black nose and a wide set of short ears with almost horizontal posture. These sheep have black hooves. Wool is a middle class without black fibers. Adult animals give 3.5 - 5.5 kg of fleece. Texel has become a dominant and major breed in Europe. Today there is an almost equal share of the Suffolk market in the UK. The race also gaining in popularity in Australia and New Zealand, because their production systems started to prefer lamb meat over wool.

The Texel race has something for everyone!

Description

Texel breed is a race that is rightly famous: highly adaptable race that all can have, which makes and successfully compete with other breeds to produce the ideal lambs, according to the requirements of the discerning market today. Texel is, in fact, the favorite choice of the butchers and buyers.

Texel sheep do not require a special diet to raise twins - it works well in scarce vegetation in the mountainous region. The ideal is for crossing with domestic sheep when it increases conversion capability of forage to their offsprings, which is necessary for the efficient production of lamb based on grass feed.

Manufacturers who use Texel rams quickly achieve their set goals: lambs grow quickly and yield a high meat percentage at slaughter, lambs with very low fat deposits, even when they slaughtered with higher weight.

There are many different types of Texel variants across Europe and other continents - Dutch, English and French type. Each type has been developed to survive in its environment. British Texel is a medium-sized sheep with a long rectangular body, well proportioned to the level of the back, medium bone structure. Texel has a pronounced muscle development and long loin with unique little fat that is derived from the original texel. England Texel sheep tend to be higher, while Dutch Texel has very short legs and heavy muscles. Some British and Australian native meat breeds of sheep were introduced Texel to increase muscularity with less fat. All Texel sheep have one thing in common:

The extraordinary muscle development and almost absence of fat !!!

Texel is well developed, with uniform proportions, severe muscle, durable, sturdy, obedient, strong legs and resistant to Scrapie. Texel sheep is made for meat.

Sheep are rational and was shown extraordinary results in the pasture as the basic system of cultivation. Texel sheep is a medium-size sheep where females weigh 61-82 kg. They are easy to maintain.

Lambs are famous for vigor at birth, with a great will to survive. The race is moderately fertile, with 1.7 lambs per ewe. Due to the flexibility of race and excellent quality of the carcass, which is observed on the first crossed offspring, Texel rams have become the favorite choice of breeders. The changes and development potential of Texel sheep in the last festival for decades is enormous. Fertility can be up to 220% after the introduction of Booroola genes.

Popularity

Texel became dominant and terminal races in Europe. Today there is almost equal market share with Suffolk in the UK and it has made very quickly. The race also gaining in popularity in Australia and New Zealand because of their production systems rely on lamb meat. Similar trends are in North America.

The most prominent feature is its unique texel muscularity and traces of fat. Research results from the Klai Center and the University of Wisconsin suggest that Texel lambs usually have a 6-10% advantage in the development of muscularity in relation to the US Suffolk sheep. It is interesting that in trials Texel lambs grow somewhat more slowly than Suffolk, but their feed efficiency was better. The estimate of the relationship of Texel male lambs and male Suffolk lambs, Texel requires about 15% less feed to produce 60% of the total increase.

For breeders of race and commercial producers, Texel offers clear advantages. Texel rams and ewes consistently produce early maturing lambs with superior quality. If used as terminal rams, meat TEXEL will achieve top prices, resulting in convenience for commercial producers of this breed.

Texel features races domestic sheep is preferred:

Require less kg of dry matter for each kilogram of body weight
minor metabolic diseases traits
Exellent maternal instinct
Good grazing animal, with excellent and efficient feed conversion
Heavy sheep, adaptable to different food and climate conditions
Easy handling
Good temperament
Big amount of wool

Head

Head without horns. Texel has a wide white face with a flat head, a muzzle tight with black nostrils and eyelids. Head length is about one and a way of its width.

The head should be covered by short white hair while wool says the line that begins behind the ears. TEKS should have a deep line of the jaw, the teeth should be properly to meet the jaw and gums. Even when set jaw with teeth that have a combined wide solid carrier bite. Teeth lambs are set back and behind the right upper jaw.

