Sheep for Sale

Acipayam sheep are a multi-purpose breed (wool. Milk, and meat) that originated in Turkey that was developed by crossing Awassi and Daglic sheep.

Acipayam rams average 65 kg (140 lb) and ewes 60 kg (130 lb) at maturity. Both have white, coarse wool.

Adal are raised for meat and are from Ethopia. They are mainly found in the region surrounding Dancalia in northeastern Ethiopia. They are a hair sheep breed. 

Adal sheep are smaller sized and unicolored from white to dark brown. Occasionally they are also pied or dark brown. They generally have short ears, and often earless. Both rams and ewes are generally polled (without horns). 

Their average birth weight is around 2.54 kg, and around 2.26 kg for the ewes. The average live body weight of the mature ...

Afghan Arabi sheep are fat-rumpled sheep found in northern Afghanistan used for meat and milk production. They generally are polled and have long pendulous ears.

Typically, they are grey or black with white on their face and the average height of mature ewes is 48 cm (19 in).

Africana sheep (also known as Pelona, Camura, Red African, Rojo Africana, Colombian Wooless, or West African sheep) are found in Colombia and Venezuela. They are very similar to Pelibuey sheep in size and confirmation.

They are usually brown, ranging in shade from tan to brown and cherry-red to dark red. They are is raised for meat and classified as a hair breed.

Afrino are a fine wool, dual-purpose sheep.

During the late 1960's, a request was made to the Department of Agriculture by the wool industry, via the South African Agricultural Union, to develop a white-wooled breed for extensive sheep grazing areas. In 1976, it was evident that the crossing of 25 percent Merino, 25 percent Ronderib Afrikaner, and 50 percent South African Mutton Merino best fulfilled the requirements set for the new breed.

It was decided to retain only this cross for further up ...

Alai sheep are a dual-purpose breed raised for its meat and wool from Kyrgyzstan.

They are white with occasional spots on their legs and heads. Their wool is semi-coarse and often used in carpet. Rams may be either horned or polled; however, they ewes are all polled.

Alai sheep are a fat-rump breed and are specifically adapted to living conditions of the Alay Valley region (above 3 km (1.9 mi) above sea level).

Alcarrena sheep are medium-wooled meat found in the La Alcarria, Guadalajara, and the Cuenca regions of New Castille, Spain.

They are of the Entrefino type. Sometimes they have light-brown markings on the head and legs, and occasionally they are all black. Both sexes are polled.

Algarve Churro sheep are from Portugal and used for meat.

They are white with black spots on the feet and head. However, about 10% of them are completely black.

Mature rams grow on average to 95 cm (37 in) at the withers and weigh 75 kg (170 lb). However, ewes grow to 85 cm (33 in) at the withers and weigh 55 kg (120 lb) at maturity.

Algerian Arab sheep (also known as Ouled Jellal or Western Thin-tailed sheep) are found throughout Algeria. They are adapted to arid climates and it is believed that they evolved from the Tadmit sheep in Algeria. They produce carpet-grade wool but they are primarily raised for meat.

They are white and have long legs. The males are horned and the females are polled.

Alpagota, or Pagota, sheep are from Italy (Lamon, Vicentina and Istriana; Belluno and Venezia Provinces). They are well suited to the local hills and mountains.

Content and Photo source: Agraria.org.

Alpines Steinschaf are mountain sheep from the Eastern Alps of Austria and southern Germany. They are used for wool and meat and for keeping the grass down.

Alpines Steinschaf sheep are fine-boned and small to medium sized. Rams weigh 55 to 80 kg (121 to 176 lb), and ewes 40 to 60 kg (88 to 132 lb).

They are found in all coat colors and sometimes their face and ears are marked with black. Their face and lower legs are without wool and their legs are thin but strong, and their hooves are hard. Rams are ...

Altamurana sheep are a medium-sized Milk sheep from the Bari and Foggia Provinces, in the Apulia Region of southern Italy.

Altamurana sheep are white with occasionally dark spots on their faces. They are well adapted to live on arid soils. Altamurana sheep come down from the ovines of Asian race or Syrian of the Sanson and just from the stock of Zackei.

Content and photo source: Agraria.org.

Altay sheep are from the dry, cold mountain basins of China.

They are fat-rumped and are sometimes raised for carpet wool (they average 2.5 to 3.5 pounds, 1.3 - 1.5 kg, of wool per shearing), but more often they are raised for meat.

Over time Altay sheep gradually developed a fat tail (or rump) as a consistent characteristic. The tail (or rump) weighs about 15 pounds (7 kg). The rams average 180 pounds (82 kg) and the ewes 150 pounds (69 kg) at maturity.

American Blackbelly (also known as Corsican) sheep are a composite breed resulting from the crossing of Barbados Blackbelly with Mouflon and Rambouillet breeds. As the name implies, the underbelly of the American Blackbelly is black, as is the inside of the legs, the back part of the thighs, and the hair inside the ears. Two black facial barbs extend down the muzzle medial to the eye, giving the breed an exotic appearance.

Through selective breeding, the American Blackbelly has retained the coloration of its Barbados Blackbelly pa ...

Ancon sheep have long bodies with short legs. Their fore-legs are crooked. This type of sheep was bred from a single Massachusetts, USA, lamb. The Ancon sheep are quite desirable because they cannot jump over fences. The Ancon name has been applied to other strains of sheep. Scientists used the Ancon for genetic research and after it was no longer needed for study it was allowed to become extinct. Excavations of the Ancon have been done in the United Kingdom. They have found that the Ancon has a history that dates back to AD 1500. ...

Apennine sheep (also known as Appenninica, Bariscianese, Chietina Varzese, or Perugina del piano) are white sheep that were found in the 1970's in central Italy, mainly in Toscana, Emilia, Umbria, arche, Abruzzi regions of Italy. They were developed by crossbreeding the local breed with other Italian or exotic breeds such as: Bergamasca and Ile-de-France. There are an estimated 250,000 heads, spread out over central and southern Italy.

They are white with medium-wool that are raised mainly for meat. They are polled a ...

Arabi, also known as Afghan Arabi, Sheep are fat-rumped sheep from Northern Afghanistan. They typically have long pendulous ears; they also generally have black or white faces. The Arabi rams have horns and the ewes are polled (hornless). They are raised for meat and wool production.

Most likely Arabi sheep are descended from very ancient importations from Arabia across the narrow Bal-el-Mandeb Straits at the mouth of the Red Sea. They have adapted to extreme temperatures and conditions. Within the foothills of Iraq, ...

Aragonesa are a dual-purpose, medium wool sheep raised mainly for its meat. They are the second most important Spanish breed after the Merino. Spanish sheep breeds of medium quality wool are considered to have originated from the crossbreeding of fine-wool strains (Merino) and those with coarse wool (Churra and Lacha), though this viewpoint is overly simplistic.

Aragonesa sheep are known for ruggedness, gregarious instinct, pasturing ability, and adaptability to the harsh environment in which it is raised.

Historical records suggest that sheep have been known on Arapawa Island, NZ, in the Marlborough Sounds for at least 130 years.

Most likely the Arapawa feral sheep are escapees of a flock of Merino Sheep.

To those unused to their distinctive appearance, Arapawa sheep may at first acquaintance seem ungainly or even ugly, with their somewhat hunched appearance and often ragged fleece. Certainly they bear little resemblance to their more immediate Merino ancestors and even less to the Merinos familiar to u ...

Argentine Merino are dual-purpose (fine wool and meat) sheep from Argentina. They were developed from Criollo sheep crossed with Spanish and Saxony Merinos and later Rambouillets.  

Arkhar-Merino sheep were developed at the Kurmektinski research station between 1934 to 1949 in Kazakhstan. They were produced by crossbreeding wild Arkhar rams and Precoce merino ewes.

In 1994 Arkhar-Merino sheep were transferred to Arasbaran research station which is attached to the Research Center for Natural Resources and Domestic Animals of East Azerbaijan.

Arkhar-Merino sheep have a firm and expanded skeleton. They are bulky with long legs and a broad chest. Their average staple length is 6.24 to 8.08 cm. ...

Arles Merino is one of world's 20 merino sheep breeds. They were developed in the South of France, by using local merino, Spanish merino (Est a Laine Merinos) and Australian Booroola sheep. The sheep were first selected by the greatest amount of wool and fine wool. However, currently the primary breeding goal is milk production of ewes and the rapid growth of lambs. In addition, those specimens are preferred for breeding who make the breed less dependent on the season, which means that the goal is to ensure good fertility all year round. ...

Armenian Semicoarsewool are dual-purpose sheep mainly found in Armenia. They are a medium-wool fat tail breed. They are raised as a dual-purpose animal, and are currently raised for milk and meat production. They were developed by crossing Rambouillet and Lincoln with Balbas sheep.

They are medium to large sized and are mainly white with a white face. Both rams and ewes are generally polled. The mature ewe’s average body height is around 26 inches at the withers, and around 29 inches for the rams. Their average live body weig ...

Askanian, also known as Askaniysky or Askanian Fine Fleece, sheep are from Ukraine. They were developed in the early 1900s at Askania Nova by crossing American Rambouillet with Merino sheep. There were over 1.6 million Askanian sheep in 1980. Today the breed is raised mainly for it's fine quality wool.

They are medium to large sized sheep. They are mainly white and are unicolored with a white face. Their face is generally free of wool. The ewes are either polled or horned, but the rams are generally horned. Average body heigh ...

Assaf sheep are the result of crossbreeding between Awassi and East Friesian Milk sheep. In 1955, researchers of the Israeli Agricultural Research Organization (A.R.O) started this project aiming to improve the fecundity of the Awassi sheep. A combination of 3/8 East Friesian and 5/8 Awassi blood emerged as the best cross.

Most dairy sheep breeders in Israel have adopted the Assaf, which is considered not only a top quality dairy sheep and excellent mutton producer, but is also well-adapted to semi-extensive to extensive produ ...

Aussiedowns are large sheep were developed in the early 1990s in Australia. Today they are mainly distributed in New South Wales, Victoria, Australia. They were developed through crossbreeding Southdown and Texel sheep. The resulting progeny have a maximum of 75 percent Southdown and Texel ancestry.

They are mainly raised as prime lamb sires, by crossing them over purebred or crossbred ewes. They are very good for meat production.

They are generally completely white. Both rams and ewes are generally polled.&nbs ...

Although Australian Merino sheep derive their name and basic appearance from the Spanish merino breed, they are a distinct breed in their own right. They have been developed and adapted in Australia to the specific conditions of this country.

More than 80 percent of all Australian sheep are pure Merino, with most of the remainder at least part Merino blood. Merino is grown primarily for its heavy fleeces of fine wool. Merino sheep were brought to Australia from the Cape Colony, England, Saxony (South East Germany), France, and Ame ...

