dogandstick
Member
- Location
- on the horizon
Does anyone know what drove breeders to produce the bigger heads in the first place? And the peelers?
Texels with big heads
- Thread starter texelburger
- Start date
dogandstick
Member
- Location
- on the horizon
Once they existed, yes, but what made them create that type before they knew every Tom, Dick and Harry would buy them?
- Location
- Dumfries & Galloway
Peelers are supposed to have better bodies/conformation and leave tighter skinned lambs...
No sure the reasoning behind big heids - but in the show ring heads are always important
No sure the reasoning behind big heids - but in the show ring heads are always important
With the heads it was a gradual process. Consistent premium over time for that type. ET sped up the process. There’s some evidence of pushback. Heavy headed truffle hunters have definitely gone out of fashion.
Peelers were driven by commercial buyers in Skipton giving a premium for shearlings with open necks, John Mellin judging in Ireland and buying a peeler Castleknowe Matchmaker for 30,000gns to breed them, causing what had been a fault taking off as a desired trait.
I reckon they did when it turned up at random. But when they started chasing just the peel it wasn’t as strong an indicator.
dogandstick
Member
- Location
- on the horizon
Is there any correlation between the oversized heads and the Texel throat syndrome?
- Location
- Dumfries & Galloway
No - that's linked to short necks
dogandstick
Member
- Location
- on the horizon
Do the oversized heads tend to have short necks?
- Location
- Dumfries & Galloway
Not all of them but some do. The neck is a different trait bred/selected for...
Big head and short neck also both contribute to more lambing difficulties
Blindside06
Member
Half the bother is you get folk trying to buy hill tups at Lanark, Stirling and Newton(Ayr) stuffed to hell. Only genuine hill tups will be at Dalmally and Fort William, and as keenly bid for as their stuffed wooly counterparts by those who know. Been a marked improvement in horn over the last few years but still a good bit of work to be done.It's getting hard to keep them alive long enough to tup the hill ewes
Then to sell the offspring you MUST invest in a set of these
View attachment 1069777
Wind farm money has an awful lot to answer for
- Location
- Herefordshire
I think,generally,they do so maybe a higher incidence of Texel throat.
Used to get good Northumberland types that had a chance of surviving a hill and made a good cross with smaller Lanark type ewes, but they're getting hard to find now too
Dalmally definitely taking over from what's become the fashion parade at Lanark
Well to show what we are up against! a few years ago a French judge was asked to officiate at the Highland, he chose a good sound but commercial type, and the comment from ringside? by one of the golden circle who produces heads to die for (at least the ewe will) what? that's a fecking giraffe.
I'd agree with that. Big head tends to be found on a short neck and significantly higher risk of texel throat.
Big heads are definitely a problem within the breed but I honestly think that fashion has less influence than it previosly did and tup breeders have enough diversity within the breed to select for good commercial traits over what's in fashion. Just have to be selective with where to source stock rams.
Getting caught up in the fashion is a risky way to spend money to me. Alot of the breeders following the fashion spend big money on ET and maybe sell a couple of lambs for 4 figures (Boosting their ego)....where are the rest of their tup lambs....either away to the abattoir or the bottom end of the commercial sales because they are absolutely woeful. Annoys me a bit that people think this the way to go to climb the ladder over focusing more on commercial traits but the market drives it in fairness.
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, I think the comment referred to the shearling ram, but if that was a pug to you and still a giraffe to someone else, my, it must have been some sheep.
No, when the man who made the giraffe comment judged he picked a pug
- Location
- Essex
This is such a sad read.
I don't think it is. There will probably be some of "the big boys" of the pedigree world on here and will realise that some people are laughing at them behind their backs and may make them have a think about the bigger picture. If they are that good at their job surely they can have courage in choices.