Guide to Sheep Breeds

(Page 4 of 11)

September/October 2008
Janet Wallace 
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Size: large
Appearance: white but sometimes spotted face and legs; forelock and woolly legs
Fleece: very long, coarse, lustrous wool that hangs in ringlets
Breeding: seasonal
Lambing rate: 150-175 percent
Behavior: docile, excellent maternal instincts
Use: meat, wool for handspinners
Origin: England
Environment: good on range; poor heat tolerance
ALBC rating: threatened

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One of the oldest breeds known. A hardy sheep that has easy lambing (because of a wide pelvic structure), strong foraging and maternal instincts. Cotswolds are used to increase milk production, body size and staple length in crossbred young.

Cotswold Breeders Association
P.O. Box 441
Manchester, MD 21102
410-374-4383

Dorper 

Size: medium to large
Appearance: distinctive appearance with black head and neck, and white heavyset body
Fleece: mix of hair and wool, sheds in the spring
Breeding: long breeding season; can breed out of season up to every 8 months
Lambing rate: 150 percent can produce 2.25 lambs a year
Behavior: good mothering
Use: meat
Origin: South Africa
Environment: can thrive on poor pasture or in lush conditions
ALBC rating: not rated

Very hardy, fast-growing breed that doesn’t need shearing. Dorpers are used as terminal sires for fast-growing, well-muscled lambs, or used as a maternal sire to increase productivity, milk production and resistance of crossbred ewes. White Dorpers, which are solid white, are now available as well.

American Dorper Sheep Breeders' Society
P.O. Box 796
Columbia, MO 65201
573-442-8257

Dorset Horn 

Size: medium
Appearance: white faces; wooly white legs
Horns: Curled on both sexes
Fleece: short-staple, moderately fine fleece
Breeding: eight-month season
Lambing rate: usually twins (frequently triplets), can lamb twice year
Behavior: good mothering; docile
Use: meat, milk, wool
Origin: England
Environment: widely adaptable
ALBC rating: watch

Dorset Horn is a long-lived breed that is noted for its heavy milk production and high productivity. Lambs grow at a moderate speed, but produce well-muscled carcasses.

Continental Dorset Club
P.O. Box 506
N. Scituate, RI 02857-0506
401-647-4676 

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