![]() ![]() Goals / Objectives Texel sheep are well known for their superior carcass traits, but only in the last decade have researchers discovered enhanced resistance to helminth parasitism. Genetic selection within the Texel breed to improve parasite resistance has the potential to make a long-lasting impact on sheep production in the eastern US. The goal of this project is to manage Texel sheep to generate FEC data and to provide superior breeding stock to producers in the US who aim to capitalize on superior carcass traits and parasite resistance found in Texel sheep. Of the 60 Texel lambs entered into LambPlan™ in 2017 approximately 45% came from WVU. In the past year performance data on the WVU Texel flock has been submitted to LambPlan™ to generate estimated breeding values (EBV) for a variety of traits including fecal egg count (FEC). To be able to accomplish this task requires genetic evaluation tools that have not been previously utilized by Texel breeders in the US. ![]() The value in selecting or enhancing this trait in Texel sheep is to position the breed to become the premier terminal sire breed that has parasite-resistance. In previous studies at WVU, Dorset-Texel crossbred sheep had lower fecal egg counts than Suffolk sheep yet were more similar to known parasite-resistant St. Non Technical Summary Texel sheep are well known for their superior carcass traits, but only in the last decade have researchers discovered enhanced resistance to helminth parasitism. ![]()
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