Breads Of Sheep Flashcards
◼ Fine Wool
◼ Medium Wool
◼ Long Wool
◼ Crossbred Wool
◼ Carpet Wool
◼ Fur Sheep
Classes of sheep by wool type
◼ the “backbone” of the American
Sheep Industry, forming the
foundation of most western
range flocks and raised
throughout the United States.
The Rambouillet descends
entirely from the Spanish Merino.
◼ a dual purpose sheep, producing
a desirable carcass and good fine
wool.
Rambouillet
◼ large sized, rugged and long-lived
with a strong flocking instinct
◼ Rambouillet ewes possess many
desirable traits which have
resulted in their inclusion in
crossbreeding programs to
improve lamb production.
◼ Breed category: fine wool, dual-
purpose
◼ Distribution: North America,
Europe
Rambouillet
◼ 80 % for meat production and 20 %
for wool production
◼ produces Merino-type wool, with a
fiber diameter ranging from 19 to 22
microns.
◼ Breed Category: dual-purpose, fine
wool
◼ Distribution: South Africa, Australia
Afrino
◼ Breed categories: fine-wool
◼ Distribution: North America
◼ medium size: mature ewes with
full fleece average from 125 to
180 pounds. Rams are larger
ranging in weight from 175 to
235 pounds
◼ has a smooth body and is free of
wrinkles.
◼ Several strains of Merinos
evolved in the US
Delaine merino
was developed in Vermont
through selection and inbreeding. This carries a very
heavy, wrinkly hide. In formit is angular and has little
carcass value. It is not advocated for commercial lamb
and wool production.
Type A merino
was developed principally in Ohio,
a result of breeders selecting for a heavy fleece on a
sheep that has a fair mutton form. Its body is fairly free of wrinkles, but it carries heavy neck folds and
frequently wrinkles or heavy folds behind the shoulders and on the thighs and rear flanks. It is larger and better adapted to everyday conditions than the type A.
Type B merino
is the most practical
Merino and is especially adapted to range sheep
production in the western and southwestern parts of the U.S.
Type C merino
◼ best adapted to the range
conditions of the southwestern
United States.
◼ a medium-sized sheep with
white hair on the face and legs
◼ hardy and gregarious and
adaptable to unassisted pasture
lambing
◼ produce a fine wool fleece with
a deep, close crimp.
◼ Breed category: fine-wool
◼ Distribution: USA
Debouillet
is a pure-bred sheep
that have been produced by
selection rather than cross
breeding.
◼ Breed category: dual
purpose, medium wool
◼ Distribution: UK
Cheviot
◼ kept primarily for meat production
◼ polled and has semi-lopped ears
◼ reared in small or medium size flocks,
that usually are not the only economic
source of the farm.
◼ Breed category: meat, medium wool
◼ Distribution: Italy
Apennine
◼ main characteristics are double-
muscled hindquarters, coupled
with fine bones, which ensures
maximum killing-out percentage
of the finished lamb
◼ Beltex-sired lambs are born with
ease and are thrifty
◼ Finished lambs yield a high
killing-out percentage and a
carcass with well-fleshed legs,
good eye muscle, and a long loin.
◼ Breed categories: meat, medium
wool
◼ Distribution: Europe, UK, North America
Beltex
◼ known for their ability to
produce a lamb crop any time
during the year
◼ ewes are prolific, heavy milkers
that produce lambs with
moderate growth and maturity
that yield heavy muscled
carcasses.
◼ Breed categories: medium wool,
meat
◼ Distribution: North America,
UK, Australia, New Zealand
Dorset (horned and polled)
◼ raised mainly for meat
◼ high degree of ruggedness,
gregarious instinct,
pasturing ability, and
adaptability to the harsh
environment
◼ Breed category: dual-
purpose, medium wool
◼ Distribution: Spain, Europe
Aragonesa
◼ a large breed, with black faces
and legs and wool on the legs
and head. Their fast growth rate
and superior carcass merit make
them a popular choice to sire
crossbred market lambs.
◼ Breed categories: meat, medium
wool, down
◼ Distribution: UK, Europe,
North America, South America
Hampshire (down)
◼ developed in the United States
from Cheviot and Columbia
crosses
◼ good meat type, dual- purpose
animal with the head and legs
free of wool and with the
stylish appearance and agile
body
◼ considered a dual-purpose
breed noted for producing both
high-quality carcasses as well
excellent wool.
◼ Breed categories: dual-purpose,
medium wool
◼ Distribution: North America
Montadale
◼ breed was the result of crossing
Cotswolds and Hampshires
◼ one of the largest breeds of
sheep . It produces the heaviest
fleece of any of the Down
breeds.
◼ In the U.K., it is a specialist breed
to cross with commerical
crossbred ewes for meat
production
◼ Breed categories: medium wool,
meat, down
◼ Distribution: UK, North America,
Europe, South America
Oxford
◼ a good, middle-of-the-road sheep,
medium to large in size, with dark
faces and wool on the legs
◼ Called the “Ideal Farm Sheep,”
Shropshires were boasted to have
“wool from the tip of the nose to
the tip of the toes.”
◼ Breed categories: medium wool,
meat
◼ Distribution: UK, Europe, North
America
Shropshire
◼ one of the oldest sheep breeds,
◼ adapts well to intensive
management, pass their superb
conformation onto their
offspring, and can thrive and
maintain flesh where many other
breeds would virtually starve
◼ Breed categories: medium wool,
meat
◼ Distribution: Worldwide
Southdown
◼ Originally, they were called
Southdown Norfolks or just
“Black faces.”
◼ a large breed with a distinctive
all-black head and legs that are
free of wool.
◼ lambs grow faster than any other
breed and yield heavy, high
cutability carcasses of the type
demanded by today’s health
conscience consumers.
◼ Breed categories: medium wool,
meat
◼ Distribution: Worldwide
Suffolk
◼ one of the oldest sheep breeds,
◼ a unique looking breed with an
unusual color of reddish tan hair
covering their legs, faces and
long pendulous ears and minor
fat deposits over the dock area.
◼ is classified as a “rare”
breed by the American Livestock
Breeds Conservancy.
◼ Breed categories: medium wool,
meat
◼ Distribution: North America
Tunis
◼ a color variation (a recessive
trait) of the Welsh Mountain
◼ main type is known by Torddu
which means blackbelly, but
there is also a rarer Torwen
which is the reverse coloration,
black with a white belly
Badger face welsh mountain
This variation have a
distinctive broad striped face with
a black band from jaw to belly
and extending to the underside
of the tail
Torddu
◼ well adapted to live under desert
conditions
◼ known for a long breeding season
(300 days) and good mothering
abilities
◼ milk production of ewes is low
◼ multi-colored, usually white with
brown or black head and legs
◼ produce coarse wool and have a
small fat tail
◼ the smallest Egyptian breed.
◼ Breed categories: long wool, fat-
tailed
◼ Distribution: Middle East
Barki
◼ a big sheep with a heavy fleece
of curly, lustrous wool that is
even in length and fiber
diameter
◼ classified as a “rare” breed by
the American Livestock
Breeds Conservancy.
◼ Breed categories: long wool,
rare
◼ Distribution: UK, North
America
Leicester