Australian Whites are Australian meat sheep which was developed for Australian conditions. Australian White sheep are a stabilized composite haired meat breed comprising White Dorper, Van Rooy, Poll Dorset and Texel genetics. The development aim was to produce a unique Australian white, shedding sheep breed to quickly produce large framed, heavy lamb carcases. Additionally, walking or mobility ability, good fertility and mothering instincts in the ewes and hardy lambs with good growth weights were required traits to be incorporated into ...

Avranchin are a grassland breed of sheep. They are hardy and well-adapted to a ocean climate, usually living outdoors in small flocks. They are one of the most prolific French breeds. They have a large or medium-sized frame. They produce lambs of good butchering quality, with very fine textured meat.

The selection of the Avranchin sheep breed tends towards the maintenance of high prolificacy (the optimum sought is the ewe which regularly produces twins at each lambing), and the improvement of the milk value of the dams. Rams for b ...

Awassi evolved as a nomadic sheep breed through centuries of natural and selective breeding to become the highest milk producing breed in the Middle East. They are similar to the Near Eastern fat-tailed type. They are used for milk production and carpet wool.  

The average Awassi ewe has single lactations over 300 liters (650 pounds) per 210-day lactation, and it is not uncommon for outstanding females to have 210 day lactations above 750 liters (1,625 lbs).  

As a comparison, the lactation of ...

The Babydoll Southdown is a sheep of the early Southdown type imported into the U.S. and seen in England in the 1800's through the early 1900's. They are 18" to 24" at the shoulder and display the original Southdown type and characteristics. The Southdown breed of sheep originated in the South "Downs" of Sussex County, England, and is one of the oldest of the Down breeds. English farms kept these sheep for their flavorful meat and fine fleece.

Torddu, the Welsh name meaning 'black belly' have distinct black stripes above the eyes and a black stripe running from under the chin to the belly and continuing underneath to the end of the tail. The legs are black with a tan stripe. The fleece can be white, grey or light brown, but preference is given to the lighter shades. The wool should be firm and medium length (7-10 cm). The Torwen, the Welsh name meaning 'white belly' show the reverse coloring, but with a smaller eye stripe. Their bodies should be compact and strong and o ...

Bagnolese Sheep are an autochthonous breed from Campania, Italy that got its name from the village of Bagnoli Irpino in the province of Avellino. They probably derives from the crossbreeding of the Barbaresca breed and the local breeds of the Apennines. Over time they spread from Irpinia to the entire region up to the provinces of Caserta and Salerno.

They are medium-large white sheep with black spots. There are excellent dairy products derived from its milk: pecorino as well as ricotta cheese (fresh or salted and aged). ...

Balkhi are medium to large sized sheep originated from Afghanistan and North-western Pakistan. They are a fat-tailed mutton type sheep. They are  raised mainly for meat production, but they are also good for producing wool. 

 
Balkhi sheep are hardy and are well adapted to their native climates. They have a low fiber density, and they approximately yield 2 kg of coarse wool with an average 43.5 micrometer diameter. The ewes are pretty good milkers and they produce enough milk for their lambs. The ewes generally ...

Baluchi are small sheep that originated in southern Afghanistan, eastern Iran, and southwest Pakistan. They are a fat-tailed sheep breed and are raised mainly for wool production. They are also known Araghi, Baluchi Dumda, Farahani, Khorasani, Khurasani, Mengali, Neini, Naeini, Shinwari, Taraki and Yazdi sheep.  

They are raised mainly for wool production. Their wool is coarse with modulation. The average annual fleece weight is between 1.3 and 1.8 kg. The ewes are pretty good milkers, and they produce enough milk for t ...

The Balwen Welsh Mountain sheep is a sheep for all seasons. One of the original Welsh breeds of sheep the Balwen remains as one of the most striking and versatile of all the rare breed sheep. The sheep has a base color of black, dark brown or dark grey. It has a white stripe running from the pole of the head to the top of the nose, four white feet and half white tail. Average mature ewe weighs 40-50kgs, rams 45-60kgs.

Content and Photo Source: National Sheep Association

Barbados Blackbelly sheep are indigenous to the Caribbean island of Barbados. They descend from sheep brought to the islands from West Africa during the slave era. Blackbellies are antelope-like in appearance, brown tan or yellow in color, with black points and under-parts. Both ewes and rams are polled or have only small scurs or diminutive horns.

They may have some visible fuzzy wool undercoat within their hair coat, but it should shed along with the hair each year. Barbados Blackbelies are noted for their extreme hardi ...

Found in Sicily in southern Italy, the Barbaresca Siciliana (Sicilian Barbary) was developed from the Tunisian Barbary and the Pinzirita.

They have coarse to medium wool and are kept for both milk and meat production. The Sicilian Barbary is polled and usually has dark spots on the face and legs. They have lop ears and stores fat at the base of their tail.

Content and photo source: Agraria.org.

Bardoka are a multi-purpose sheep found mainly in the Metohia region of Kosovo. It's name is derived from the Albanian word 'Bardoka' which means white. They are mainly found in Kosovo and partially in Albania, Montenegro, and Serbia.

They are medium-sized sheep. They are mainly white with a white face. Their face is generally free of wool, and their skin color is pink. Both rams and ewes are generally horned. Their horns are generally long and spiraled. Rams weight around 3.5 kg at birth and the ewes around 3.2 kg. The m ...

Basco-bearnaise sheep originated from the Basque country, and also known as Vasca Carranzana, France. They were developed during the 1960s from Basque and Bearnaise sheep.  

They mainly are raised as a milk breed, and an ewe on average produces around 120 liters of milk per lactation. And their lactation period is around of 130 days. Their milk is of good quality containing around 5.39 percent protein.  

Basco-bearnaise sheep are medium to large sized. They are mainly white and have long, white and h ...

Bavarian Forest sheep are an old and once wide-spread breed from Bavaria. Unfortunately they are decreasing in popularity. They are a small to medium sized sheep. They are mostly white, though brown and black animals do occur. 

Their fleece contains a mixture of fibers: kemp, hetero type, and wool fibers. Forest sheep are aseasonal: they usually lamb 3 times in 2 years. Their fertility amounts to about 180 percent. They are a hardy, weather and disease-resistant breed. They have good mothering ability.

Belgium Milk Sheep are strongly influenced by Friesian Milk Sheep. In all probability, the Belgium Milk Sheep descends from Flemish sheep. Since the 19th century, Flemish sheep were selected for milk character. After the Second World War, the other milk sheep breeds were added.

The Belgium Milk Sheep is a finely-built sheep which stands on high legs. The body is wedge-shaped. The head is covered with fine white hair. The abdomen is wooly, but slightly hairy. A typical characteristic of Belgium Milk Sheep is the so-called "rat-tail. ...

Bellary are medium-sized sheep native to the districts of Bellary and Davanagere and the adjoining areas of Haveri and Chitradurga districts of Karnataka, India.

They are medium-sized with body colors ranging from white through various combinations of white and black to black. Most rams have horns, though ewes are generally polled. Their ears are medium long, flat and drooping, their tail is short and thin, their fleece is extremely coarse, hairy, and open and their belly and legs are devoid of wool.

In farmers' floc ...

The Beltex is a medium sized sheep, long in the body. It is wedge-shaped from a narrow shoulder to a distinctive large, double-muscled hindquarter. The head is generally white in color but may have black, blue or brown shadings or patches. The fore face is short and thick. The fleece is tight, dense of medium staple length. Average male body weight 95kg.

Bentheimer Landschaf (A.K.A The Landrace of Bentheim) are medium-sized German sheep. They were developed by a cross between German and Dutch heath sheep and marsh sheep. They have been bred in the northern German Emsland area since 1934, especially in the county of Bentheim.

They are mainly white and have black around their ears, eyes, and legs. They have a slender body, long head and Roman nose. Their ears are small and the tail is long and woolly. Both rams and ewes are generally polled. The average body height of the mature ewes ...

Bergamasca, also known by: Bergamasker, Gigante di Bergamo, Bergamacia (Brazil), sheep have white coarse wool and are raised for meat.

Bergamasca sheep are found in the Lombardy, region of northern Italy. They are a basic breed of the Lop-eared Alpine group and are polled. The Bergamasca is the foundation of the other Lop-eared Alpine breeds and of Fabrianese.

Content and Photo source: Agraria.org.

Berrichon du Cher sheep have been bred for meat production since the 18th century. This long-lasting breeding process has resulted in a well-conformed breed, characterized by early growth.

Berrichon ewes have a natural ability to lamb out-of-season: 60% of lambs are naturally born from September to November, a schedule which provides high flexibility in terms of production.

Berrichon du Cher Sheep are hardy and are able to cover wide distances, which render the breed suitable for various livestock management sy ...

Speckled-face sheep have been bred on the hills of Eppynt, Llanafan, Abergwesyn, and Llanwrtyd Wells for over 100 years, without introduction of female stock. On the hill, the ewes are normally purebred, providing flock replacements, finished lambs for the meat trade, or store lambs for finishing on lowland farms.

Beulah ewes are also idea for crossing with most continental rams, as well as Suffolk and Down rams to produce high-quality carcasses. Rams have found great demand in many mountain flocks to improve size and wool quality ...

Bibrik are medium-sized sheep that originated from Pakistan. They are a fat-tailed breed and are raised mainly for meat production. They are found mainly in the parts of Sibi and Loralai districts in Baluchistan Province of Pakistan.

They are mainly white with a black or brown head. Both rams and ewes are generally horned, and the rams have pretty large and curved horns. The rams generally weight around 2.8 kg at births, and the ewes around 2.4 kg.

Average body height of the mature ewes is around 19 inches at the wi ...

Biellese sheep are from the Piedmont region of northern Italy. They are a polled carpet wool breed used for meat production. They are one of the Lop-eared Alpine group of sheep breeds.

Content and photo source: Agraria.org.

Bizet [bi.ze] sheep originating in France. They were developed between 1830 and 1900 by first crossing Caussenards sheep with Southdown and Dishley English sheep. In 1905, steps were taken to start standardizing the breed. In 1952, Bizet were introduced on the Kerguelen archipelago, where they are raised for food for the scientific station there.

They grow wool but they are primarily raised for meat. The rams have horns and ewes are polled (hornless). At maturity, rams grow to 80 cm (31 in) and ewes 75 cm (30 in) at the withers ...

Black Hawaiian Sheep are the source of some controversy. Some say they are a cross of Mouflon and black hair sheep from the Hawaiian islands. Others say they are Barbados sheep with a dilution of the red color gene making them black. They have a thick black coat and are usually black all over, although some sport a white muzzle.

Like the other species of sheep of this type, their horns grow up, back, down, forward, up again, and then tip out. The horns of the Black Hawaiian are jet black. Males can weigh up to 140 to 1 ...

