From reading a bit about them, they are a good breed to cross with other breeds to get good meat sheep. This one must be rather special, so will probably earn his keep breeding lamb chops for the future.
sgt.colon
Joined: 27 Jul 2009 Posts: 7380 Location: Just south of north.
Posted: Wed Sep 02, 20 9:40 am Post subject:
He's from around where we live. He's going to be knackered by the time he's earned his keep.
gz
Joined: 23 Jan 2009 Posts: 8918 Location: Ayrshire, Scotland
Posted: Wed Sep 02, 20 3:30 pm Post subject:
I find the Texel face most odd, more like a dog...or a sheep that has run full pelt into a wall
Joined: 18 Oct 2006 Posts: 1322 Location: ceredigion
Posted: Thu Sep 03, 20 11:39 am Post subject:
Some years ago when I had breeding sheep, I used a Texel ram on my Manx Loaghtans. The results were superb carcasses, lots of meat but with a rich, almost gamey flavour, Manxes being primitive sheep. The down side was such big lambs they almost all had to be pulled. I used to lamb late to get the spring grass, and the ewes were really milky. I miss my Manxes even now, but they were sods to round up!
gz
Joined: 23 Jan 2009 Posts: 8918 Location: Ayrshire, Scotland
Posted: Thu Sep 03, 20 9:14 pm Post subject:
Wonder if using a Manx ram on the Texels might have worked as well?
When they introduced Manx Loaghtans to Butser Ancient Farm, they amused themselves by jumping the fences between enclosures. They were put with the Shetlands in the end to learn how to behave, as Shetlands are nice calm sheep. One Manx cleared a man who was over 6' tall, trying to get away from being dipped. That was in the early days of reintroduction of sheep dipping when everything had to be dipped. I am glad to say it was realised fairly quickly that primative breeds a. didn't tend to suffer from scab and b. were virtually impossible to round up and dip.
I can see why you miss the Manx Lowri. Very beautiful sheep.
lowri
Joined: 18 Oct 2006 Posts: 1322 Location: ceredigion
Posted: Fri Sep 04, 20 10:30 am Post subject:
A friend who was doing some work round the farm happened to notice one Manx ewe behaving very oddly. Standing parallel to a fence, and springing up and down to see how high it was, she waited until she gauged it right and then popped over straight! Not a Fosbury Flop, I gather!
I did use a Manx ram briefly, earlier on, but he was bored with only six girls of his own and took off over the boundary fence to mingle with a large flock of Welsh ladies. Resulting offspring were poor, I gather! And I'd only borrowed him anyway!
Butser had the same with a soay. It was put in a 6'x6'x6' cubicle built of hurdles and got over them. They then had to weight his horns to stop him. Deported to other climes as soon as possible after that. Luckily the southdown/soay crosses (sorry if the wrong way round), were quite good.
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