Types of Sheep

Also Known By: American Tunis The Tunis is one of the oldest breeds indigenous to the United States. It is a medium-sized meat-type sheep characterized by creamy wool, copper-red colored faces & legs, pendulous ears, and minor fat deposits over the dock area.

Awassi sheep can be kept under a wide range of production systems, from nomadic flocks relying on natural pasture in semi-arid areas where lamb production is the primary products, to intensive dairy flocks where milk and lambs contribute almost equally to the flock gross income, and it is known for its hardiness and adaptability.

The Badger Face Welsh Mountain (Welsh Defaid Idloes [ˈdevaɪd ˈɪdlɔɪs]; also known as Badger Faced Welsh Mountain or Welsh Badger-faced) is a distinct variety of the Welsh Mountain breed of domestic sheep bred for Sheep farming in Wales.

The Barbados Blackbelly Sheep Association International (BBSAI) is the international registry for Barbados Blackbelly sheep and American Blackbelly sheep.

Like other Welsh Mountain sheep it is found mainly on the hills in Wales, but is also kept elsewhere. The worldwide population of Black Welsh Mountain sheep is approximately 10000. A breeders' society for Black Welsh Mountain Sheep was formed in 1920 at the Smithfield Show.

The Blackhead Persian (also known as Swartkoppersie) is a fat-tailed breed of domestic sheep from Africa.The sheep is originally from Somalia (the Somali inhabited areas of the Horn of Africa) and a direct descendant of the Somali sheep.

The Border Leicester is a British breed of sheep. It is a polled, long-wool sheep and is considered a dual-purpose breed as it is reared both for meat and for wool. The sheep are large but docile. They have been exported to other sheep-producing regions, including Australia and the United States.

The Cheviot is a distinctive white-faced sheep, with wool-free head and legs, pricked ears, black muzzle and black feet. It is a very alert, active sheep, with a stylish, lively carriage. The Cheviot is a long-wool breed, hornless and of reasonable frame.

The Clun Forest is a breed of domestic sheep originating from the area surrounding the Clun Forest in Shropshire, England. Similar to many of the British breeds of upland sheep, Clun Forest are hardy, adaptable, good foragers, and are long–lived.

Columbia sheep were developed by the United States Department of Agriculture as a true breeding type to replace cross breeding on the range. In 1912, rams of the long wool breeds were crossed with high quality Rambouillet ewes to produce large ewes yielding more pounds of wool and more pounds of lamb.

The Coopworth breed of sheep was developed by a team of scientists at Lincoln College (now Lincoln University) in Canterbury, New Zealand, to increase lambing percentages of Romney ewes when mated with Border Leicester rams.

The Corriedale is a dual-purpose sheep. It is large-framed, polled with good carcass quality. Although its role has traditionally been to produce premium lambs when mated to sires of meat breeds, the Corriedale is now achieving comparative performance rates with purebred lambs.

After 1825, Cotswold breeders started to select sheep for larger size, a part of which the breed had lost, and for heavier fleeces. The Cotswold in the United States and Canada. The first Cotswold imported into the United States of which there is a record was brought over in 1832.

Delaine Merino is of medium size. Mature ewes with full fleece average from 125 to 180 pounds. Rams are larger ranging in weight from 175 to 235 pounds. Greater size can be achieved, but is not sought after because it often leads to the production of rangy, long-legged individual with harsh, coarse, short-fibered wool. Breeders are more concerned with producing maximum weight of long, dense, fine fibered fleeces on the backs of smooth sheep of medium size compared to extreme size.

The Dorper is a South African breed of domestic sheep developed by crossing Dorset Horn and the Blackhead Persian sheep. The breed was created through the efforts of the South African Department of Agriculture to breed a meat sheep suitable to the more arid regions of the country.

The Dorset Down is a breed of sheep native to the Dorset Downs region of England. It originated in the early 19th century from crosses of local and Hampshire ewes with Southdown rams. The breed is not closely related to the Dorset (a.k.a. Dorset Horned), which is a white-faced sheep.