Hardiness and self-reliance are the outstanding features of this ancient breed. Hill flocks of this breed, in normal conditions, require no supplementary feeding, they thrive on the short rough grasses and herbage of the unploughable uplands. They are an ideal breed for the smallholder as well as being used in their natural environment on the hill. They are a good breed for children to work with as they are shown on halters and the lambs are easy to handle. They cross well with terminal breeds to produce good quality tasty meat bo ...

Blackheaded Persian sheep originated in the arid regions of east Africa in what is now Somalia. They are  a fat-rumped breed and both sexes are polled. Blackheaded Persians have a white body and black head and neck with the two colors sharply distinguished.

They found their way to the tropics of the Caribbean region via South Africa many years ago. The Caribbean population has adapted well to the humid tropics. Blackheaded Persian sheep are one of the breeds that were used to develop Dorper sheep.

Harlequin ...

Bleu du Maine are a large grassland sheep with slate blue/grey coloring heads. They originated in Western France in the region of Mayenne. They were developed from crossing Leicester Longwool and Wensleydale sheep. The breed has no wool on its head or legs.

They are similar to Texel sheep but they have a higher litter size and age of sexual maturity. Their average daily gain, carcass leanness, milk yield, and lambing interval are similar to the Texel, but the Blue du Maine are lighter muscled. 

They hav ...

Blue Texel sheep are a color variant of the normally white Texel sheep. Blue Texel sheep come from white Texels who carry the color factor "blue" with them. This factor is a recessive factor. From a mating of two white Texels who both carry the factor for the blue color, there is a 25 percent chance blue lambs will be born while a mating between a Blue Texel and another Blue Texel always gives blue lambs. Texel sheep evolved as a result of crossbreeding the Dutch polder sheep with several English breeds, such as Leicester, Wensleydale, a ...

The Bluefaced Leicester is the single most significant sheep breed in the UK today, with nearly 50% of the UK's commercial breeding flock being sired by the Bluefaced Leicester. Of the remaining  50%  around half are being mated with  Bluefaced Leicester rams to produce Mule ewes. The great strength of the Blueface, is that no matter what breed of sheep it’s crossed with, its progeny the Mule proves a better commercial ewe than its mother. The Bluefaced Leicester’s improve prolificacy, mothering ability, ease of management ...

Bond sheep evolved in Australia in 1909 as a dual-purpose breed, using Peppin Merinos and imported Lincoln rams. Bonds are tall, long-bodied sheep, heavy in the bone and with open faces and a robust constitution. They produce bulky, long-stapled, bright 22-28 micron wool. Lambs are long, lean, and fast growing. Bond rams weigh up to 150 kg (330 lbs.).

Bond sheep are mainly found in the south east portion of Australia. They have the ability to produce economic results in a wide range of climatic conditions of rainfall from 350-1140 ...

Booroola Merino sheep were developed on the Southern Tablelands of New South Wales, Australia. They differ from normal Merino in two ways. First, they are more fertile; their fertility is as high as any breed in the world. The number of lambs born per ewe lambing is 2.4, with a range of 1 to 6. Half-Booroola ewes on average wean 20 percent more lambs than comparable Merinos under the same conditions. Secondly, Booroolas have the ability to breed at most times of the year, thus extending the breeding season. ...

Border Cheviot sheep originated as a mountain breed, native to the Cheviot Hills between Scotland and England, where the climate is harsh and the conditions are rugged. Cheviots are extremely hardy and can withstand harsh winters and graze well over hilly pastures. They were bred to look after themselves. Recognized as early as 1372, the breed is reported to have developed from sheep that swam ashore from shipwrecked Spanish ships that fled northward after the defeat of the Armada.

Cheviot sheep are a distinctive white-faced sheep, ...

Border Leicester sheep are one of three distinct breeds of Leicester sheep.  

Border Leicester sheep were developed in 1767 by George and Matthew Culley of Fenton, Northumberland, England. They were friends of Robert Bakewell and had access to his improved Leicesters. Some believe that the Culley brothers developed the Border Leicester by crossing Bakewell's improved Leicester rams with Teeswater ewes. Others argue that Cheviot blood was introduced.

In any case, the breed was firmly established in England by ...

Borderdale sheep were developed in New Zealand. They are the result of breeding the Border Leicester and Corriedale breeds and interbreeding each generation until the F5 stage. Borderdales are a medium-large, hardy, long-woolled breed, with a comparatively low susceptibility to foot rot. They have a good growth rate.

Ewes are often used for crossbreeding with terminal sires from the meat breeds. Borderdales are found mainly on the plains, dowlands, and foothills of Canterbury (New Zealand).

Boreray sheep originated on the island of Boreray in the St Kilda archipelago off the west coast of Scotland. And the breed was named from this island. It is also known by some other names such as Hebridean Blackface and Boreray Blackface sheep.

They were developed during the late 19th century from Scottish Blackface and a Hebridean type of Old Scottish Shortwool sheep. They have been largely feral since 1930.  

Their fleece is white to light tan, but occasionally darker. Both sexes are horned. The ram's hor ...

Bovska Sheep got their name from the small town Bovec that lies in upper Soflorina valley which is in the Northwest part of Slovenia near the Italian border. In Trenta valley this breed is also called trentarka or pure trentarka if it has the short ears sometimes seen with this breed.

The Bovska sheep breed originated in the white sheep which were once distributed throughout the Alps. Bleiweis (1871) mentioned the Trbiska sheep breed and reported that sheep with shorter ears produced more milk. Pirc reported that Tolminska and ...

Braunes Bergschaf, or Brown Mountain, sheep are from the alpine regions of Bavaria (Germany), Tyrol (Austria), Southern Tyrol (Italy), and the Swiss Canton of Engadine. In recent years, Braunes Bergschaf Sheep have gained popularity beyond their original borders. Brown Mountain Sheep are descended from the Tyrolean Steinschaf (Stone Sheep), which can be of all colors, one color per sheep, and is rarely white.

 Braunes Bergschaf are medium-sized with a slender, hornless head, and a Roman nose profile. Their ears are long, bro ...

Brecknock Hill Cheviot sheep were developed from Scottish Cheviot sheep that were introduced to Wales in the 1850's. They are known for their longevity.

They have a white face and legs. Their ears are erect with no ruff of wool behind them. They have no wool on their face or on their legs below their knees or hock. They have broad, strong backs. The rams are occasionally horned, and ewes are polled. The average mature ewe weighs 60kg and rams weigh 90kg. Ewes and usually rams are polled. 

Brentagana Scelta are large white sheep raised for wool and meat. They are an Italian breed and belong to the Alpine group. They are known for their adaptation to the local marginal conditions.

Content and photo source: agraia.org.

Brianzola are large white sheep related to the giant Alpine meat sheep coming from Ovis aries sudanica of Sanson. They come from Brianza, Italy, a territory including the provinces of Como, Lecco and Monza (Lombardia). They are raised for meat.

Brianzola are large white sheep related to the giant Alpine meat sheep coming from Ovis aries sudanica of Sanson. They come from Brianza, Italy, a territory including the provinces of Como, Lecco and Monza (Lombardia). They are raised for meat.

C ...

Brigasca sheep are a local breed whose name is linked to the border territory between Liguria, Piedmont and Provence. They are descended from the Frabosana breed and likely crossbred with Langhe sheep. The Brigasca is a rustic animal, perfectly adapted to the traditional rearing system of a minimum of six months in alpine pastures.

Brigasca sheep are used for milk and meat. Their milk is used to produce three different kinds of cheese: Sora, Toma, and Brus. All are made with techniques and tools bound to the ancient traditio ...

Brillenschaf sheep are from Carinthia, Austria. They are a member of the Alpine Mountain Sheep Breeds. They are named for their eyeglass marks around their eyes, under the eyes, and on their ears. They are a cross between the Landschaf, Bergamasca, and Paduaner Schaf sheep.

They are hardy and frugal; they can cope with high precipitation and are experts in climbing, therefore they are used for grazing high alpine areas which are inaccessible to cows.

They are endangered and since 1938, they have almost comp ...

British Milk sheep are medium to large polled sheep with a predominantly white face and legs. Their head is usually free from wool, the muzzle broad and the ears long. The ewe is naturally prolific and is noted for its quiet temperament which is important in the management of high performance sheep. The conformation of the ewe, particularly the roomy pelvic area, ensures that lambing is easy. The rams have a long body and good hindquarters. They are robust and active being keen and vigorous workers all through the year. Average mature ew ...

Bragna sheep have white coats and rosy skin. They are used mainly for meat, but also for milk. They are an autochthonous breed of uncertain origin. They are mainly reared in the province of Verona (Veneto), particularly in Lessinia, Italy.

Content and photo source: Agraria.org.

Brown Headed Meat, or Braunkopfiges Fleischschaf, are one of the four predominant sheep breeds in Switzerland. They are the heaviest breed. They were developed by crossing Oxfords from England and German Blackheaded Mutton sheep onto landrace sheep.

The breed is seasonal, lambing once per year, usually in the winter, averaging 1.7 lambs.

Bundner Oberland (also known as Bunder Oberlanderschaf, Grisons, or Graubunden) sheep are from Switzerland.

They are found in white, brown, or silver-grey. Their head is slender and bare. Rams have substantial horns while ewes have small horns or are polled (hornless). Both sexes display rather primitive behavior. Multiple births are common. When mature, rams weigh on average 72 kg (159 lb) and ewes 50 kg (110 lb). After reaching maturity, rams grow to 72 cm (28 in) and ewes 68 cm (27 in) at the withers.

In 2007, th ...

Calabrese, also known as Sciara or Moscia Calabrese, sheep are an autochthonous breed from the provinces of Cosenza and Catanzaro (Calabria), reared in the high hills on poor steep grazing land. They belong to the group with soft hanging woolly coat but it is smaller than Altamurana and Leccese breeds.

They have white coats and are raised for milk.

Content and photo source: agraria.org.

California Red are medium-wool meat and wool sheep developed in 1970. They are a cross between Barbados and Tunis sheep.

Mature rams weigh 225 to 250 pounds and ewes range from 130 to 150 pounds. Both sexes are naturally hornless. Lambs are born a solid rust or cinnamon red color, a color that is retained as they mature.

At maturity, their fleeces turn a beige or oatmeal color. Their legs and faces are free of wool with long pendulous ears. Their wool is silky in texture and has found a specialty market wit ...

California Variegated Mutant Sheep, or simply C.V.M. Sheep, are the result of many crossbreeding started in 1915. 


In 1915 A.T. Spencer developed the Romeldale breed. He purchased several New Zealand Romney Rams in 1915 that were brought to the Pan-American exposition in San Francisco. He felt the Romney breed would increase the staple, length, and carcass quality of his Rambouillets. Through many years of selection, the Romeldale breed was developed, with fleece properties of 60-64's, extremely high yield, and uni ...

