[beagh-suffolks]

For a bit of a change we are thinking of using blue Texel on the crossbred ewes and was wondering did anyone have any experience in blue texels or have heard anything , we normally use normal Texel on the Suffolk crossed but just fancied a bit of a change. Thanks for reading

[Marches Farmer]

What colour will the crossbred lambs be?  Coloured sheep always attract lower prices at our livestock market.

[Sbom]

Blue texel onto white faced ewes rarely throw a "blue" lamb. We have one and only get a coloured lamb off a 1/2 blue texel ewe.
Never put him to a Suffolk though so can't comment on that cross.
Lovely lambs though, soon on their feet and easy lambing aswell 

[BenBhoy]

Vast majority of blue tex sired lambs are white. What are you wanting though? Blue texel won't give conformation of white texel and definitely won't get growth of the Suffolk. IMO blues are a gimmick  (very clever marketing). If they were white, they'd fetch lowest price at a ram sale.

[SallyintNorth]

Blue / black colouring in Texels is recessive, so you are unlikely to get many blues in a first cross.  But if you retain ewe lambs, you would expect 50% blues in their offspring (if you put them to a blue.) 

One thing to be aware of with coloured fleeces is to keep the coloureds and whites separate when sending fleeces to the Wool Board.  If blue fibres get mixed in with the white fleeces it will downgrade the white fleeces, which then can't be sold for dyeing solid colours.  You can put them in the same sheet, but put all the coloured in a sheet on their own, then if that's not a full sheet, put that whole sheet, sealed up, inside the sheet with the whites.  And put a note on the label to say what you've done.

We'd been interested in getting a Blue, partly to breed some colours into our Soft Fells, and partly because the blue Texel gives easier lambings, so we'd wanted one for our first timers.  They were too expensive though - which I agree is because they're the latest 'in thing'.  That's because of the easier lambing, though, and because farmers no longer think it's worth preserving the value of their clip.

[waterbuffalofarmer]

This guy breeds them and they look excellent.
http://bearwoodfarm.com/?page_id=521
I haven't personally ever kept them but I hear they're good to keep.

[Old Shep]

Don't take this the wrong way but I always get a bit prickly when people talk about colour (usually with dogs).  On dog facebook groups where you get someone wanting eg a red merle collie my stock answer is "why red does it have to match the curtains?" Grumpy old thing I am !!


Same with sheep - except I understand the quest to have fat lambs with white faces, much more saleable than anything other than white :-)


Hope you find what you want     

[SallyintNorth]

A wise ol' farmer said to me, "Always buy stock you like the look of.  You have to want to go and look at it every morning, in all weathers, so you better have a one it pleases you to look at." 

And in the case of fleece (unlike a collie dog's coat ) there's a market for nicely coloured spinnable ones.

[BenBhoy]

In terms of easier lambing, I'd prefer a host of breeds before blue texel. Terminal- charollais, beltex, charmoise. 

[Marches Farmer]

In terms of easier lambing, I'd prefer a host of breeds before blue texel. Terminal- charollais, beltex, charmoise.

Suffolk, Border Leicester, one of the Down breeds, Blue Faced Leicester ....?

[BenBhoy]

Steady on - I'd never go so far as to recommend BFL for anything!!

[waterbuffalofarmer]

In terms of easier lambing, I'd prefer a host of breeds before blue texel. Terminal- charollais, beltex, charmoise.

Actually beltex are not easy lambers at all, because of their narrow backends they often need a lot of assistance with lambing. Texel or ok depending on shoulder size. Lleyn are good too. I would say go for blue texel, they look much nicer than the normal ones and don't look as extreme as some. That is of the course the ews, they do say using beltex as a terminal sire is better as the lambs are born easily

[SallyintNorth]

As I understand it, the thing about Beltex backends is that the genetic mutation which causes the double muscling on the gigot can also cause double muscling inside the birth canal.  (Same thing in Belgian Blue cattle.). So a Beltex tup on non-Beltex ewes shouldn't cause problems; it's the combination of a Beltex ewe with a Beltex tup which can be problematic.

[harmony]

My beltex haven't been a problem lambing. As Sally said get something you like the look of if that is what you want. What works for one person doesn't work for another but you'll never know if you don't give it a go.

[beagh-suffolks]

well guys took the plunge, bought a blue texel ram lamb, heard a lot of mixed reviews about them so might as well find out myself! have posted some pictures below of him, came with a full fertility cert, so hope he does the job!
 i have used beltex in the past an found no problems with lambing and lambs had plenty vigor.