Texel Sheep Breed – Everything You Need to Know

The Texel is a strong hardy sheep with a sturdy robust build. They are heavily muscled, and the lambs grow relatively fast. They are today quite a popular meat sheep breed in a lot of countries throughout the world including America, Australia, New Zealand and countries in Europe.

TEXEL SHEEP QUICK PROFILE OVERVIEW
The Texel is a medium to large breed with lots of muscle and leanness to their bodies.
Country of Origin:	Netherlands
Other Names:	Texels, Improved Texel, Verbeterde Texelse and Texelaar
Breed Size:	Medium to large
Main Purpose:	Meat but can also produce wool
Can be used for	Breed, **LSC, Meat, Wool
Temperament:	Docile, calm, inquisitive and easy to handle
Ideal Climate:	Heat, Cold, Most climates
Conservation Status:	Not listed by the *ALC Status/Rarity: Common
Health Issues?	No known health issues
Good Starter Sheep?	Novice to intermediate level sheep farmer/keeper
Sheep Associations:	Texel Sheep Breeders Society
Sheep Clubs:	Please refer to the Texel Sheep Breeders Society members/breeders directory listings
Note: ALC stands for American Livestock Conservancy * LSC stands for Landscape Management – the animal is used for controlling various vegetation growth

PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS

The Texel sheep breed has a white-face and head that is clean of wool but has fine hair. The have a short wide face with a black nose. They almost have a perfectly horizontal carriage, clean legs and black hooves.

Color(s):

White or light brown

SHEEP ⇒	EWE	RAM
Breed Weight:	63 to 83 kgs	86 to 108 kgs
Breed Height:	66 cm at withers	75 cm at withers
Hair:	Good length not black fibers and soft to the touch.	Good length not black fibers and soft to the touch
Ears:	Widely placed short alert ears	Widely placed short alert ears
Horns:	No horns	No horns
Matures at age:	10 weeks/15 months or 15 years	10 weeks to 15 months
Puberty Age:	5 to 12 months	5 to 7 months
Breeding Age:	18 months	1 year
Breeding Traits:	1 Breeding cycle per year	Cover 5 to 10 Ewes in 1 season

EWE BREEDING & MILKING INFORMATION
The ewes breed once a year and mostly produce enough milk to wean their lambs. They have excellent mothering instincts and are quite protective over their lambs.
Breeding Period/cycle:	Usually lasts 24 to 36 hours
Estrous cycle:	Ave. 17 days/13 to 19 days
Gestation Period:	Usually, around 150 to 155 days but most gestation is 152 days
No. Lambs/Litter:	1 and on the rare occasion 2 (twins)
Lactation Period:	Usually, around 150 to 240 day but most are milked for 180 days
Milking From:	4 to 6 weeks after lambing
Milk Quality:	Good
Milk Ideal for:	Lambs
You may Also Like:	10 Best Sheep Breeds for Milk

SHEEP MEAT PRODUCTION INFORMATION

The Texel is very popular for its high-quality meat it produces. They have a high dress out percentage with excellent meat to bone ratio. The have lest waste with a succulent well textured meat that has a unique full flavor of its own. The meat is in demand by butchers and consumers alike as the meat is lean and does not leave a fatty taste in the mouth. It also tends to take less time to cook the meat. Lambs can weigh up to 44 kgs at 24 weeks old.

Meat Production:

Yes, Quality: Premium grade meat

SHEEP ⇒	LAMB	HOGGET/MUTTON
Approx. Maturity Weight:	58 kgs	79 Kgs

SHEEP WOOL PRODUCTION INFORMATION

The Texel wool is of a medium grade wool and is becoming quite rare to come by these days as the Texel sheep breed is being used mainly for its meat.

Wool Production?

Yes

Wool is used to Produce:

It is used mainly for knitting wools, hosiery yarn and on occasion futons or high-quality carpets. Spinning score of 46s to 56s.

SHEEP ⇒	EWE	RAM
Age they Produce from:	6 to 8 months	6 to 8 months
Approx. Length:	8 to 15 cm	8 to 15 cm
Microns:	32 to 40	32 to 40
Approx. Quantity:	From 3.5 kg to 5.5 kg year	From 3.5 kg to 5.5 kg year

GOOD TO KNOW
A few more interesting facts to know about the breed
Child-Friendly?	Children should not be left unattended around livestock
Landscape Management?	They are well versed at landscape management
Where to buy them?	Please refer to the Texel Sheep Breeders Society members/breeders directory listings
General Information:	The Texel sheep breed is one of the most dominant sheep breeds in Europe due to its excellent quality lean meat. Texel rams are used as sires to improve meat production and quality of various sheep breeds. The Texel sheep breeds can withstand incredibly harsh conditions and environments including that of the harsh winter climates of Scotland.

HISTORY

On the Dutch Island of Texel farmers noted that there was a breed of sheep that gained weight rapidly without having to eat much.
This factor encouraged the farmers to start exploiting this characteristic and they started to cross breed these sheep and thus the Texel sheep was developed.

Sheep breeds such as the Leicester Longwool breed and the Lincoln breed of sheep were crossed with the Texel in the mid 1800’s. The emphasis for developing this breed was put on developing a sheep breed that produced a heavily muscled lamb for superior meat quality and a low propensity for fat disposition.

The Texel was first imported to the United States in 1985 by the Meat Animal Research Center at the Clay Center Nebraska. They were quarantined for five years before some were released and privately sold. Since then there have been quite a few breeders in the United States that have privately imported the Texel Sheep breed.