Cambridge Sheep are a very prolific breed that has particular value in crossbreeding. The Cambridge is a dark faced medium size sheep. The mature weight of rams and ewes is 100 kg and 67 kg respectively. They are long lived with excellent teeth and are hardy and resilient to environmental extremes. Ewes lambs easily, are good mothers and the incidence of mastitis is low. The breed’s high prolificacy means that it can be mated with a variety of other breeds and crossbreeds to produce, high performance commercial ewes.

Content an ...

Cameroon are hair sheep from West Africa. Instead of wool, they carry a hair coat that in the autumn forms an additional undercoat, which is shed after winter. Cameroon sheep do not require shearing.

Cameroon sheep are very prolific and reach puberty very early. They are aseasonal and can produce two lamb crops per year. They are a resistant, problem-free sheep. Their most common color is brown with a black belly, head, and legs.

The first sheep were landed on sub Antarctic Campbell Island (over 600 kilometers south of the New Zealand mainland) in 1895 after a grazing lease had been taken up. Two thousand more were introduced in 1901, and a further thousand in 1902. Both of the first introductions are known to have been Merinos, but the last was of an unknown breed - at least some must have been longwools such as Lincolns or Leicesters.

As a result, the Campbell Island sheep are one of the few feral breeds known to have anything other than Merino blood; ...

Canadian Arcott sheep are raised primarily for meat. As the name suggests, they were developed in Canada. And the later half of their name, ARCOTT, is an acronym for the Animal Research Center in Ottawa. They were developed from crossbreeding Romnelet (6%), North Country Cheviot (7%), Leicester (14%), Ile de France (28%) and Suffolk (37%) sheep. The remaining 8 percent was contributed from Shropshire, Lincoln, Corriedale, East Friesian, Finnsheep, and Southdown Dorset.

They are medium to large sized hardy sheep, and are well adap ...

Castlemilk Morrit Sheep were developed during the the early years of the 20th century. The late Sir Jock Buchanan-Jardine began a breeding program on his Castlemilk Estate in Dumfriesshire. Using Manx Loghtan, moorit Shetland, and wild Mouflon, he developed a breed to beautify his parkland and provide fine, kemp-free moorit colored wool. On the death of Sir John Buchanan-Jardine the flock was dispersed in 1970, and six ewes and a ram were bought by Joe Henson at the Cotswold Farm Park.

All of today's Castlemilk Moorits are descende ...

Charmoise sheep are polled white faced and white legged sheep with a deep body coated in a tight fleece of good quality. It has the most excellent conformation with short neck well-muscled loins and strong gigots. It is light of bone and very alert and lively from birth. Average mature ewe weighs 65-70kg, rams 80-90kg.

Content and Photo Source: National Sheep Association

Charollais Sheep are a medium to large sized sheep. They are long and well-muscled with thick, deep gigots. The body is long with a well-muscled broad loin and wide deep chest. The head is free from wool, pinkish/grey in color sometimes with spots. The line of the shoulders should retain a wedge shape which is so important for ease of lambing. The legs are clean, quite short, colored but never very dark. The front legs should not be set too wide apart and animal must be well balanced. The gigots are well developed, thick and deep. The bre ...

Near the southwest corner of the main island of the Chatham group, NZ, is a small flock of feral sheep which appear to have certain Merino characteristics, and thus may predate the Island's change to longwool breeds.

It is believed that Chatham Island ferals have been living wild for almost a hundred years, and it is possible that they originated from some Saxon Merinos that were taken to South East Island (another of the Chatham group) in 1841.

The most noticeable difference between these and the fera ...

Cheviot Sheep are white-faced Hill sheep from the Scottish Borders. The ewe has fine hard white hair on her face over the crown and on her legs which should have a fine, flat quality bone. The fleece should be dense and firm with no kemp or colored hair. The rams can have horns.

Content and Photo Source: National Sheep Association

Chios are semi-fat-tailed milk Mediterranean sheep. Like many breeds, the exact origin of the Chios is unknown. Some sources suggest it is the result of crossbreeding between local sheep of the island of Chios (Greece) and breeds from Anatolia (Turkey). The Chios is typically white with black, occasionally brown, spots around the eyes, and on the ears, nose, belly and legs. The entire head is often black.

Female conformation is typically dairy. Milk production for the breed varies from 265 to 660 pounds (120-300 kg) of mil ...

Cholistani sheep are from Pakistan. Though they grow wool, they are raised primarily for meat.  

They have a black to brown head and ears with a white body. They have stubby, small ears and a long tail.  

Mature rams weigh 48.5 kg (107 lb) and ewes weigh 34 kg (75 lb). Their average height at the withers of mature rams is 75 cm (30 in) and ewes is 66 cm (26 in). At birth and on average, rams weigh 3.5 kg (7.7 lb) and ewes weigh 3.0 kg (6.6 lb).  

Ewes have an average litter size of 1 ...

Churra sheep are raised in Castile and Leon in northwestern Spain. They are used for milk production. They are breed of great hardiness, well suited to the continental climate with long, severe winters, very short springs, and hot dry summers.

Zamorano cheese is a classic Spanish sheep's milk cheese. It is made with full cream milk, coming mainly from the Churra sheep. Navajo Churro sheep descend from the Spanish Churra.

Ciavenasca are a meat sheep with white wool. They are indigenous to Sondrio Province (Val Chiavenna), Lombardy Region, northern Italy.

Content and photo source: agraia.org.

Cikta sheep were brought to Hungary, in the 18th century, by German settlers. While they grow wool they are primarily raised for meat. They belong to the Mountain Group of sheep breeds.

They are white (unicolored). The rams have horns and the ewes are polled (hornless), and their ears are erect. Typically, their horns are small or knob-like.

At maturity, rams weigh 37 kg (82 lb) and ewes weigh 45 kg (99 lb). At the withers, rams grow to 55 cm (22 in) and ewes to 47 cm (19 in). Ewes have an average 1.1 lambs per litt ...

Cine Capari sheep originated from the Aydin Province in Turkey. They are a fat-tail breed. Generally they are white but occasionally they have light brown to dark black spots on their feet and belly. The ewes weigh 38 kg (84 lb) on average at maturity.  

In 1998, there were 300 Cine Capari and the population was decreasing. The decline in population has been due to local farmers crossing this breed with the Chios for the purpose of creating a more prolific offspring.

Ciuta Sheep are white Italian mountain sheep bred for meat. Unfortunately they are most likely extinct.

Content and photo source: Agraria.org

Clarence Reserve Sheep are little-known sheep that originated from a feral flock living in Clarence Reserve, Marlborough, NZ. They are almost certainly of Merino origin - descended from escaped sheep brought into the area in the early period of European settlement. Clarence Reserve Sheep have clean faces and bellies and are largely dag free. Such features are typical of sheep which have evolved a resistance to flystrike. The rams have wideset horns. Nearly all of them are white, which is unusual in long-established feral flocks. They t ...

Clun Forest Sheep are a very adaptable breed, living equally happily in the down lands of the South of England or the hills of Wales and Scotland. They have a low mortality rate and are highly resistant to disease. They have an alert appearance with a clean open dark-brown face, with a characteristic covering of wool on the top of the head and ears that are carried high and forward. The body has a strong muscular neck carried high from fine shoulders, lengthy good back, deep rib, strong loin, good hock and a deep and well-rounded rea ...

Coburger Fuchsschaf are a breed of landrace sheep that were almost extinct.

In the 19th century Coburger Fuchsschaf populated the European hilly ranges abundantly. These red fox-colored sheep could be found under names that indicated their color or living area, such as Golden Fox, Eisfelder Fox Sheep, Eifeler Sheep, Ardenais Solognotes, or Rousse Tetes. In the beginning of the 20th century, 60% of the sheep in the German Coburg area were Coburger Fuchsschaf with the red fox-colored heads, but by World War II they were nearly extin ...

Columbia sheep were one of the first sheep to originate in the United States. They are the result USDA and university research. Development began in 1912 in Laramie, Wyoming. Lincoln rams were crossed with Rambouillet ewes. In 1918, the foundation flock was moved to the U.S. Sheep Experiment Station near Dubois, Idaho, for further refinement.  

Though originally bred for range conditions, the Columbias have found widespread acceptance throughout the United States and are used increasingly to sire crossbred market lam ...

Comeback sheep originated in Australia. They were first developed by crossing a British long-wool cross back to a Merino sheep. But more recently, the type has been produced by crossing some popular sheep breeds such as Corriedale and Polwarth with Merino. The main aim of the cross was to develop a finer, better style of wool. Wool of the Comeback sheep style is also produced by Cormo, Bond, and Polwarth sheep. And these breeds may prove easier to breed than the Comebacks.

Today, Australia has approximately three million comeb ...

Comisana sheep are milk sheep from southeastern Sicily. They were developed from Maltese and Sicilian sheep in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Today, they are raised in Sicily, Southern and Central Italy, Piedmont and Lombardy.

They are white with a reddish-brown face. They have course to medium wool, semi-lop ears, and are polled.

Content and photo source: Agraria.org.

Coolalee sheep are Australian short wool, meat sheep breed, developed from an eight-year breeding program commenced in 1968. The breed resulted from the crossing of the Wiltshire Horn, Suffolk, Hampshire Down, Poll Dorset, Lincoln and English Leicester sheep.  

The first Coolalee rams became commercially available in 1983. These rams are used as terminal sires for prime lamb production.  

Coolalee sheep have shown considerable promise as an independent central progeny testing system for prime l ...

Coopworth are medium sized, dual-purpose, white faced sheep with an alert but quiet disposition. They were developed in New Zealand in the 1960's from Border Leicester and Romney crosses, and was first imported into the United States during the late 1970's. Today they are one of the most dominant breeds in New Zealand.

They are a highly productive sheep, and are popular for easy care lambing, prolificacy, and good mothering ability. Coopworth wool is relatively coarse and long and is popular with hand spinners.

The Cormo Sheep was developed in Tasmania by I.K. Downie.Mr. Downie crossed Corriedale Rams with 1200 carefully selected superfine Saxon Merino Ewes.

The original selection criteria included: high, clean fleece weight; fiber diameter of 17-23; fast body growth rate and a high rate of fertility.  The result- 1/4 Lincoln, 1/4 Australian Merino, and 1/2 superfine Saxon Merino.

Cormo wool is fast becoming one of the best wool producing breeds in the sheep industry today.

Cormo selling poi ...

Cornella, also known as Cornella White or Cornella Bianca dell'Emilia Romagna, sheep are a common breed from the Bologna Province, Emilia Romagna Region, Northern Italy.

They are white sheep used for milk and meat and are well suited to the hills and plains of Northern Italy.

Content and photo source: Agraria.org.

Cornigliese sheep are descended from Vissana sheep with some Merino and Bergamasca blood. They are from Corniglio, Emilia Region, Italy. They are white with dark spots on face and legs. They are bred for meat, milk, and wool but mainly for meat.

