(Editor ʼs note:A Breed Apart is a recurring column devoted to exploring rarer breeds of sheep.)

By Carol Howe

The Texel breed originated in the Isle of Texel off the coast of the Netherlands in the 19th century as a short-tailed sheep.Limited crossings with Lincolns and Leicester Longwools happened during the mid-1800s to give us the current Texel sheep.

What these breeders of the 1800s wanted was a sheep that would lamb out heavily-muscled lambs of exceptional eating quality.The main market for Texels in the 1800s was continental Europe.Excess fat was frowned upon so breeders also needed sheep with very low fat deposits.The Texel fit this bill.

The Texel appeared in the United States in 1985,being imported by the Meat Animal Research Center in Nebraska.After a five-year quarantine,animals became available to individuals for breeding purposes.A few U.S.breeders have chosen to do private importing.

The present Texel has a white face,with no wool on the head or legs.Both sexes are polled,and the breed has a short,wide face with a black nose.The Texel ʼs ears are wide set,nearly horizontal.The Texel has black hooves.

For a primarily meat breed,the Texel ʼs wool is halfway decent.It is a medium grade,with no black fibers.A mature fleece weighs between 8 and 12 pounds,with a staple of 3-6 inches.The quality of the wool is between 46 and 56.It does,however,have very little luster and contains a fair amount of kemp.The wool is used for hosiery,yarns, and knitting wools.

The Texel ʼs main feature,however,is its amazing muscle development and leanness.Research from two Midwestern facilities shows that Texel-sired lambs have a 6-10 percent advantage in their loin-eye area,compared to American black-face sired lambs. It is not uncommon for Texel breeders to routinely scan (ultrasound) loin eyes. A 4-inch loin eye is not abnormal,with 5-inch loin eyes showing up on occasion.

In comparison with black-faced lambs Texel lambs show one full leg score advantage.Texel lambs also have less total carcass fat.In the studies,Texel lambs gain slower than the black-faced lambs;however,their feed ef ficiency is better.Texels required approximately 15 pounds less feed than black-faced lambs to generate 60 pounds of gain.

The Texel is the most prevalent breed in the Netherlands,but it is also the dominant terminal-sire breed in Europe.It has a market share in the United Kingdom almost equal to that of the Suffolk. The desire for Texel is growing in both Australia and New Zealand, as wool production declines and there is a demand for more lamb meat production.The Texel is also found in Canada,Germany, France and the United States.