The Irish Texel Sheep Society has announced that there will be over 300 rams on offer at its 2022 premier sale on Saturday, August 13, at Blessington Mart.  

As the demand for the Texel breed has continued to grow over the years, the society has decided to increase the size of the sale to accommodate both rams and ewes.

Due to the increased size of the sale, the society moved the sale start time forward to 10:00a.m.

All rams and ewes will be inspected by the society and a vet on Friday, August 12, before the sale. The show will be held on Friday at 1:00p.m, followed by the ewe sale which will begin at 6:30p.m.

There will be a large selection of hogget and ram lambs available to purchase, that will suit any commercial farmer, at the premier sale.

Online bidding will also take place through MartEye. Transport for purchased sheep can be arranged to all counties for online buyers through the MartEye app.

To view the premier show and sale 2022 online catalogue, click here.

Additionally, a complimentary BBQ will be provided on Friday from 3:00p.m for all spectators who are welcome to attend.

Christopher O’Neill is a sheep and suckler farmer based in Castlemaine, Co. Kerry, who runs the farm with his father and brother.

Their farm mainly consists of 300 Texel-cross ewes, but they also have 32 suckler cows and 40 dairy bull calves.

The O'Neills operate a spring-lambing system where they begin lambing during the first week of January and finish around February 20. Their flock is then ready for culling when lamb factory prices are highest.

In the video below, Christopher said that he only uses Texel rams on his cross-bred ewes as the breed is "a limited edition".

Discussing his decision on choosing Texel rams, Christopher said: "Ticks every box for us - you have a lamb at light weight that will graze, and you have a lamb that's hardy at birth.

"We're open to all the elements here. We get harsh weather in January and February so what we find is that the Texel can be left out in that harsh climate and there isn't much molly-coddling with the Texel ram or lamb.

When selecting rams for his breeding season, Christopher always selects hogget rams. He said: "I go for a ram with plenty of length, plenty of carcass, and plenty of muscle. I usually buy Texel hogget rams off a Texel breeder, and I buy them privately."

Christopher has truly seen the benefits the breed has brought to his farm. Discussing these benefits.

"The last number of years, I find that the hogget ram suits my system here on the farm because we sponge all the ewes," he said.

"We sponges them in batches of one hundreds, and I usually leave ten rams off with those hundred ewes.

"I find the Texel ram very vigorous. You'd know it at scanning when there doesn't be a whole pile of repeats from the Texel rams."

On his farm, Christopher aims to keep three-quarter bred Texel breeding ewes in his flock. Each year, he selects fifty of the top ewe lambs in the flock for future breeding purposes.

Explaining why he maintains a three-quarter bred Texel breed, Christopher said: "We find that the more pure bred Texel you go, the better confirmation you have in your lamb for the factory.

Christopher explains that his preferance for the Texel breed is due to the fact that he is killing his lambs at 12-weeks of age off-grass. Christopher puts this fast growth rates down to the Texel's mothering abilities.

He said: "They're a fantastic sheep - they've got milk, they're hardy, they get up, they look after their lamb, they leave their lamb suck, they go out in the field, they eat grass.

For further information on the show and sale, or to request a catalogue, contact the Irish Texel Sheep Society on: 087 3411 913.

To view the premier show and sale 2022 online catalogue, click here.

Or for further information on the Irish Texel Sheep Society, click here.