Content and photo source: agrarian.org.

Corriedale sheep were developed in New Zealand and Australia during the late 1800s' by crossing Lincoln or Leicester rams with Merino females. The breeds is now widely found worldwide and are the most common breed of sheep in South America and are widely used throughout Asia, North America, and South Africa. They are, perhaps, the second most populous breed of sheep in the world, after Merinos.

Corriedale sheep are a dual-purpose sheep. They are large-framed, polled, and have good carcass quality. Although they traditiona ...

Corteno, or Pecora di Corteno, sheep belong to the Alpine group of sheep. They are medium-sized white Italian sheep and bread for meat.

Content and photo sheep; Agraria.org.

Cotswold Sheep are a large, polled, longwool breed. The head is carried well up, the back long, ribs well sprung, the frame and legs strong, giving an overall imposing appearance. The head has a pronounced forelock of wool and a white face, with dark skin on the nose. The high quality wool is white, lustrous and long-stapled. Average mature ewe weighs 85kg, rams 140kg.

Content and Photo Source: National Sheep Association

Criollo sheep are the highlands of Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, Bolivia, Peru, Venezuela and Guatemala over hundreds of years. They are known by some other names such as Venezuelan, Uruguayan, Tarhumara, Colombian, Lucero, Creole, Chilludo, and Pamba. Spanish settlers brought the Churra with them in the mid sixteenth Century. The Churra is believed to be the ancestor of the modern day Criollo sheep. Today, they are raised mainly for meat production.  

They are relatively small sheep and they are generally black and also ...

Daglic sheep are mainly found in Western Anatolia in Turkey. Some believe they originated the Kamakuyruk and Chios sheep breeds. They are short-fat tailed sheep breeds and are a dual-purpose animal: they are raised for both meat and milk production.

They are small uni-colored sheep with a white body and black spots on their head and legs. They have a short-fat tail. The ewes are always polled, but the rams are generally horned. The average body height of ewes are around 24 inches or 60 cm, and the rams are slightly larger than ...

Dala Fur, known as Dala palsfar, sheep originated in Sweden and are one of several sheep breeds that are remnants of the old Swedish landrace breed. They are a Northern European short-tailed sheep breed.  

Dala Fur sheep are short but very hardy. They are used for both meat and wool production. The wool is very curly and finer than most other Swedish sheep breeds. The lambs were traditionally slaughtered at 2 months and 10 days of age to be used for the costumes. The white fleece was preferred because of this use, and ...

Dalesbred sheep are found in the Upper Wharfdale and Central Pennines in England. They were developed from the Swaledale and Scottish Blackface breeds.

Dalesbred are a hill sheep with a black face and distinctive white marks on each side of their nostrils with their nose-end becoming grey. Their legs also have clear black and white markings. The average mature ewe weighs up to 45-60kg, rams 55-75kg (depending on environment). Dalesbred wool is typically of carpet quality. Their fleece is curly on the outside with a dense ...

Damani sheep are a dual-purpose (meat and wool) sheep from Pakistan. They are mainly found in the Dera Ismail Khan district and part of the Bannu district in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan.

Damani are small to medium sized, strong, and well adapted to their local environments. They are generally with white with a black or tan colored head and camel-colored legs. Their ears are small, and the udder and teats of the ewes are well developed. The average body height of the mature rams is around 61 cm at the withe ...

Although there are claims that the Damara breed of sheep originated in Egypt as long ago as 3000 BC, its recognition as a named breed is more realistically dated to the early twentieth century. In 1904, this long-legged sheep breed was seen by German explorers in the northern region of Namibia, which was then called Gross Damaland – hence it became known as the Damara Sheep. At one time, local farmers who used copper in their traditional attire, exchanged Damara Sheep for copper wire and for horses.

In 1954, many Damara Sh ...

Danish Landrace (also known as dansk landfar or klitfar ) sheep are native to Jutland in Denmark. They were developed from the Merino and Heath sheep, with early specimen interbreeding in the nineteenth century with Leicester and Oxford Down sheep.

They are medium sized and are generally white with a gray head. They are mostly polled, with only around 10 percent horned rams. They are double-coated and long tailed. Generally their tail is spotted brown, but they are predominantly white.  

The average height o ...

Debouillet sheep were developed in New Mexico in 1920 from Delaine Merino and Rambouillet sheep. They are well adapted to the range conditions of the southwestern United States. They are a medium-sized sheep with white hair on their face and legs.

They are hardy and gregarious and adaptable to unassisted pasture lambing. They produce a fine wool fleece with a deep, close crimp.

Decanni are small dual-purpose sheep (meet and wool). Their wool is black or ash and separated and grained. They produce about 0.5 kg wool per year.

Several strains of Merinos evolved in the United States. The type "A" Merino was developed in Vermont through selection and inbreeding. This Merino carries a very heavy, wrinkly hide. In form, the type A is angular and has little carcass value. It is not advocated for commercial lamb and wool production. The "B" type 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 w ...

Derbyshire Sheep have a clean cut black and white marked face and legs clear of wool. They are polled in both sexes. The Derbyshire Gritstone is a handsome sheep of aristocratic lineage, big, flat bones, strong and alert.

Content and Photo Source: National Sheep Association

Desert Sand are hybrid sheep created in Texas, USA around 1900 with Mouflon Sheep influence in their ancestry. Desert Sand Sheep are a naturally shedding, and are generally light to dark shades of champagne, cinnamon or copper colored. All rams must have horns, and the ewes are allowed to have horns although most ewes are polled. According to the United Horned Hair Sheep Association, "The Corsican Group of Sheep (Painted Desert, Texas Dall, Black Hawaiian, American Blackbelly, Desert Sand, and sheep referred to as Corsicans) are actually ...

Devon Closewool Sheep are a medium sized, white faced, hornless sheep with a dense white fleece of medium length and staple which contributes to its valued quality of hardiness. Average mature ewe weighs 55-60kg, rams 90kg.

Content and Photo Source: National Sheep Association

Devon Longwooled Sheep have a well-covered Head with long curly wool. Both sexes are polled. The body is covered in long curly, white wool. Well-proportioned with a strong wide and long top, with well sprung rib giving plenty of volume. The rear being well muscled with good conformation. Average mature ewe weighs 100kg, rams 136kg.

Content and Photo Source: National Sheep Association

Diggers Hill sheep are named after the locality in western Southland, NZ, evolved in a feral state. They have, somewhat confusingly, also been referred to as Takitimu, Dean Forest, and  Fiordlander, but the term Diggers Hill is preferred and used here.

They appear to be basically of Merino origin, but are distinct enough to be a recognizable breed, although there is some variation in type. They are also typical of New Zealand feral sheep - small body weight, less hair on the extremities, single lambing, and a tendency to s ...

Dohne Merino are a synthetic, dual-purpose Merino developed by the South African Department of Agriculture using Peppin-style Merino ewes and German Mutton Merino sires. The progeny were interbred and selected for high-fertility, rapid lamb growth rate, and fine Merino wool under commercial rangeland conditions.

The breeding program was initiated in 1939 and the Breed Society was formed in 1966. Selection since 1970 has been done with the aid of performance and progeny testing and comprehensive production records. All recorded ani ...

Dormer sheep are a cross between Dorset Horn rams and German Merino ewes (presently known as the South African Mutton Merino). They were developed through a series of extensive slaughter lamb experiments carried out at the Elsenburg Research Station of the Department of Agriculture since 1927 over a period of more than ten years. The name Dormer is shortening of the name Dorset-Merino.

The main object with the development of the Dormer was to breed a mutton breed which could adapt to conditions in the winter rainfall area of South ...

Dorper Sheep appear white but they are actually genetically a black sheep with a huge white spot covering its entire body except for the very striking black head (black headed Dorper). The Dorper is a quality meat sheep with all its easy care attributes highly developed like no other breed in the world. The White Dorper has the same breed standards as the Dorper (Black headed) except where color and markings are described. The White Dorper still has all the same labor saving qualities as the Dorper together with a great carcass. ...

Dorset ewes are of medium size and are naturally prolific; skin color is pink whilst the face, legs and ears are white. Rams show a bold masculine appearance and also carry good fleshing throughout. The wool of both the Horn and Poll is of the highest quality, not only is it fine and densely grown but is particularly white which helps it find a ready market in times of plenty. Average mature ewe weighs 85kg, rams 120kg.

Content and Photo Source: National Sheep Association

Dorset Down Sheep are active, medium sized short-woolled sheep. They have strong legs that support a deep chested, long sheep with well fleshed hindquarters and fine wool.

Content and Photo Source: National Sheep Association

Drysdale sheep area a dual-purpose breed whose wool is used mainly for carpet manufacturing. They carry the dominant Nd gene, a mutation which occurs in the Romney breed. The Nd gene causes a high abundance of course, very hairy fibers, called halo-hairs.

The wool of the Drysdale is without crimp, highly medullated, with a fiber diameter of 40 microns. It is known for its whiteness and dyeing versatility. The Drysdale is found in most environments throughout New Zealand. They are sheared twice a year.

The East Friesian breed originated in the Friesland area in the north of Holland and Germany. In Europe it has been used either purely as a milking breed - it is considered to be the world's highest producing dairy sheep - though it is often crossed with other breeds to improve fecundity and milk production in breeds that are bred for their meat or for their milk production. The East Friesian is described as a large-framed, high-fertility breed with a pink nose and a thin tail.

Some breeders refer to their very quiet temperame ...

Easy Care Sheep are a revolutionary breed of sheep which requires minimal shepherding and veterinary care, sheds its wool in the summer, does not need shearing and yet offers excellent meat yields and lambing ratios. The breed is now well established in Britain and abroad and is proving extremely popular and successful with breeders in today's farming environment. 


The guiding principle behind Easy Care is straightforward. Centuries ago, sheep didn't naturally have huge fleeces, merely a winter coat which was shed in ...

Elliottdale are a dual-purpose (meat and wool) sheep developed at the Elliott Research Station in Tasmania during the 1970s. They were commercialized in 1986, which helped established the Australian Carpet Wool Industry. The effect of the EI gene (Elliottdale) is similar to the Drysdale, Tukidale, and Carpetmaster genes in the Romney breed, and are at a different locus on the chromozone. Today, the Elliottdale sheep breed is rare and is at serious risk of extinction with very little breeding animals left.

They are medium-sized ...

English Leicester (also known as Bakewell Leicester, New Leicester, Dishley Leicester, Leicester Longwool, Improved Leicester, and simply as Leicester) sheep were developed by the eighteenth century breeding innovator Robert Bakewell.

At first they were pretty slow-growing and closely boned. But over time they have been developed to gain weight quickly and grow very fast. In 1826 they were one of the first pure sheep breeds introduced to Australia. They have been used for improving may other sheep breeds, mainly because o ...

