Many sheep can be traced back to their early domesticated homes by their names. The Exmoor Horn’s renaissance has coincided with that of mutton as a fashionable meat. Measuring 35 micron and above, this type of wool is particularly resilient, contains brittle white kemp and is very hard wearing. Modern breeding schemes have also resulted in an increasing number of composite or synthetic breeds which are the result of a crossing of two or more established breeds. Modern breeding schemes have also resulted in an increasing number of composite or synthetic breeds which are the result of a crossing of two or more established breeds. The breed can shed its fleece although not all animals do so. We can sup­ply you with good qual­ity Dorset down sheep from the Cham­pion Four Jays Flock, founded in 1983.. All ages and both sexes offered and occa­sion­ally ewes with lamb at real­is­tic prices, sin­gle sales welcome. It is believed to be descended from the ancient Saxon black faced sheep once prevalent in Northern Europe. If not excessive, this can be used for effect in tweeds and carpets. Are you look­ing for a docile, ami­able rare breed of sheep? A Ryeland lamb - one of the oldest UK sheep breeds - at the RHS Malvern Show, Worcestershire, England, UK Two Wensleydale sheep. These sheep, with their beautiful, elegant faces, have been bred almost exclusively for more than a century on the hills of Eppynt, Llanafan, Abergwesyn and Llanwrtyd Wells in Powys, although the bigger draft ewes are now in demand with lowland farmers to cross with their Continental, Suffolk or Down rams. The Ouessant Sheep Society was formed by a group of like minded breeders and enthusiasts in February 2005 and has since grown to include over 100 flocks across the UK. Foreword 2 The breeding structure of the British sheep industry 2012 Acknowledgements EBLEX acknowledge Meat Promotion Wales, Hybu Cig Cymru (HCC) for funding support and British Wool Marketing Board for supplying the mailing list. The sheep population of Cumbria is around three million. News of its superiority spread quickly — in 1797, farming commentator Arthur Young stated in his review of the county’s agriculture: ‘These ought to be called the Suffolk breed, the mutton has superior texture, flavour, quantity and colour of gravy.’ It’s now a premier British breed, its bloodlines found all over the world from Russia to South America. Selection for wool type, flocking instinct and other economically important traits over the centuries has resulted in more than 200 distinct breeds of sheep occurring worldwide. It was developed around rotational farming – summer clover, winter turnips and the salt marshes – in the 18th century by crossing Norfolk Horn ewes with Southdown rams in the Bury St Edmunds area. In 2009, chef Nigel Haworth won the BBC’s Great British Menu contest with his lonk hotpot recipe. Many, including the Boreray, Soay, Castlemilk Moorit and North Ronaldsay feature on … Kemp, brittle white fibre, that will not easily dye, occurs in some of the coarser wools. The British Wool breed book includes detailed information about British sheep breeds and wool types. Rough Fell (Rough Fell Sheep Breeders’ Association) Like Swaledale and Herdwick sheep, the Rough Fell is an upland breed from northern England. Finer types are used in fine suitings, knitwear and hand knitting yarn, coarser wool is generally used in upholstery and carpet blends. The North Country Cheviot sheep is a Cheviot breed of sheep that originated from Scotland in around 1791. Found in U.S. but not as common. It is of the Northern European short-tailed group of sheep, having a short, fluke-like tail that is not … Soay Another small, primitive breed from the remote St. Kilda islands, the Soay is regarded as a link between wild and domesticated sheep. These sheep have been exported to many countries as a sire breed used to improve the wool quality of other sheep breeds. The stratified sheep system is unique to the UK, and is perfectly designed to play on the strengths of different breeds, and the environments and habitats of the country. The variation in the thickness of the fibre is considerable with the Bluefaced Leicester the finest in the British clip, approximately 26 micron, while the Devon and Cornwall Longwool is coarser. The Suffolk was created in East Anglia by breeding Norfolk Horn ewes with Southdown rams, resulting in a heavy weight sheep that still produces lean meat. It is usually within the 30-33 micron range. Sir Jock Buchanan-Jardine bred this dainty sheep specifically to adorn the parkland of his Castlemilk estate in Dumfriesshire. Each