In a market where Beltex and Texels dominate the prime lamb ring on a weekly basis, alternative continental breeds such as Blue Texels, Dutch Spotted and Badgerface Texels have soared in recent years due to their easy lambing abilities and matched carcase traits.

It is these qualities, coupled with a deep-rooted passion for the breeds that has led Co Durham-based breeder, Henry Jewitt, to enjoy success in the show and sale rings with his much-loved sheep finding their place among top pedigree and commercial flocks.

Henry farms 325 acres at Gracies Farm, which is home to the Sunnybank pedigree flock comprising 20 Badgerface Texels, 20 Dutch Spotted and 40 Blue Texels, as well as a herd of 15 pure-bred British Blue cattle along with recipient cows carrying embryos and one pedigree Limousin heifer – which is the maternal sister to the 250,000gns Wilodge Posh Spice.

Having worked with various breeds over the years, Henry is a keen advocate of the continental breeds and firmly believes that they are the sheep of the future.

“The continental sheep suit the system here at Gracies Farm. They all have great carcase qualities and the aim is to produce sheep that suit not only pedigree flocks, but can leave their mark within the commercial market as well,” commented Henry.

Before the recent move into Badgerface Texels and Dutch Spotted sheep, Henry mainly worked with Blue Texels, having founded his Sunnybank flock back in 2013, with the purchase of 10 females from Belgium.

“Our foundation females were purchased and imported from the Werbrouck family to kick start the original flock. We also bought in genetics from leading UK flocks including Beili Blues, Boyo, Corra, Hackney, Millside and Whatmore to name a few – which have all contributed to the quality of stock now present here today,” said Henry.

Having witnessed growing demand in Europe and discovering a niche market for the breed within the UK, Henry made the move into Badgerface Texels in 2018 following the importation of 20 females from Holland and Belgium, where a small select number of elite and proven ewes and stock rams were purchased.

However, it wasn’t until 2020 that Henry founded his Sunnybank Dutch Spotted flock with seven females from David Roberts’ Boyo flock, based in Leasowes, Kenley, along with other leading females and select importations from Holland.

When it comes to introducing new bloodlines, Henry has high standards when selecting a potential addition.

“In recent years we have invested heavily in securing new genetics to take the flock to the next stage, and our policy is to breed sheep to fit the commercial market that have carcase, correctness, style, and skins – all attributes that will produce top quality lambs to suit the needs of the butcher,” he explained.

“We import new genetics annually from Holland and Belgium, which I believe is key to providing the UK breeding pool with new bloodlines, as well as developing unique bloodlines within our own flocks.”

Within the Blue Texels, the 25,000gns Whatmore Emale ram – purchased in August, 2020 – has proved one of Henry’s best buys having left top quality progeny behind him which are now coming to the fore, whilst the Hackney Yoko ewe has produced progeny to £5000.

Another exciting addition is the recently purchased Hackney Cashmaker, which was bought for a new breed record of 26,000gns in January and is scanned carrying twins to the home-bred Sunnybank Exchange Rate.

Three further Blue Texel females that Henry is also looking forward to breeding with include the 22,000gns Whatmore Eccles, the 12,000gns Hackney Crikey and the 8000gns Hackney Classy – all exceptional sheep that will hopefully produce some potential show and sale stars for the future.

Amongst the Badgerface Texels, Henry’s pick of the rams would be the imported Sunnybank ram (08480–07456), which has proved a consistent breeder and sired the reserve inter-breed pairs and overall breed champion at last year’s Great Yorkshire Show.

“In the Dutch Spotted, I’d have to say Lochlad Dictator is a great breeder. He was initially purchased for his style, skin, carcase and correctness, with his lambs having been impressive up to now,” stated Henry, adding that the recently purchased 11,000gns Diamond Dakota, from Emma Allen and Allan Shortt, was also a great addition to the Sunnybank flock.

Maintaining a high health status is important in any livestock enterprise, and it is something that Henry is looking to continue and improve when it comes to selling stock into other top breeding flocks.

“We fluke and worm our sheep every six weeks just to keep on top of any problems that may occur with the changing weather conditions. We have also been MV-accredited since 2006 and scrapie monitored from 2021, so that our stock can enter other accredited flocks, as well as be exported too. Ewes are also bolused and mineral drenched at lambing time,” explained Henry.

In a bid to allow the production of multiple offspring from elite females, Henry relies on embryo transfer.

“We breed our own recipients with the aim to be self-sufficient in this regard. We retain around 100-150 ewe lambs per year, with any wedder lambs being sold store to a local farm shop, where they are finished,” he said.

