Texels add flex to flock management

Farm manager Ian Chapman and stockman Gareth Henderson have been using Texels for many years, favouring them for their ease of fleshing and carcass quality.

The farm’s flock is made up of 300 Mules and Texel x Mules run alongside about 250 Blackface ewes which are put to Bluefaced Leicester rams to breed Mule replacements, explains Gareth.

“All of the Mules and the Texel crosses are put to Texel rams, with some of the crossbred ewe lambs from the Mules retained for breeding and the wether lambs and the remainder of the ewe lambs sold as either prime lambs, store lambs or breeding ewe lambs.

“Three quarter bred Texel lambs are all sold, with none retained. But it is the versatility of the Texel cross lambs that makes them the sire of choice here,” he says.

The aim is to finish as many of the lambs as possible, but once it gets to early autumn and grass is needed for both tupping ewes and autumn calving cows then the attention switches to selling store lambs.

“We try to finish as many lambs as we can off grass and we can grow plenty of good

Farm Facts

Dundarave Estate, Bushmills, Co Antrim

• Liveweight selling

• 550 ewes

• Ewe lambs retained

• 42-45kg target weight grass here, but as demand increases we have to prioritise which animals get the best of it.

“That means selling store lambs to ease the grazing pressure and reinforces the value the Texel adds to the flock.

“Whether we’re selling prime lambs or store lambs Texel crosses are in demand. Buyers know that the lambs will perform for them, either on the hook or when they go on to finish on other farms,” says Gareth.

“And, on top of that, over the last few years we’ve started to pick out the ewe lambs when we sell stores and offer those as separate batches. That’s working well and we’re getting a bit of a premium for those too, over and above the store lamb price.

Whether selling as prime, store or breeding lambs, Texel sires add value for Dundarave Estate.

In an average year the estate sells about half of the lamb crop as prime lambs, with the other half going as stores. “We’ve a 100-cow pedigree Shorthorn herd here as well as the sheep with all progeny finished on farm, so we aim to strike a balance between the two when it comes to grazing management.”

Lambing in mid-March, the flock is housed for up to six weeks ahead of lambing, but ewes go back to grass within a couple of days of lambing. “Ewes are on ad-lib silage and ewe rolls according to scanning results when housed and are then fed for a week or so once outside, but after that they are on grass only.

“Lambs aren’t creep fed either, with the first singles usually drawn at about 12-14 weeks old and all lambs are sold via Ballymena

Mart. We’re targeting a 42-45kg liveweight lamb with a good cover which suits buyers at Ballymena.”

Lamb vigour at birth is another major attraction for the team at Dundarave when it comes to Texels. “Lambs are lively and quick to suck which makes a big difference in the lambing yard,” explains Gareth.

“With the lowland flock scanning at between 180% and 190% most years we’re fairly busy at lambing, so knowing the lambs will sort themselves out is a big plus point,” he adds.

Rams are usually sourced from the Northern Irish National Sale at Ballymena or local Texel sales, with shearlings being the choice for the last few years. “We’re looking for rams with good skins and carcasses while being easy lambing too.

“Those tight skinned Texel cross lambs are the easiest ones to sell whether they go as prime lambs or stores, so we’re careful about ram selection. And while we’re not actively using breeding values to select rams it is certainly something I’m increasingly aware of and it will likely figure in our choices in future.”

Gareth says the budget for rams varies year on year, but the aim is to buy the best rams they can afford. “I’m not tied to buying from any particular breeders, I want to get the best tups available in our price range, picking rams that will suit our ewes.”