Irish Blue Texel Society gears up for 2nd annual sale this weekend

The Irish Blue Texel Society is gearing up for its second annual show and sale this Saturday (August 29) at The Showgrounds, Carrick-On-Shannon, Co. Leitrim.

The show is set to begin at 10:30am, while the sale is due to kick off at 1:00pm.

In total, there will be 75 lots on offer, which are broken up into shearling rams and ewes and ewe lambs and ram lambs.

A breakdown of what will be on offer on the day is listed (below).

Speaking ahead of the sale, Philip Crowe of the Irish Blue Texel Society said: “The Blue Texel breed – which originated in Holland – has grown here at home in Ireland and abroad massively over the last few years.

“I breed them here at home in Co. Cavan and I have been very happy with how they have performed.

They are an easy-lambing breed, that produce ‘uniquely’ hardy lambs. They also have the ability to improve the carcase traits of more plainer maternal-type breeds.

“Farmers that breed Blue Texels, including myself, find that the lambs grow quickly and we have seen lambs killing out very well.

“The females are medium-sized and are very fertile. Like I said, they are easy to lamb and ‘milk well’.

“In terms of the males, they are very robust, active and fertile. They are well able to handle a large number of ewes, which is what farmers are looking for in a ram.

“In terms of what will be on offer this Saturday, there is going to be a great mix of British, Belgian and Dutch bloodlines.

“The sheep that will be on offer this weekend are bred on farms that have imported some of the best genetics from the UK and Europe since the breed was introduced here seven years ago.

“In terms of the society itself, we have seen our membership grow from zero to 50 in the space of two years.

“Not only the society, but the breed itself is growing in popularity, due to a number of reasons, like I have already mentioned. There is also a growing interest among commercial breeders for Blue Texels, which is great to see.”