Texel
The Texel breed comes from the Isle of Texel off the north coast of Holland. They are also known to have existed in the North Sea coastal areas of Europe for centuries. They were introduced into Australia from Denmark and Finland via New Zealand in 1993.
The Texel is now expanding both its stud and commercial base throughout Southern Australia. It is a well-developed, evenly proportioned, heavily muscled lean sheep. It is being used as a sire of first-cross ewes or as a terminal sire over crossbred ewes to achieve large, commercially targeted, lean lambs. The Texel is noted for its high fertility and its ability to produce excellent milking off grass. Its fleece is reasonably bulky with a good length staple of approximately 100mm and a fibre micron diameter in the low 30s. Texels are heavily involved in performance recording through LAMBPLAN®.
Further information is available from:
The Australian Texel Stud Breeders’ Association
GPO Box 75B
Melbourne VIC 3001
www.texel.org.au