(The Dorset's is white.) The Portland, is a smaller, primitive Dorset breed that takes its name from the Isle of Portland and was once common all over Dorset, with a dressed weight of 10 lbs. per quarterper cent. The Dormer is a crossbreed of Dorset Horn rams and Merino ewes.

The East Friesian is a breed of dairy sheep originating from East Frisia in northern Germany. It is either the best or one of the best sheep breeds in terms of milk yield per ewe.

The Finnish Landrace, Finn or Finnsheep is a breed of domestic sheep native to Finland. It is one of several Northern European short-tailed sheep breeds, but is notable for its high incidence of multiple births – it is common for a ewe to have three, four, or even five lambs at once.

The Hampshire or Hampshire Down is a breed of sheep which originated around 1829 from a cross of Southdowns with the Old Hampshire breed, the Wiltshire Horn, and the Berkshire Nott, all horned, white-faced sheep — these were native to the open, untilled, hilly stretch of land known as the Hampshire Downs.

Elisha Gootwine, a sheep expert at the Israeli Agriculture Ministry, says that the resemblance of a British breed to the Bible story is a coincidence, that the breed was not indigenous to ancient Israel, and that "Jacob Sheep are related to Jacob the same as the American Indians are related to India".

Katahdin Sheep work very well in a variety of production situations as a low-maintenance, easy care sheep. Katahdins have generated a great deal of interest from all parts of North America.

Kerry Hill sheep The Kerry Hill (Welsh: Dafad Bryniau Ceri) is a breed of domestic sheep originating in the county of Powys in Wales. It derives its name from the village of Kerry (Ceri), near Newtown.

The Leicester Longwool is listed as threatened by the Livestock Conservancy. The Leicester Longwool Sheep Breeders Association was founded to improve and enhance the breed of Leicester Longwool Sheep and to promote the interests of the Leicester Longwool Sheep Breeders.

Lincoln Longwool article from SpinOff magazine A Brief History of Lincoln Longwool Sheep Long-wool sheep appear to have ancestry from white-fleeced sheep imported to England from the European continent during the Roman occupation. Evidence of this body-type of sheep with

The Manx Loaghtan is a small, primitive sheep, one of the rare breeds of sheep on the watch list of the Rare Breeds Survival Trust. The breed originates from the prehistoric short-tailed breeds of sheep found in isolated parts of North West Europe where they survived because they were not replaced by more developed breeds.

Merino, breed of fine-wool sheep originating in Spain; it was known as early as the 12th century and may have been a Moorish importation. It was particularly well adapted to semiarid climates and to nomadic pasturing. The breed has become prominent in many countries worldwide.

The Navajo-Churro breed is considered a rare breed. The gene pool is presently large enough to maintain the breed type with the diversity of available unrelated lines.

Ouessant Sheep Breed Information The Ouessant (pronounced: Ushant) sheep breed is a breed of domestic sheep which is named for the island where it originated. The island of Ouessant is a small piece of land located just off the coast of Brittany, France and until early in the 20th century the Ouessant sheep breed could only be found on this small island.

The Perendale is a breed of sheep developed in New Zealand by Massey Agricultural College (now Massey University) for use in steep hill situations. The breed is named after Sir Geoffrey Peren, and it achieves its aims by being the offspring of Romney ewes and Cheviot rams with sturdy legs.

Polwarth is a breed of sheep that was developed in Victoria (Australia) during 1880. They were of one-quarter Lincoln and three-quarters Merino bloodlines. They are large, predominantly polled sheep with long, soft, quite fine wool and produce good meat carcasses.

Recently Polypay breeding stock have been exported to South America. Polypay sheep and their breeders continue to work hard to live up to their motto: "Tomorrow's Sheep Today". Polypay sheep and their breeders continue to work hard to live up to their motto: "Tomorrow's Sheep Today".

The Rambouillet is the largest of fine wool sheep. The breed has a white face and white legs. The face covering of wool is rather heavy, even to the extent of causing wool blindness in some specimens, but selective mating has alleviated this problem.