Epynt Hardy Speckled Sheep are a commercial; easy-care breed with the primary purpose is to perform well in a mountainous environment year round with limited supplementary feeding. They are a long living, good mouthing sheep producing lambs which are easy to finish. They are a heavy boned hill sheep which is stocky and sturdy in stature with a speckled face and legs, of grey brown or black clean of wool. The ewes are polled and the rams usually horned. Their attributes include a strong hefting ability, excellent mothering ability ...

At the end of the 18th century, Merino blood was introduced into German sheep in the borders with France, and gradually these large meat Merinos were kept in large numbers in the Alsace Lorraine region of France. This breed became known as the Est a Laine, which translated means East and Wool.

Est a Laine Merinos are an attractive, strong, large-framed sheep with very fine white wool. Their head is long, white in color, with long, drooping ears. Their sheep is naturally polled (no horns), unlike the original Merinos. Their nec ...

Estonian Ruhnu (also known as Eesti Maalammas) sheep were found on the small Estonian island of Ruhnu in the Gulf of Riga in the Baltic Sea. They are thought to have developed from sheep left on Ruhnu island by Swedish-speaking inhabitants who settled on the island in the fourteenth century.

Their total population was documented as 300 in 1944. Currently they are rare, and their total population is around 30 animals. They are a dual-purpose animal were originally raised for both meat and wool.

They are medium size ...

Exmoor Horn Sheep are an ancient dual purpose hill breed which has existed since time immemorial in the west of England, but is well adapted to modern requirements.

They are white faced, with horns, cherry colored skin and a white fleece of medium length and good quality.

Fabrianese sheep are medium-large white sheep bred for meat. They are polled and have a Roman nose.

They are found in Ancona Province, Marche Region of Italy. They originated from local Apennine crossed to Bergamasca sheep.

Content and photo source: Agraria.org.

Faroes, or Faeroes, sheep are related to Old Norwegian, Icelandic, and perhaps Shetland breeds. They are not gregarious and tend to be territorial. Faroes forage in small groups, spreading to cover the entire area, behaving somewhat like Icelandic sheep. They are small and well adapted to mountainous terrain. Their color varies from white, grey, light red, dark red, chestnut brown, to black.

However, due to the low price of wool, Faroes sheep are sheared primarily for the comfort of the sheep. Their lambs reach a slaughter weight ...

Finarda Sheep are large white Italian sheep bred for meat found in the Piedmont and Lombardy Regions. They are a composite of Bergamasca and Biellese sheep.

Content and photo source: Agraria.org.

The Finnsheep or Finnish Landrace originating in Finland in northern Europe. They are an active, hardy animal, adaptable to a wide range of conditions. It is most generally used for crossing to increase fertility in a standard flock. It also brings with it resistance to facial eczema.

They are characterized by high fertility (lambing rates frequently exceed 200 percent) and white, lustrous, bulky fleece. Other recognition features are its naturally short tail, its clear, wool-free face, and its pink nose.

Beside ...

Florida Crackers are one of the oldest breeds of sheep in North America. It is believed that they were developed from sheep that the Spanish first brought to the southeastern United States in the 1500's. They developed largely through natural selection under humid semitropical range conditions in Florida. Prior to the end of open range in 1949, they were allowed to free range.  

In the middle of the last century, the emphasis on high input agriculture caused the sheep industry to turn to breeds of sheep, which were la ...

Frabosana sheep are from the Ligurian Alps, Province of Cuneo (Piedmont Region), Italy. They are medium-sized white, sometimes brown, diary sheep. They are rustic and frugal, with a characteristic snub-nosed profile and flattened horns, spiral-shaped in males and backwards in females.

Content and photo source: Agraria.org.

Gaddi are medium-sized sheep native to India. They are one of the 8 different sheep breeds found in the northern temperate area of India. They are raised mainly for wool production. They are mainly found in Kistwar and Bhadarwah tehsils in Jammu province of Jammu andKashmir, Ramnagar, Udampur and Kullu and the Kangra valleys of Himachal Pradesh and Dehradun. Nainital, Tehri-Garhwal and Chamoli districts of Uttar Pradesh. 

They are generally uncolored and white, although they can be found in mixed tan, black and brown. The ...

Galician, or Ovella galega, sheep are from Galicia region of Spain. 

They are small sheep. Their coat is either all white or black. The ewes have smaller horns and those are generally diminutive if they exist at all. While the rams have relatively large horns, in the form of double-spirals. There are two separate ecotypes, Montana, of the 'high areas' as well as Marinano of the 'low areas'.

Their total population has dwindled significantly, but their numbers have improved notably in the last few years. Their to ...

Galway sheep are from Galway, in the west of Ireland. They were developed in the West of Ireland, as a result of the importation of English Longwools from the late 17th century onwards. From the middle of the 18th century Robert Bakewell's Dishley Leicester, also known as the New or Improved Leicester, was exported to Ireland in large numbers, in particular to the estate of Bakewell's associate, Lord Roscommon, and later Lord Sheffield.

The breed which developed was for many years known as the Roscommon, and a Flock Book of Ros ...

Ganjia are meat sheep from China (North China; Xiahe, Gansu).

Gansu Alpine Finewool sheep is one of a number of finewool breeds in China related to Xinjiang Finewool, as well as Russian Merino sheep. Gansu Alpine Finewools were initially based on Mongolian and Tibetan ewes and was developed through backcrossing to Merino type, followed by selection.

They were developed in the Huangchen District of Gansu Province, China, which has an altitude of 2,600 to 4,000 m (8,530-13,123 ft), an annual mean temperature of 0 to 3.8C (32-39F), an annual precipitation of 257 to 461 mm, and an average humidit ...

Garessina, also known as Muma or Garessio, sheep are an Italian transhumant (migrating) meat breed found in southeastern Cuneo Province (Piedmont), mainly in Val Tanaro and Val d'Inferno. They are classified as an Apennine breed, and show traces of Merino and French Alpine ancestry. About 90% of them are slaughter as lambs and about 10% are raised for wool. Very rarely they are raised to make cheese from their milk. On the average, ewes lamb twice in three years.

Unfortunately they are considered endangered.

Garfagnina white sheep are a composite of different breeds of the Appennine group; Garfagnana, and North-western Toscana. They are small white goats bred for milk and meat and are well adapted to the local environment (hills).

Content and photo source: Agraria.org.

Gentile di Puglia sheep, also known as Merino di Puglia, Pugliese Migliorata, Merino d'Italia, or Merino Gentile, are a fine-wooled breed from the Puglia region of southern Italy. They were initially developed in the 15th century but their primary improvement was from the 18th century, onward. They were developed from Spanish Merino crossed with local breeds. Saxony and Rambouillet breeds was introduced during the 19th century. In the last half century the number of head has dramatically decreased.

Gentile di Puglia sheep ...

German Blavkhead mutton, or Schwarzkopf Fleischschaf, are from Westphalia, Germany.

They are medium-sized, white sheep that are wide and long with dark-brown to black head, ears, and legs. They grow crossbred wool with a tight and firm staple that protects them in a wet climate.

In 1850, blackheaded meat breeds, such as Leicester, Southdown, and Hampshire were imported from England into Saxony to be crossed with local breeds. Thirty years later, breeding of these sheep started more in Westfalia and Eastern Pr ...

German Gray Heath sheep are the symbol of the Lueneburger Heide in Germany. Their ancestors, the Mouflon were at home in Corsica. Single lambs are born in spring with a curly, black fleece. After the sheep’s first yearly shearing, its wool turns silver gray with a black bib. Head and legs are black and free of wool. Rams weigh up to 80 kg (176 lbs) and have imposing horns that curl close to the face. Ewes weigh about 45 kg (100 lbs) and have short horns.

Their meat tastes like venison. The dual-coated fleece of a ewe weighs ...

German Merino sheep have a large frame, a straight head with a small woolly tuft on top, no horns, and rough, large ears that stick out to the side, with legs free of wool.

In the 18th century, Southern German Landsheep were crossed with French and Spanish Merinos, which produced the German Merino, or Merinolandschaf. They are the most common sheep breed in Germany today, at 40% of the total German sheep population.

German Merino were developed from the dual- coated Zaupelschaf, which already in 1539 was not lik ...

German Mutton Merino are well suited for intense production in arid or in agricultural areas. They are highly resistant and easily adapts to any climate and keeping conditions. They grow easily with a good meat yield. Non- seasonal breeding cycle (3 breedings in 2 years), high fecundity, and good mothering instincts make the Merinofleischschaf a good choice for intense milk-lamb production.

There are three German Merino breeds: Merinolandschaf (Merino landsheep), Merinofleischschaf (Merino mutton sheep), and Merinolangwolls ...

German Whiteheaded Mutton, or Deutsches Weibkopfiges Fleischschaf,  was developed along the North Sea coast in the middle of the last century. English Leicester, Cotswold, Hampshire, and Oxfordshire were imported and crossbred with the local Wilstermarschschaf, a northern German marsh sheep. Breeders succeeded in retaining the wanted qualities of the marsh sheep, such as high fecundity, fast development, and large size. In the 1930's, a new breed, the German Whiteheaded Mutton started to roam the grassy areas next to the North Sea. ...

Ghezel (also Known By: Kizil-Karaman, Mor-Karaman, Dugli, Erzurum, Chacra, Chagra, Chakra, Gesel, Gezel, Kazil, Khezel, Khizel, Kizil, Qezel, Qizil, and Turkish Brown) originated in northwestern Iran and northeastern Turkey. Their fleece is red and has sections of black red or light red. They are used for both meat and wool production. The males are usually hornless and the females are always hornless.  

Gotland Sheep are fine-boned and medium-sized. They have a hornless black head, free from wool, sometimes with white markings. Bold eyes, alert medium sided ears. Small, neat muzzle with even jaw. Slender neck and shoulders set smoothly into a level back with generous length, good depth and reasonable breadth of body. Slender black legs well-spaced and upright. Short hair-tipped tail. Dense long lustrous grey fleece, occasionally black, white or brown. Clearly defined even curl and staple, soft to handle. Calm friendly disposition. Av ...

Grey Troender are medium-sized sheep from Trondelag region of Norway. They were developed, in the late 19^th century, from the crossbreeding of native landrace sheep with the now extinct Tautra sheep.

They are most commonly found in shades of grey with distinctive white markings under their eyes. Although, brown, black, and white woolled animals are also occasionally seen. Their wool is uniform with a minimum fiber diameter of 32.3 mm, and around 2-3 kg average weight. Both rams and ewes are usually polled and they ha ...

Greyface Dartmoor, also known as the Dartmoor or Improved Dartmoor, sheep are descended from local breeds, which grazed the low ground in and around Dartmoor. They have immense strength of constitution developed through withstanding the severe winters and exposed conditions, which exist around the Moor. Improvements were carried out during the 19th century using the local Longwools (Notts) and the Leicester.

