Crystal Fincher

Putnam County 4-H Agent

SHEEP BREEDS

HAMPSHIRE

A large, open faced and active sheep with a mild disposition

Mature rams 275 pounds and mature ewes 200 pounds
The face should be of good length, dark in color and practically free of wool from the
eyes down. An unbroken woolcap should extend from the neck over the forehead

SUFFOLK

Greatest number of US registrations

Mature weights for rams range from 250
to 350 pounds and ewe weights vary from
180 to 250 pounds
Polled and have no wool on their black
face and legs

DORSET

Polled, open white face, open nostrils,

with pink nose and lips free from
pigmentation
Well covered with wool from brow to poll
Fleece dense with high bulk character
Carcass, long, well muscled, and free
from excess fat

SOUTHDOWN

Medium to small sized breed with a gray

to mouse-brown face and lower legs
Polled (hornless)
Early maturing breed with good lambing
ability and average milk production
Meaty Carcasses

RAMBOUILLET

Known for Fine Fiber of Wool on their White Face and Legs

Originated in Spain
Mature rams weigh between 250 and 300 pounds, ewes range from 150
to 200 pounds

MERINO

Serves as the basis for all wool breeds

Has tremendous flocking instinct
Has Wool on their White Head and Legs

DORPER

Head:
Strong and long with triangle shape.
Shoulders and Chest:
Shoulders firm, broad and strong.
Barrel:
Long, deep and wide body. The sheep
must have a long straight back

Dorpers: A white sheep with

black confined to the head and
neck is the ideal.
White Dorpers: A white sheep,
fully pigmented around the eyes,
under the tail, on the udder and
the teats is the ideal.

WILTSHIRE

High fertility, good mothering, large frames

often with long bodies, good muscling, lean
meat, intelligence, ability to do relatively
well in poor conditions, horns in both rams
and ewes, and wool that is naturally shed
in Spring.

CORRIEDALE

Dual-purpose sheep, it is large-framed,

polled with good carcass quality.

CHEVIOT

Mature body weight for the rams is 160 to 200 pounds (72-90 kg) with
the ewes weighing slightly less at 120 to 160 pounds (55-72 kg).
Mature ewes will average a five to ten pound (2.25-4.5 kg) fleece

MONTADALE

The Columbia ewe and the Cheviot ram were then adopted as the foundation
for the Montadale breed and after nine years of selective culling and
linebreeding, a sheep was developed that met the desired standard.

OXFORD

This breed originated as the result of

crossing Cotswolds and Hampshires.

One of the largest breeds of sheep

SHROPSHIRE

Gentle in disposition, making them perfect for the farm flock or as a club project
for children. The rams have a lean, well-muscled body structure which they
transmit to their offspring, making them popular with the commercial as well as
the purebred breeder. The ewes are prolific and long-lived with wonderful
mothering and milking abilities

SOURCES
http://www.nzsheep.co.nz/dorper/characteristi
cs.htm
http://www.pickwick.net.au
http://www.ansi.okstate.edu/breeds/sheep/