Big bottomed and blooming

Hugh Winder holds his hands about 20 centimetres apart and looks at the gap between. "The first lambs were about this big funny little fellas," he says with an affectionate chuckle. "I thought, 'Well, we won't be having any more of them'.Then, all of a sudden, they leapt up, dived under mum and latched on to the milk. That was pretty impressive, and when after three weeks their backsides began to grow I started to change my mind. They were okay."He's talking about the first crop of Texel lambs born on his farm at Stanway in Manawatu's rolling hills north of Feilding. It was almost 20 years ago but the memory is still fresh reports The Dom Post. Those first crossbred lambs proved themselves vigorous, hardy and quick growers. As ewes, their innate mothering ability meant they could be left to fend for themselves and their lambs with few losses. The rams were fertile and soon the farm began seeing more twin and triplet births. Texels are noted for two chief attributes having big backsides packed full of muscle and for providing tasty meat. The muscles are courtesy of a gene that does not naturally occur in any other breed. The reason for the tastiness is not so easily defined, but the annual "Glammies" competition to find the tenderest and tastiest lamb leg cuts is dominated by Texels. Fat cover is an important element in taste and the Winders believe the tenderness comes from the Texel's relaxed temperament which some ascribe to its extra intestine length, up to three metres longer than other breeds, and therefore longer digestion time. Trials in Ireland have discovered the Texel to be low in concentrations of saturated fatty acids and high in mono-unsaturated ones.This year, the Winders' Lean Meats lambs are averaging 20 kilograms, fetching more than $100 a head.In trials at Dannevirke, Fairlea's lambs have averaged 59 per cent meat, putting them well into the premium zone. Texel carpet wool is springier and bulkier than other breeds' and this has finally been recognised with a reward for fibre that meets specifications for micron size, length, cleanliness, colour and bulk. In a recent deal between the Texel Breeders Society, yarn makers, carpet makers and retailers, carpets made out of pure Texel wool are being laid in Australian houses. The farmers' premium, so far, is only $1 a kilogram above the auction price, but all parties expect that to improve. The SIL Texel lists are dominated by the government farmer Landcorp, which has thousands more ewes than Fairlea, but a Fairlea ram is ranked second for growth and fifth overall in the terminal list which assesses both meat and growth values. Growth rates in the flock are impressive averaging 300 grams a day in the 80 days from birth to weaning at 28kg average.