Dartmoor fleece is classified as Lustre Longwool. They are a medium sized sheep (approx. 60 kg/132 lbs), hornless, deep bodied ...

Gromark Sheep development began in 1965 in northern New South Wales, Australia. Gromark are approximately 50 percent Corriedale and 50 percent Border Leicester. They are a dual-purpose sheep which evolved from objective selection for high growth rate and fertility with final selection being based on visual criteria: wool quality, frame, and carcass attributes.

Gromark sheep are large-framed (ewes average 80 kg/175 lb) producing large lean lambs and good fleeces with wool fiber diameter being about 30 microns. 

Guirra, also known as Sudat and Levant Red, sheep are from Spain. They are found mainly in the Mediterranean coast of the Spanish provinces of Alicante, Castellon de la Plana and Valencia. Their early history is unknown; but according to some authors, they were developed from crossings of Manchega with thin-tailed North African sheep brought to the Mediterranean coast. In the past they were bred to produce meat, milk, and wool. But today, they are raised primarily for meat production.

Guirra sheep are small to medium sized, wi ...

Spanish sheep first arrived in Florida in the 1500's. Later importations of Spanish and other breeds of sheep mixed with the earlier population, all evolving under the strong natural selection of the native range conditions of Florida and the other Gulf Coast states. Today a remnant of this population survives and is known as Gulf Coast sheep.

Gulf Coast sheep are best known for their resistance to internal parasites. The Florida Agricultural Experiment Station in Gainesville has a flock which has been maintained without the use o ...

Gute sheep are the most primitive breed in the collection of breeds that make up the Swedish Landrace breed group. These breeds belong to the North European Short Tailed Breeds and are related to such breeds as the Finnsheep, Romanov, Spelsau, Shetland, Faroe, Orkney, and Icelandic sheep.  

Both rams and ewes have two well-developed, slightly turned, converging or diverging, symmetrical horns which are strongly curved and deeply ringed. The rams' horns are large and strong; the ewes' are thinner. Gute wool is coarse an ...

Hampshire Sheep's face and ears are a rich dark brown, approaching black, with wool over the poll and forehead. Wool is white with an average staple length. Body deep and symmetrical with ribs well sprung, broad, straight back, flat loins, wide rump and deep heavily muscled hind legs and breast. Legs being strongly jointed and powerful are set well apart. Average mature ewe weighs 80kg, rams 120kg.

Content and Photo Source: National Sheep Association

Han are a type of Mongolian sheep. They were developed in the semi-humid agricultural areas of China (Henan, Hebei, Shandong, Anhui and Jiangsu Provinces). There are two types of Han which in 1982, were claimed as two different breeds: Large-tail Han and Small-tail Han. The Large-tail Han are polled and are characterized by a long, broad, fat tail, with a thin twisted end turning upwards between two lobes, and broadest at the base. Maximum weight being 25 kg.  

Since the tail is too heavy for the sheep to move around ...

Hanzhong are meat sheep from Ningqiang, Lueyang and Mianxian county, and Shanxi province, China.   Adult males weigh 35 kg, females 31 kg. Their wool is 30-38 microns in diameter and is  8-10 cm long.

Harnai are a fat tail, mutton and wool type sheep. They are found in parts of Loralai, Quetta, Sibi and Zhob districts in Baluchistan Province. They are medium size with a white body coat with a black or tan spotted head and ears. The wool yield is 2.6 kg (medium; fiber diameter 33.4m). They have a compact body with a small fat tail, high fiber density.

Hasht Nagri are a fat tailed mutton and wool type. They are found in the Hasht Nagar tract in NWF Province of Pakistan. They are medium sized with a white body coat and their head and face either partially or completely black or tan. 

Their wool yield is 1.5 kg (medium; fiber diameter 36.7m). They have a compact body with short legs. Their hanging fat tail may reach their fetlock. 

Hazaragie sheep are from Central Afghanistan. They are a fat-tailed meat breed with carpet quality wool. They are usually reddish-brown but individuals which are black or white with a brown belly are also seen. Both sexes are polled.

Hebridean Sheep are a small, hardy breed with fine bones and a tail reaching no lower than the hocks. Both sexes are horned, and about 10% of animals have four or more horns. Occasionally polled ewes are to be seen but these are genetically four horned and usually produce horned lambs. The animals are entirely black, though the fleece usually goes grey with age. Lambs may have a dark brown appearance because the tips of the fleece have been bleached by the sun. The wool has a stiff, springy quality. It sheds water easily. The face and le ...

Heidschnucke are a fairly small sheep, initially originating from Niedersachsen in Germany. There are several varieties of Heidschnucke sheep: the grey horned Heidschnucke, the white horned Heidschnucke, and the moorschnucke (marsh sheep). At one time, the Heidschnucke were the most important sheep in northern Germany, but their numbers have declined substantially.

Lambs are black at birth, but their fleece discolors their first year of life, until it gets its characteristic grey color. Both rams and ewes have beautiful ...

Wild sheep or bushies have long been known to occur in the area around the headwaters of the Waianakarua River, inland from Herbert and Hampden, in North Otago, NZ. This area is at the southern end of the Kakanui Mountains and the northern end of the Horse Range. They originated from stragglers that escaped muster on sheep farms, and although occasionally shot, were largely left alone. From about the 1970s serious efforts were made to eradicate these feral animals, partly to facilitate development of some of the land, and partly because o ...

Herdwicks Sheep are a sturdy, strong boned breed. The rams in particular have a broad chest, noticeably thick-set legs and may have strong horns, although as many as 20% are polled or have relatively small amounts of horn growth. The female sheep are somewhat finer boned and should not have any sign of horns. Purebred Herdwick lambs are born largely black often with tips of white on their ears. As they age, the heads and legs become white and the fleece assumes a color ranging from a slate blue-grey to a light grey. Herdwick sheep are ...

Herik (also known as Amasya Herik, or Heregi) are short fat-tail sheep from northern Anatolia in Turkey. They are a carpet wool breed also used for meat and dairy production. They are similar to Daglic sheep. They are usually white with dark spots on their head. The males are horned and the females are usually polled.

Hill Radnor Sheep are a native hill or mountain breed most commonly found in the Border counties running from the North of Powys down to South West Herefordshire and Monmouthshire. It is a heavy breed which has good body length and width in its hind quarters, standing on well set legs with an abundance of bone. At birth the lambs are full of vitality, exceptionally well coated and gain excellent body weight. Lambing percentages vary under different conditions but the breed can easily average around 155%. The Hill Radnor is a healt ...

About 200 years ago, a flock of sheep was established on Hog Island, one of Virginia's barrier islands located off its Eastern Shore. The sheep were already native to the area and are believed to have had a substantial amount of Merino blood in them. There were occasional subsequent introductions to the population, the last being in 1953, when a Hampshire ram was taken to the island. In 1974, the island was sold to The Nature Conservancy, which decided to remove all the sheep and cattle.

Gunston Hall Plantation in Fairfax ...

Hokonio Sheep are from the Hokonui hills in the heart of Southland, New Zealand, where they have made the rugged and isolated Hokonui Hills their home for more than a century.

At one time more than 2000 Merino sheep roamed the hills. Today only about 100 remain feral. Another 100 to 150 are being retained in domestic flocks.

Wild sheep were known to occur in this area as early as 1863 - only a few years after the first Merinos had been brought to the district.

Re-domesticated Hokonui sheep continue to dis ...

Hu sheep originated from Mongolian sheep. They are distributed in the Zhejiang Jiangsu provinces of China and the suburbs of Shanghai. Hu sheep are well recognized for their beautiful wavy lambskins, early sexual maturity, aseasonal breeding, prolificacy, and the adaptability to a hot and humid climate. Hu sheep are raised indoors all year round. The lambskins taken from lambs slaughtered within the day of birth have distinctive wave-like stripes which are still retained after processing.

Hu sheep lambskins are traditional export item o ...

Icelandic Sheep are a medium-sized, upstanding sheep, with a light frame and a naturally short fluke-shaped tail. Although the majority of them are horned in both sexes, polled rams and ewes are common. The horns of the ram are strong and well rounded; the ewe's horns are finer and usually swept back. Four horned sheep are found occasionally in Iceland, but none have occurred in the UK. The fleece consists of a dual coat of very fine under-wool and an outer coat of long hairs and is found in all the natural colors, including a wide r ...

Ile-de-France Sheep have a strong head with a broad forehead, polled with protruding sockets, face of medium length, lips and nose rather thick. The profile is straight, slightly concave for the ram, with large ears, horizontal or standing slightly upwards, covered with thin short hair. The body is wide and large, broad and deep chested. It has a close white fleece. White covering covers the top of the head and extends down to or slightly above the orbital arches, frames the face, extends to just above the knees of the forelegs, cove ...

Imrov (also known as Gokceada) Sheep are among the smallest sheep breeds in Turkey. They are raised for meat, milk, and wool. They are predominantly white, with black marks around the mouth, nose and eyes, on the ears and rarely on the tip of the legs.  

Their tail is thin and long, usually reaching below the hocks. Rams have strong spiral horns extending sideways; ewes are usually polled, but up to 30% of the ewes may have small scurs. Their head are narrow and its profile is straight. Their wool is very coar ...

The creation of the INRA 401 sheep bloodline began in France in 1970, after a series of experiments crossing the Berrichon du Cher and Romanov which began in 1963 with the Romanov breed.  

Matings were carried out for several successive generations, between breeding stock of the same generation chosen in priority to maintain the origins represented in the foundation generation. The INRA 401 is a highly productive ewe, with a 200 percent prolificacy, excellent out-of-season fertility, good milk production, and ...

Istrian Milk, or Istriana or Carsolina, sheep are milk sheep from the Istria and Karst regions of Italy. The Istria sheep breeders have traditionally bred domestic, autochthonous (indigenous) sheep which they called Istriana or Carsolina. Through the years they have bred Istrian sheep mainly for their unusual and distinct long-stepping walk and the ability to graze in rocky terrain. While they will graze even on dry old grass, they are quite skillful at finding fresh grass between rocks.

Istrian sheep are found in the province ...

Jacob Sheep were traditionally a parkland breed but it is now much more widespread and is found in every part of the British Isles and in several countries around the world. It is an alert and attractive sheep being upstanding and deep bodied. Its white fleece has well defined black patches, the head and neck being mostly black with a white blaze. Both sexes are horned with either two or four horns. Jacob ewes are hardy and excellent mothers who milk well, frequently having twins or triplets. The finished lamb is tender and lean with ...

Jezersko Solcava, or Jezerskosolflorinavska, sheep were developed by the crossbreeding of native white sheep with Bergamasca and Padova sheep. They resemble the Austrian Bergschaf that has a similar origin. They got their name from the breeding centers of Jezersko and Solflorinava. Their head has a convex profile and hanging ears. Their legs are long and strong. Jezersko-Solcava sheep are very convenient for lamb production in the Alpine and Pre-Alpine region.  