Avoid sheep with undershot and an overbite. Ears are medium length, white and firm, well-protected hair.

Black spots are acceptable, but not brown stains/points.

Avoid very large head, pink, white or gray nose in sheep (get white and soft hooves) and brown hair.

Neck

Muscular, medium length with rams, goes down to the shoulders.

Shoulder

blades should be slightly lower than the spine and tilted to smooth working without excessive movement while walking. Texel shoulders should be straight at the top, which is not wider than the chest.

It should avoid sharp and soft shoulders.

Back Wide, long and straight, with well-sprung ribs. Widebody continues across the ribs to shoulder.

Last quarter and loin

The loin should have strong broad, deep, square with muscle extra time to the hock and rounded the back of the legs. The loin should be broad and well-muscled retaining its width to the shoulders. But should not be in the shape of the letter V, already in that line does not fall sharply from leg to the tail. The area between the last rib and sheep base of the tail should be long and wide as possible with non-fat deep muscles. This gives the appearance of bacon/hams in the form of a soccer ball and constitutes a valuable part of the body. Avoid the soft areas around the tail this is a sign of obesity, not muscularity. The legs and hooves legs at TEKS should be able to carry the muscular body.

They should be covered with white hair.

The hind legs should be well rounded of the hock, without wool below the knee. Black and brown spots are desirable qualities. Hooves should be solid black and directly placed against the ground. Avoid soft pasterns, hocks blame, blame the front legs, white hooves as they are softer, more sensitive; too brown hair. Length of body length of the body should be balanced with the level back and well-sprung ribs. The long narrow body, like pipes, should be avoided.

Temperament

Texel sheep has a great temperament. They are quiet, easy to work with them, and curious nature.

The increase in the size

• Due to good milk yield Texel sheep and the racial ability for rapid growth, lambs may acquire, on average, 250 grams per day. At weaning (at 12 weeks), the average weight of the lambs was 25 kg, and their final weight at slaughter (to 24 weeks) was 44 kg on average. Texel lambs are strong and active, were born in order to survive. It is the very high survival rate of the ultrasound examination further. They are more tolerant of internal parasites of other races. They are very durable and flexible in extreme climatic conditions and skimpy lambs are very intelligent and friendly. They are very muscular at an early age. Larger proportions can inherit from their mothers, with early rejection. The front and rear legs have no wool, like socks.

Benefits mothers

length of the breeding season matures Texel sheep nearly 5 months. Get in estrus for the first time with about 7 months old. Of importance is the total annual production of lambs per ewe, which is a combination of the effects of fertilization and frequency of lambing. Selection is achieved by increasing fertility. Texel ewes are excellent mothers and provide high production of milk for their lambs.

Tekselov quality of meat that you can try

• High dressing percentage

• Stress on top quality portions of the carcass (back, leg)

• Excellent relationship between flesh and bones

• Less waste at processing

• Meat is a unique taste

• Tender meat of good texture

• it takes less time for cooking

• Meets the demand of consumers

• prefered by butchers and supermarkets

• consistently high product quality

Texel lambs are larger at birth, just born texel compared to the few days Ile de France lamb (photo M. Stanković, Obrovac).

Crosses between domestic breed (left) and British texel (Tough Guy) and 2 lambs with 4,5 months - 49 and 52 kg (reaching bodyweight of mother). They have a large body frame and fast growth (photo A. Milovanović).

Crosses betweem domestic breed and British texel - 16 months later (photo A. Milovanović).

Hogget - cross between Würtemberg and Texel, about 90 kg on the laparoscopic cradle (Arandjelovac, Serbia, 2018)

REFERENCES

British Sheep and Wool, British Wool Marketing Board, Oak Mills Station Rd ., Clayton, Bradford. 112 pp. Mason, IL 1996. A World Dictionary of Livestock Breeds, Types and Varieties. Fourth Edition. CAB International. 273 pp. Dr. Gary Onan, Animal & Food Science Department, University of Wisconsin - River Falls, River Falls, WI Oklahoma State University Animal Science Department - http://www.ansi.okstate.edu/breeds/sheep/texel/