TWEED, GREY PEEL & ETTRICK Flocks - Harrison & Hetherington

31Dispersal Sale of the Adult Female Section of the FlockGREY PEEL TEXELSMESSRS HARDY-BISHOPForewordFollowing further complications with my artificial hip and the pin snapping, the continuedrunning of the flock and therefore the farm is proving too problematical. Therefore my wifeand I are dispersing the Grey Peel flock completely. Initially the adult female portion of theflock is being sold in lamb to quality tups followed by the sale of the 2012 lamb crop asshearlings at the end of 2013.The Grey Peel flock was founded in 2001 following the loss, due to foot and mouth inCumbria, of the Marton House flock which was just at the start of a major developmentprogramme to produce high conformation, high quality and performance animals.Performance recording was originally started with the Marton House flock in 1998 within-flock recording and followed in 1999 with across flock recording as part of Elite TexelSires (ETS).The Grey Peel Flock is among the highest recorded flocks within the Texel breed. Mostof the females offered are in the top 5% or 10% of the Texel Flock with quite a numberover 300 of an Index and a number being in the top 1% of the Texel Flock. This istopped by Grey Peel HMF1000006 at 425 being the 8th. highest adult female in thenational Texel flock with an accuracy of 79% which is high for a ewe.The general mating selection for the ewes has been made on the basis of the Fat levelEBV to lower the positive or negative fat level of the offspring closer to zero.A high conformation, quality, performance programme has been the basis for the creationof Grey Peel Texels. To achieve this 4 quality stock ewes were purchased from the notedEttrick, Grougfoot and East Middle Flocks and embryos were also taken out of two ewesfrom the Stonefieldhill Flock to ensure that GREY PEEL TEXELS is MV & EAE accredited.Initially the better ewes and gimmer shearlings were used in flushing programmesproducing a number of ET lambs.The flock is Maedi-Visna & EAE accredited and on the Heptavac P Plus system with alladults in addition receiving an Ovivac P booster in early July each year. It is recommendedthat all should be given a Heptavac P Plus booster before lambing.All animals are given a combined Selenium and Cobalt bolus twice a year. The ewes areall due their pre lambing Selenium and Cobalt bolus and it is highly recommended that thisis done. Scabivax Forte has also been employed on the farm previously and the ewes haveNOT been inoculated with it this time so that the virus would not be introduced on to apurchasers holding. Purchasers are therefore asked to consider if this would be neededfor their operation.