Since 1980, Jezersko Solcava sheep haves been cros ...

Kamieniec are a dual-purpose medium-wool sheep from Poland. They were developed between 1954 and 1965 in the Kamieniec farm of the Breeding Center in Susz, near Olsztyn. The starting point was a flock of primitive ewes of the Pomeranian type, from individual farms in the regions of Gdansk and Koszalin or brought from settlers from the East. They were initially crossed with Leine and Texel rams, and then mated to Romney Marsh rams.

After selection, the progeny was interbred in order to obtain genetic consolidation of the ...

Karakul Sheep are a fat-tailed (and fat-rumped) sheep characteristic of the Middle East as well as southern Asia and North Africa (although they were found as far south as the African Cape by the seventeenth century). As the general name implies, they are distinguished by an accumulation of fat in the tail and around the rump which evolved as a store of food necessary for survival in a harsh, drought-prone environment.

Descriptions of such sheep can be found in the earliest records of British exploration, but they have b ...

Karayaka are multi-purpose sheep from Turkey. They are good for producing both meat and milk, and their wool is also used in carpets. They are mostly found in the northern Anatolia in Turkey, and are strongly identified with the village of Karayaka. They are also found along the eastern half of the Black Sea coast, especially in Giresun, Ordu, Sinop, Samsun, and Tokat. And they are also raised in Duzce, in the region of Western Black sea. The quality of grazing in the areas where these animals are distributed is quite high. And grazing s ...

The development of the breed began in the late 1950's with the importation of a small number of haired sheep from the Caribbean by Michael Piel of Maine. The Piel Farm had several thousand sheep at the time and Piel felt that progress in selection for traits important to the production of meat would be greatly enhanced by the elimination of wool as a major factor for selection. His goal was to combine the hair coat, prolificacy, and hardiness of the Virgin Island sheep with the meat conformation and rate of growth of wool breeds. He bega ...

Kelso sheep are one of several composite breeds developed in New Zealand. Unlike traditional breeds, which are bred for appearance as well as productivity, composites are bred for productive traits alone. Kelso sheep are continually being upgraded and modified to meet changing market needs.

Kelso is a sheep genetics company which has developed two large scale breeding programs over the last 50 years. The Kelso (Maternal Sire) and Ranger (Terminal Sire) breeding flocks are run on five farms from Gisborne to Southland all g ...

Kerry Hill Sheep are a well-balanced sturdy sheep with ears set high and free from wool. A black nose and sharply defined black and white makings on the head and legs. Both ewes and rams are hornless. It is a handsome sheep, with a dense fleece, which is unusually white. The fleece handles well and is amongst the softest of British wools. In both ewes and rams teeth should be regular and meet the pad neither undershot nor overshot. The Kerry Hill sheep are good on their feet and good in their teeth. Average mature weighs 55-65kg, ram ...

Kivircik sheep are found in northwestern Turkey, where it is kept for milk and meat production. Their fleece is of carpet-wool type, but their wool is of better quality than the wool of all other indigenous breeds in Turkey.  

They are white with white or spotted faces, similar to the Karnobat and the Tsigai. Black and brown varieties are also found. Rams have horizontal spiral horns extending sideways; ewes are usually polled. Tails are long and thin, usually reaching the hocks.

Kooka sheep breed originated from Pakistan. They are raised for meat and wool production. They produce about 3 kg of white wool per year.

They have a very heavy head with a wide forehead, long hanging ears, small horns, and a medium sized mouth. The females produce about 1 kg milk daily.

Lacaune sheep are the most numerous sheep breed in France. They have been selected in France for increased milk production under a sophisticated selection program incorporating artificial insemination, milk recording, and progeny testing of sires for longer than any other dairy sheep breed in the world.

Annual genetic improvement for milk yield in the French Lacaune is estimated at 2.4% or 5.7 kg (12.5 lbs). Lacaune ewes produce milk with higher total solids than the East Friesians, but in slightly less volume. The sheep ...

Lamon sheep are an Alpine breed, raised for meat. They large and polled with lop-ears and yellow-white wool. Sometimes, rarely, their face and legs are speckled brown or black. Their tail is thin and hangs below the hocks. Horns are absent.

Lamon sheep are one of the few Italian breeds that migrate throughout the year. In the past most Lamon sheep flock migrated every year, but today, most are not migratory. Traditionally Lamon sheep were registration in the town of Lamon in the Belluno Province or northern Italy. They are a ...

Landschaf sheep are a cross between German and Dutch heath sheep and a marsh sheep. Since 1934, they have been bred in the northern German Emsland area, especially in the county of Bentheim. The highly endangered, frugal Landschaf is used for landscape preservation. It is the largest of the German heath and moor sheep with long legs and hard hoofs.

Langhe, or Delle Langhe, are high-quality medium-large white dairy sheep, originally from Langhe, Region Piedmont, Italy. Today they are found in the provinces of Cuneo, Asti (Piedmont) and Savona (Liguria).

Content and Photo source: Agraia.org.

Lati, also known as salt Range, Sheep are raised for meat and wool in, and around, the Salt Range hills area in the Punjab Province, Pakistan. They are medium size with white wool and a tan or tan spotted head. Their wool yield is 1.5 kg (medium; fiber diameter 34.9m) with a low fiber density. They have small ears and a medium-sized fat tail.

Laticauda are a white Italian sheep descended from Northern Africa sheep that have developed many of their modern characteristics from subsequent crossbreeds with sheep from the Apennines. Most likely they were imported to Italy at the times of Charles III. They are raised for both meat and milk. Their milk is high-quality and used to produce high-quality pecorino cheese.

They are also known as Barbaresca campana, Bastarda arianese, Beneventana, Casalinga, Casereccia, Coda chiatta, Nostrana.

Content and photo sour ...

Latxa sheep are a milk sheep breed from the Basque Country of Spain. They are mostly raised within the provinces of Biscay, Gipuzkoa, and Navarre. They are known for excellent quality milk production. Their unpasteurized milk is used for producing Idiazabal and Roncal cheeses.

Latxa sheep have been managed traditionally by moving the flock to the mountain pastures in the summer when the ewes have finished lactating, with cheese-making taking place on the farm. Some flocks are moved while still lactating, with the animals b ...

Leccese, or Moscia Leccese, sheep are most likely are related from Zackel sheep from Asia. The have a not-so-curled woolly hanging coat.

They have rosy skin and a white coat, with black spots on their breastbone. A black short-haired muzzle, and a plain black or spotted limbs.

In the past they were raised for wool, meat, and milk but today they are mainly bred for milk production.

Content and photo source: Agraria.org.

Leicester Longwool Sheep are perhaps the most historically significant of all sheep breeds in its British homeland, and it is certainly the most famous of the longwools. It was the breed selected for ‘development’ by Robert Bakewell, the most renowned and successful of all the early workers in the field of livestock improvement. Working at Dishley Grange in Leicestershire from 1755, he produced the New – or Dishley – Leicester, which combined the breed’s original hardiness and excellence in the production of a long, heavy fleece with ...

Leineschaf, or Leine, sheep comes from the region of Nordheim (Hannover), in particular from the Leine river valley (hence the name).

They were created through crossbreeding of local breeds with Friesian, Merino, and Berrichon du Cher rams as well as rams of the English Leicester, and Cotswold breeds. In effect, a white hornless sheep of the dual purpose type was obtained. Medium-early maturing with uniform medium coarse wool, it is a hardy and healthy breed, well adapted to difficult conditions and to walking over lon ...

Limousine sheep are from Limousine France. They are known for their hardiness and excellent adaptability in very varied regions, notably on non-chalky, acid soils. They breed notable for its female qualities: early sexual maturity, a sure aptitude for off-season breeding, maternal instinct, and milk value.

Lincoln Longwool Sheep are the oldest known British longwool and is believed to be ancestral to all the other British longwool breeds. It is recorded as already existing in an established form by 1749, in the marshy fenlands of Lincoln County. It was the greatest rival of the Leicester, although, as they evolved in neighboring counties there is little doubt of their close relationship. Certainly there was considerable interbreeding of these two rather similar sheep.

They are the principal breed to be used with the Merino to de ...

Lithuanian Black-Headed are multipurpose sheep developed in Lithuania during the mid-20th century. They were developed by crossing local sheep with English Shropshire and meaty German black-headed rams, with the goal of combining the best characteristics of both. 

Lithuanian Black-Headed sheep mature early and supply homogenous semi-fine wool. They have short and white wool, while their head, ears, and legs are covered with black hair. They have no horns.

In order to form productive herds of thoroughbred sh ...

Litla Dimun sheep were a primitive, short-tailed, small, black, short-wooled breed of sheep that lived in Lítla Dímun (a small island between the islands of Suouroy and Stora Dimun in the Faroe Islands of Denmark). They became extinct during the mid-19th century.

They were a feral sheep, probably derived from the earliest sheep brought to Northern Europe in the Neolithic Period. The last of these sheep were shot in the 1860s.

They were similar in appearance and origin to the surviving Soay sheep, from the island of Soay ...

Livo sheep area an indigenous breed from the Valle di Livo in the Lombardy Region of northern Italy. They are medium-sized, have yellow wool, and are raised for meat.

Content and photo source: Agraria.org.

Llandovery Whiteface Hill Sheep are an elite hill breed of sheep. The rams have tremendous scale for a hill breed possessing good length and depth and can be either horned or moiled (without horns).  The sheep have a dense fleece able to withstand the elements of the harsh upland environment.  Both rams and ewes have a clean white face.   For generations the Llandovery Whiteface Hill Sheep has been bred to live and thrive in the areas surrounding the Black Mountain in Carmarthenshire with Llandovery the central market ...

Llanwenog are blackfaced and polled with tuft of clean wool on the forehead, this is a white fleeced, compact sheep with well sprung ribs, a strong loin and thighs. Ears should be fairly short and thin, slightly elevated. Average mature ewe weighs 56kg, rams 90kg.

Content and Photo Source: National Sheep Association

Lleyn Sheep are a medium sized lowland sheep weighing up to 70kg at maturity, renowned for their hardiness, prolificacy, easy lambing, strong mothering instinct, milkiness and easy handling. The wool is white free from any colored fibers or kemp and is of good length, dense and of high quality. Heads must be feminine and warm white in color with wide foreheads. Bright lively eyes and a black nose. Medium sized ears with black spots are desirable with the base of the ear starting from the wool. The back should be long with well sprung ...

Lohi are large sheep with very long ears. Their meat is considered to be very tasty and their  hair is very long and grained.

Lonk Sheep are one of the largest native hill breeds, their face and legs are pure black and white. The fleece is trim and even from head to skirting, white and free from kemp. Both sexes are horned. Average mature ewe weighs 45-54kg, rams 75-91kg.