Swifter sheep are a new, highly
productive sheep breed, which was developed in the 1970s by the Agricultural
University in Wageningen, the Netherlands, to increase the productivity of the
Dutch sheep stock. Swifters are used as dams for slaughter lambs.
Swifter sheep were developed by
crossing Texel and Flemish sheep. To obtain excellent, fast-growing lambs for
slaughter, the Swifter ewe is tupped by a ram for slaughter lamb production:
the Charollais, the Suffolk, or the Texel. Pedigree Swifters produce 2.5 lambs
per lambing on average. 80% of ewes give birth to two or more lambs in their first
year. Births are almost always without problems.
About Swifter Sheep
