Abermax

[chris elk]

Thinking of getting one this time, what are people's thoughts on them , I have a texel at the min but they seem to be very slow to get up to the desired weights. Will they finish off grass alone? I might be tempted with a aberfield too for the maternal side.

 

[TL100]

I can't tell you how they perform but having seen them at Aberystwth there is a lot of variation between the Abermax, some look like Lleyns some like highlanders, some charolais types etc.

Interestingly the 'better looking' terminal ones seemed to have the worst figures. No doubt they wouldn't melt when you got them home and look better sheep all together the following year but you really need a different mindset buying grass fed tups for the first time.

 

[Yale]

I can't tell you how they perform but having seen them at Aberystwth there is a lot of variation between the Abermax, some look like Lleyns some like highlanders, some charolais types etc.

Interestingly the 'better looking' terminal ones seemed to have the worst figures. No doubt they wouldn't melt when you got them home and look better sheep all together the following year but you really need a different mindset buying grass fed tups for the first time.

All that is in them is Charolais x Texel,multiple crossed so they won't really look like much else.

We have sat around the ring and pondered buying one however they make really strong money.

We tried some British Texel this year and have found them not to perform as well as the Charolais,@neilo ,even though they were top 1% of breed however they are for maybe keeping some females from.

 

[chris elk]

This is my worry there very strong money I could buy two texels for one! I'm tempted with a Charolais had one before I just didn't like the wooly heads they threw.

 

[chris elk]

Charolais x texel might be worth a look too.

 

[Cow1]

Charolais x Texel is a great cross carcass wise. The problem I have currently is if using this cross for breeding females, you can sometimes come unstuck as Charolais can sometimes be non maternal. @neilo could probably enlighten us more into getting more maternal traits into the Charolais.

 

[TL100]

All that is in them is Charolais x Texel,multiple crossed so they won't really look like much else.

We have sat around the ring and pondered buying one however they make really strong money.

We tried some British Texel this year and have found them not to perform as well as the Charolais,@neilo ,even though they were top 1% of breed however they are for maybe keeping some females from.

Perhaps there is only charolais and texel blood in them but I was struck by the lack of consistency between them last year.

I considered taking a punt on them but when some of the Elite tups were £1000 plus I left empty handed.

 

[Bob the beef]

Bought 3 Abermax last year. On the whole very pleased with them. Put 1 into aberfield ewe hogs and other 2 into chev mule ewes. The lambs out of the hogs are lovely but were areal struggle to lamb . Not sure how much that was down to the tup or the hogs being in great fettle al winter. Just about to start killing the lambs from the ewes so will see if they have done any better than the texel lambs. One definite point is that they covered more than their fair share is ewes. Far bigger ratio of abermax lambs on the ground than I would have expected. Tips came in from the ewes in great shape too without a bite to eat. I didn't pay £1000 for them though and not convinced they are worth that. On the whole I would say Innovis are pretty sound company and have a great ethos as regards their breeding and selection

 

[neilo]

All that is in them is Charolais x Texel,multiple crossed so they won't really look like much else.

We have sat around the ring and pondered buying one however they make really strong money.

We tried some British Texel this year and have found them not to perform as well as the Charolais,@neilo ,even though they were top 1% of breed however they are for maybe keeping some females from.

Were you surprised?

 

[neilo]

Perhaps there is only charolais and texel blood in them but I was struck by the lack of consistency between them last year.

I considered taking a punt on them but when some of the Elite tups were £1000 plus I left empty handed.

I had a new ram customer last year, who'd been using Abermax rams for several years. He had been very pleased with them but said the bottom end were a lot poorer shaped sheep than they used to be, which meant the better rams were more keenly thought over, and ended up being silly money on their 'bidding' system.

Everyone that I have spoken too that has used them, has said that they don't melt and cover plenty of ewes. That would be as expected for any ram, of any breed, that has been reared on forage rations.

 

[TL100]

@neilo surely you must have more customers than tups with all the good promotional work you do here!

 

[neilo]

@neilo surely you must have more customers than tups with all the good promotional work you do here!

Would you disagree with the comment that guy made about Abermaxs?

My point was that the same could be expected of any ram reared on forage systems, whether that was by Innovis, Meatlinc, Easyram, Exlana, or any number of other breeders that do the same. The not melting and covering lots of ewes is by no means exclusive to those rams badged as Aber******.

 

[TL100]

Would you disagree with the comment that guy made about Abermaxs?

My point was that the same could be expected of any ram reared on forage systems, whether that was by Innovis, Meatlinc, Easyram, Exlana, or any number of other breeders that do the same. The not melting and covering lots of ewes is by no means exclusive to those rams badged as Aber******.

No sorry, my remark was made totally in jest. I fully agree with you.

 

[chris elk]

I'm not worried about maternal side I have the Roussin for that , it's finding something that will finish fast , off grass at good weights . I've been creeping lambs and they seem slow , granted far to much grass that's been topped and not great now due to lack of numbers. Where would people go for a tex x char ? Or am I better buying a pure Charolais and seeing how they compete with the texel. ?

 

[Sidsflock]

Bought 2 Abermax shearlings last year, covered 160 ewes, most lambed within first 21 days outside end march/april, selected on ease of lambing/growth rates & maybe assisted a dozen, a real mix of ewes too. Lambs trying to get up as soon as they were out & sucking within a few minutes. Rams dropped very little if any nick during tupping & really do seem to live on fresh air! sold first 25 lambs live a fortnight ago, mostly singles admittedly avg 38.5 kg made £82 oldest 15 weeks (a twin) off grass alone. & they Looked texely with plenty of shape so sold well live. Will send next lot to slaughter to have a killsheet back to see how well they grade. Would buy them again!

 

[firther]

so who sells grass reared texels these days, any recommendations?

 

[neilo]

so who sells grass reared texels these days, any recommendations?

I've heard good reports on Jim Logan's, who farms up on the borders somewhere I think. He's an Innovis multiplier too, but I'm told his own rams sell even better.

 

[scholland]

I've heard good reports on Jim Logan's, who farms up on the borders somewhere I think. He's an Innovis multiplier too, but I'm told his own rams sell even better.

Yes he has a very good batch of texels and selects and culls very hard. Just forage. He breeds abertex and his own ones. Sells privately and probably at 1 or 2 innovis farm sales. Pirntaton farm.

 

[Bob the beef]

+1 for Jim Logan's sheep. Complete forage system tups very heavily selected, any problem sheep culled at very early stage.

Complete turnaround for Pirntaton who a few years ago were at the top of the tree selling well fed tups at Kelso and pushing bulls on for Perth. Now all stock eat nothing but grass, and whole farm is fenced into paddocks.

 

[scottish-lleyn]

@MGP has a few proper grass fed texel tups ran alongside a large commercial operation just ran as "Normal"sheep not fussed over or pushed i got one off him last year and he continued to grow and fill out with no feed and still fit as a fiddle. Not aber or nz just good british texels selected properly for whats needed on a working farm. Still has about 10 for sale this year i think