Geography: From its origins in Holland the breed is now found in Germany, France, Spain and the UK. History: The breed can be traced back to Roman times and originated on the island of Texel on the north west coast of Holland. Commercial desirability: Predominantly a dairy ewe but can be used as a commercial cross. Geography: From its origins as a parkland breed, the Jacob is now found all over the UK. Geography: Originally spread over the West Country of England, the majority are now settled on Dartmoor, Devon. History: This native Welsh sheep had been specifically bred for the harsh upland environment of Mynydd Epynt, which is a tough environment and a military training ground that requires sheep to remain ‘hefted’ to specific areas of the mountain. The Prince of Wales and Beatrix Potter have been at the forefront of promoting this Lake District icon—a ‘herdwyck’ is an ancient word for sheep pasture—which has a strong hefting tendency. Appearance: Smaller than some of the other downland breeds found in the UK, the Southdown has fine textured white wool over its face, small ears and short legs. It certainly has a je ne sais quoi in the way it peers out from underneath its curly forelock or ‘top- ping’. Geography: The Texel has become increasingly dominant in the UK since its arrival, challenging both native terminal sire breeds and other imports from the continent. Commercial desirability: The Soay & Boreray Sheep Society promotes the breed as intelligent and nimble with excellent mothering ability and good resistance to health problems. Appearance: While there is more than one type of Cheviot sheep to have originated from the Cheviot Hills between Scotland and England, the South Country Cheviot is known for its alert appearance, distinctive white face and legs, and dense white fleece. Appearance: A medium sized sheep with a black and white mottled face and legs and a white fleece. Breed attributes: In additional to producing large amounts of wool, so much in fact that even the lambs can be shorn, Devon & Cornwall Longwoods are hardy sheep with good mothering ability. Appearance: A medium-sized sheep, the Lleyn has white legs, a slender white head with a black nose, and a white fleece. More information on the British Vendeen Sheep Society website. The dense fleece is usually white but a growing number of breeders are specialising in Coloured Ryelands. Two breeds of sheep prevail – or, at least, are noticed by me – in Scotland. The Derbyshire Gritstone Sheep Breeders Society was established in 1906. It is important to remember, however, that the Scottish rough coated Collie was carefully bred for the job of herding sheep in the rugged and daunting terrain of the Scottish Highlands long before the first Scottish Collie Standards were written. The Welsh Mountain Sheep Society (Pedigree Section) focuses on genetic improvement and showing the breed at various agricultural shows and events. Breed attributes: The breed is hardy. Commercial desirability: The Bluefaced Leicester Sheep Breeders Association promotes the breed as being the most popular crossing sire in the British Isles. Commercial desirability: The Devon Closewool Sheepbreeders Society promotes the breed as being docile, easy care and low input, productive and prolific. Commercial desirability: The Welsh Hill Speckled Face Sheep Society promotes the females of the breed as quiet and careful mothers of lambs with vigour that are suitable for the food chain. History: The breed has been bred for generations to thrive in the areas surrounding the Black Mountain of Carmarthenshire, with Llandovery Market being renowned for its autumn sales of breeding females. More on the Rough Fell Sheep Breeders Association website. It made its mark in the UK as a crossing sire on native UK breeds, but Texel Mule and Texel cross females are increasingly popular as breeding females. Commercial desirability: The British Charollais Sheep Society claims the breed is the second most popular terminal sire in the UK, due to the excellent fleshing qualities and growth in prime lambs. The Ryeland Flock Book Society was established in 1903. They make great family pets and are easy to care for. The Oxford Down Sheep Breeders Association was established in 1889. The fleece forms a ‘ruff’ behind the ears and males are sometimes horned. Both rams and ewes are naturally polled. They are broad, strong animals. These are passed to Mule sheep when then Border Leicester is crossed with a hill breed. It is likely that the breed developed in the border area of Scotland and England. Many types of Mule sheep in the UK are the result of crossing a hill breed to the Bluefaced Leicester, meaning its genes are found in every corner of the country. A little known fact about Highland breeders is that they don't call their herd a herd. It has a white fleece. History: The Masham is a crossbred sheep so the mother is always a Dalesbred and the father is always a Teeswater. Geography: The Ryeland is found is many lowland areas of the UK, finding huge popularity with smallholders in more recent years. From shop CascadeSterling. Breeder selection means only 10% of rams now have horns, while females are always without horns. Commercial desirability: The Hebridean Sheep Society promotes the ability of females to rear twin lambs, even under less than ideal conditions, saying that when crossed with a meat-producing breed, lambs grow quickly and reach their mother’s weight in a few months. Appearance: With no wool on its head, the blue-grey skin of the Bleu du Maine gives it a very distinct appearance. Appearance: Within the range of Cheviot sheep breeds, there are three types of North County Cheviot – the Caithness, Hill and Border. This abundance of choice has enabled British farming to establish a superior ‘stratified’ breeding system that blends the toughness, agility and motherliness of shaggy hill sheep, such as Swaledales and Herdwicks, with more prolific-breeding upland strains— Bluefaced Leicester or Devon and Cornwall longwool, perhaps—and then matches those offspring with a terminal sire (meat-quality improver) from a chunky, fast-maturing lowland breed such as the Suffolk, Romney, Clun Forest or Dorset Down. History: The Brecknock Hill Cheviot was established in the Brecon Beacons 400 years ago, descended from the early border Cheviot. History: The Bluefaced Leicester evolved from a breeding scheme in Northern England in the 19th century, hence it sometimes being known as the ‘Hexham Leicester’. Lambs have a good carcase shape and weight for the food chain. Appearance: A medium sized sheep, the Devon Closewool has a white face with black nostrils and a dense white fleece. The fleece also varies in quality, from soft fine wool to coarse hairy fibres and mixtures in between. The fleece is white and rams have large horns. The females are long-lived and easy lambing. History: The Norfolk Horn is thought to be one of the oldest breeds in Britain, descended from the ancient Saxon black faced sheep once prevalent in northern Europe and established in the UK in the 13th century. Females are always polled (without horns) but males can be polled or horned. Commercial desirability: The Talybont Welsh Sheep Society promotes the breed for its maternal qualities when crossed and terminal sire qualities when kept pure, with lambs being heavier than other types of purebred Welsh mountain sheep. Both genders are horned. Commercial desirability: The British Rouge Sheep Society promotes the breed as being good for breeding stock and prime lamb production, having ‘meat in all the right places’. Numbers plunged dramatically as manmade fibres took over, but, in 1966, the efforts of hobby farmers, plus major breeder William Garne of Aldsworth, brought about a resurgence. The pink head and ears are small and the eyes distinctively large. Geography: From its origins in South West England, the breed is found throughout the UK, mainly as the Poll Dorset type. Oxford lamb has excellent eating quality, with flavour and tenderness greatly enhanced by a degree of marbling. Once the breed was exported to Australia in the early 20th century, it was crossed with a variety of breeds to create the Poll Dorset. The sheep have become popular with small-holders—despite their feral We have mid-size mini and micro mini Scottish Highlands. The breed standard requires males and females to not have horns. While many terminal sire breeds have been imported into the UK from the continent, this was one of the first hill breeds. The British Charollais Sheep Society was established the year after with the role of further developing the breed for UK farmers. It has found favour amongst producers that want to buy breeding stock based on performance data. Commercial desirability: The Swaledale Sheep Breeders Association promotes the breed as bold, hardy and well fitted to endure the hardships of exposed and high lying situations. Welsh Sheep Society promotes the females as having a strong maternal characteristics and is known predominantly a dairy but. 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