has a purpose, from the ornamental — Manx Loaghtan or Castlemilk Moorit — to the golden-fleeced (Cotswold, Wensleydale) to the commercially useful Border Leicesters and Lleyns that are slimmer, fitter versions of those comical 18th-century paintings of corpulent, four-cornered farm animals. They’re low maintenance—they lose their fleeces naturally—but can be flighty and the lambs are so tiny that they’re not worth eating until hogget sized. The Loaghtan is a multi-horned breed, with two or four horns in both ewes and rams. The cuddly, black-faced, black-legged breed was also part of the Cambridge Hybrid scheme, but its story is bound up with the opening up of the railway lines that helped the Shropshire Down to flood into Wales, where it was used to improve local hill breeds. The Dorper and Katahdin hair breeds, both developed in modern times, are now among the most common sheep in America. You can cancel your email alerts at any time. The Mule is a mixture of various sheep breeds, it’s not a pedigree animal. The small black sheep with the uncompromising stare and, when it grows four horns, rather bonkers appearance, was saved from extinction by landowners who were seeking ornamental parkland animals. They are a particularly attractive sheep to look at and while this is an added advantage to any breed, they are becoming established commercially, with great potential in the production of prime lambs and crossbred ewes. 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. It hails from the Tywi valley in Carmarthenshire and was nearly wiped out by 1947 when there was only one ram left, but smallholder interest boomed and it’s had a breed society since 1985. The Lincoln sheep breed is the largest of sheep breeds from the UK and boasts the longest, most lustrous and heaviest of wool coats. The Cotswold Lion, so called for the leonine, rippling action of its corkscrew curls, was pivotal to the area’s prosperity—it was wool money that paid for all those famously mellow buildings. the perfect sheep breed has resulted in a very dynamic UK sheep industry. The local sheep, with its wide face and splendid curly horns has been described as ‘looking you in the eye’ with the ‘irascible, defiant grumpiness’ that has helped it survive bleak weather. Photo credits: Britain’s extraordinarily diverse native sheep breeds lead the world. They have a small head covered with fine, white hair that also covers their legs. This breed was developed in the Welsh border counties, around the small village of Kerry, Powys. The largest percentage of sheep breeds originate in Northern Europe and especially the UK. From the Rare Breeds Survival Trust Watchlist 2016 (www.rbst.org.uk), Minchinhampton and Rodborough Commons: The Cotswolds countryside where butterflies roam and stones cure smallpox, Curious Questions: How did cats come to be man’s second-best friend? It’s patently not one of the most commercial types, but it does look pretty in the field. In 1970, when the breed was dwindling, Moses Griffith, a breeder of all things Welsh, called a meeting in Pwllheli to rekindle interest; a society was formed and the idea promoted that Lleyn genes could be used to create a new breed, the Cambridge Hybrid. They are a very striking looking sheep that are hardy and very alert. There’s something endearing about the Suffolk’s long black ears, which either flop down or stick up bat-like, and the uniform black face and legs add to the appeal. Sheep Breeds Derbyshire Gritstone Sheep a domestic farm Animal which is usually polled ID: BJ0ERK (RM) A flock of rare breed Jacobs sheep in a field on Moel Smytho in hills of Snowdonia National Park near Waunfawr, Gwynedd, Wales, UK, Britain The Sheep Trust (2009), "Devon Closewool", conservation and … Rounding up is known as ‘punding’. The Mule is one of the most common breeds of sheep in the UK. The fleece of each UK sheep breed has evolved to … Orkney’s most northerly island is encircled by a drystone dyke, built in 1832, to keep its unique seaweed-eating sheep on the shoreline and off farmland, where they would suffer copper poisoning. Probably the heftiest of Brtain’s ‘Rastafarian’ sheep, bred for their lustrous fleeces, the Wensleydale, named in 1876 to provide a classification at the Yorkshire Show, is described by aficionados as having great presence. Find out more about different wool types and some of our most popular breeds below, and view our breed book for more detailed information. They are known for the clean smooth haired white faces and legs. The Icelandic is one of the world's oldest and purest breeds of sheep, boasting an 1100-year history.