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The Blue Texel is a colour variant of the 'normal' white Texel sheep. The Blue Texel arised from white Texels who carry the colourfactor 'blue' with them. This factor is a recessive factor.
From a mating of two white Texels who both carry the factor for the blue colour there is a change of 25% that blue lambs are born (so when the genotype of the parents is Bb and Bb (where the B correspond to white and the b to blue), there is a 25% change of a bb (blue) lamb).
This blue lambs are thoroughbred for the colour blue and a mating between a Blue Texel and an other Blue Texel always gives blue lambs.
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Texel sheep evolved as a result of crossbreeding the Dutch polder sheep with several English breeds, such as the Leicester, the Wensleydale and the Lincoln at the beginning of the 20th century. Later, when cross-breeding no longer met the expectations, more influential breeders started breeding their own sheep. The result was a large fast-growing and rich-woolen animal. Today, as a result of efficient selection, the Texel breed has developed into a meat-type sheep of outstanding lean meat quality and has accordingly become increasingly popular amongst Dutch sheep farmers. The Texel ram is used for pure Texel breeding purposes and as sire in the production of slaughter lams in various cross-breeding programs in the Netherlands. The White Texel sheep became one of the most breeded sheep in the Netherlands. However, sometimes a lamb with a different colour was born. Most breeders were very ashamed of this. Is was not until the late seventies that some breeders started with the breeding of this rare coloured sheep: the Blue Texel. As a result of this the Flockbook Blue Texels was founded in 1983. Nowadays there are about 250 breeders in the Netherlands of the Blue Texel.