“Any that don’t hold their embryos are lambed down commercially to either a New Zealand Suffolk, Lleyn or Dutch Spotted ram.”

Henry uses the expertise and knowledge of D and C Fawcett Sheep Breeding Services, based in Penrith, with around 60 of the flock’s best ewes being flushed annually, with the remainder naturally served. He also relies on the same company for semen collection and freezing, which is stored and then sold throughout the year to other flocks up and down the country.

Prior to flushing, donor females are kept inside and fed a strict low protein, high energy diet with the inclusion of sugar beet, while the recipient ewes which are also housed are supplemented with ewe nuts.

Both lots of sheep remain indoors until lambing in January, February, March and April.

Inside, ewes and their new born lambs are put into individual pens as they lamb, for approximately 24 hours, with lambs rung and then placed into larger mothering pens, where they remain until the weather improves and grass is available. Lambs also have their navels sprayed with iodine at birth.

Weaning begins in May for the early-born lambs, with the later arrivals weaned in June and July depending on age.

When it comes to selecting females for replacements, Henry ensures he is only keeping the best of the best.

“Numbers of retained females vary each year and it’s dependant on the quality and quantity of that specific bloodline as to how many I’ll keep for myself.

“We do try and retain the absolute best and any surplus are sold either through society sales, privately or through our annual production sale – which this year was a huge success.”

Last year’s breed averages for the Blue Texels cashed in at £2000 for 80 sold, whilst 55 Badgerface Texels sold to average £2000 and 50 Dutch Spotted sheep levelled at £2500.

Any stock that does not meet the breeding criteria or have health problems are sold liveweight through Kirkby Stephen market, with all three breeds averaging in excess of 300p per kg in 2021.

Some notable sales for Henry over the past few years include the Badgerface Texel ewe lamb, Sunnybank Cover Girl ET, which topped the flock’s 2021 production sale at 10,000gns, whilst the imported Dutch Spotted shearling ewe, Dark Beauty, was knocked down for 5500gns on the same day.

“In the Blue Texels, we have enjoyed sale success selling rams into many leading UK flocks in the last two years, including Sunnybank Escobar which attained £5000 when selling to the Matts, Derg and Bodney flocks.

“We also sold the ewe lamb, Sunnybank Elgance for 5000gs to the Glan-y-Môr flock, whilst Boyo Chloe made 5500gns at our production sale,” Henry added, pointing out that he liked to attend and support the larger shows across the nation, where he has certainly made his mark in recent years.

“Ewes are fed a special show diet, sourced from Carrs Billington, to get them in show condition. We do attend some local shows, however, it takes a lot of time and effort to get sheep ‘show ready’ so we tend to concentrate on the larger shows including the Royal Highland Show, Three Counties, the Great Yorkshire Show and the Royal Welsh,” he said.

Last year’s Great Yorkshire Show proved a memorable year for the Sunnybank team as Henry scooped the reserve female championship with the Blue Texel ewe lamb, Sunnybank Fancy Pants, whilst his small team of four Badgerface Texels landed the male and female championship, overall and reserve overall, third in the individual inter-breed section and reserve inter-breed pairs.

Adding to an already busy lifestyle, Henry’s Show Winners business – founded in 2014 – also brings in a large slice of income.

“We focus on selling high-end show products that we would use on our own show stock to other breeders, which includes the equine sector as well,” he said.

Commenting on the future of his enterprise and the industry, Henry concluded: “The commercial and pedigree markets have grown significantly for each of the breeds and they are proving to be real competitors against other terminal sires like the Texels and Beltex.

“Looking to the future of my own flock, I aim to continue on improving the quality of my stock leaving the farm gate and seeing Sunnybank genetics in a lot of pedigree flocks in the future.”

FARM facts

Farm – Gracies Farm comprises 325 acres of grassland, where Henry farms alongside his parents, Neil and Elizabeth.

Sheep – Sunnybank pedigree flock of 20 Badgerface Texels, 20 Dutch Spotted and 40 Blue Texels, as well as a herd of 15 pure-bred British Blue cattle.

Lambing – Takes place indoors from January through until April, with 60 of the best ewes flushed for ET.

ON THE spot

Favourite show to attend and why? It has to be the Royal Welsh as it’s a nice week socially and showing.

Best sheep you’ve bred? I've not got a favourite – all the sheep are important. I've had a lot of good ones over the years so it's hard to just pick one.

Best advice you’ve been given for breeding sheep? Just breed the type you like.

Where do you want to be in 2032? Still where I am today but I want to keep improving the stock. A lot can happen in 10 years so we will wait and see!