The Romanov sheep are from the Volga Valley, northwest of Moscow. Genetically unique to North American and British breeds of sheep, the Romanov (a "pure gene" - not a "cross" of anything) used on traditional ewes, will produce a "hybrid" - high performance ewe for the flock of the future and a top gaining market lamb.

The Romney, formerly called the Romney Marsh sheep but generally referred to by the local farmers as the Kent, is a breed of sheep originating in England. The Romney is a "long-wool" breed recognized in England by 1800.

Ryeland sheep in winter, Suffolk, England Ryeland sheep The Ryeland is one of the oldest English sheep breeds going back seven centuries when the monks of Leominster in Herefordshire bred sheep and grazed them on the rye pastures, giving them their name.

The Scottish Blackface is the most common breed of domestic sheep in the United Kingdom. This tough and adaptable breed is often found in the more exposed locations, such as the Scottish Highlands or roaming on the moors of Dartmoor.

The Shetland is a small, wool-producing breed of sheep originating in the Shetland Isles, but is now also kept in many other parts of the world. It is part of the Northern European short-tailed sheep group, and it is closely related to the extinct Scottish Dunface.

The Shropshire breed of domestic sheep originated from the hills of Shropshire, and North Staffordshire, England, during the 1840s.The breeders in the area used the local horned black-faced sheep and crossed them with a few breeds of white-faced sheep (Southdown, Cotswold, and Leicester).

The Soay sheep is a breed of domestic sheep (Ovis aries) descended from a population of feral sheep on the 100-hectare (250-acre) island of Soay in the St Kilda Archipelago, about 65 kilometres (40 mi) from the Western Isles of Scotland.

The South African Meat Merino sheep is a breed of domestic sheep originating in South Africa. Today it is a common breed of sheep and found throughout the world. Despite the name, the breed is a dual-purpose animal and raised for both meat and wool production.

The Southdown is a small, dual-purpose English sheep, raised primarily for meat. The Southdown breed was originally bred by John Ellman of Glynde, near Lewes, East Sussex, about 200 years ago.

The St Croix (Saint 'Croy') is a breed of domestic sheep native to the U.S. Virgin Islands and named for the island of Saint Croix. They are often also called Virgin Island White because those that were imported into North America were selected for white coloration.

Suffolk. History The original Suffolks were the result of crossing Southdown rams on Norfolk Horned ewes. Apparently the product of this cross was a great improvement over either one of the parents. Although the Suffolk was a recognized breed as early as 1810, the flock book was not closed until much later.

Swaledale Sheep Breeders Association Latest News . As members will see when they receive their A.G.M. Agenda a mistake has been made. Item 12 should read Mr M Hutchinson NOT Mr R Hutchinson.

The Targhee sheep breed was created by the U.S Sheep Experiment Station in Dubois, Idaho in 1926 - making the Targhee one of the youngest sheep breeds in the United States. The Targhee sheep breed is a combination of the Columbia, Corriedale and Rambouillet - all white-faced sheep breeds known for their production.

The Texel is a breed of domestic sheep originally from the island of Texel in the Netherlands. A heavily muscled sheep, it produces a lean meat carcass and will pass on this quality to crossbred progeny.

The South Wales Mountain is similar to other Welsh Mountains, but is rather larger. It is white, with tan markings on legs and face, and a brown collar. Uses. The Welsh Mountain sheep is a dual-purpose breed and is the foundation of the Welsh sheep industry.

The Wensleydale is a breed of domestic sheep that originated in the Wensleydale region of North Yorkshire, England Possessing a blue–grey face, the breed was developed in the 19th century by crossing English Leicester and Teeswater sheep.

The Wiltshire Horn is a breed of domestic sheep originally from Wiltshire in southern England raised for meat. The breed is unusual amongst native British breeds, for it has the unusual feature of moulting its short wool and hair coat naturally in spring, alleviating the need for shearing.