Guide to Sheep Breeds

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  

Friesian Milk Sheep

Size: large
Appearance: white wool; clean face and legs; rat-tail
Fleece: fairly heavy, moderately fine fleece with moderate staple
Breeding: year round
Lambing rate: 225 percent
Behavior: docile
Use: dairy, meat
Origin: Germany
Environment: don’t perform well under harsh conditions, in heat or on the range
ALBC rating: not rated

Also known as the German East Friesian sheep, this breed produces more milk than any other breed with an average milk yield of 1,350 pounds (160 gallons) per lactation with 6-7 percent milk fat. The large carcass has only mediocre quality.

Dairy Sheep Association of North AmericaHC 69 Box 149
Anselmo, NE 68813
308-749-2349  

Icelandic 

Size: medium
Appearance: range of colors from white to brown to grey to black; some have patterns such as badgerface; short-tailed;
Horns: most horned, some naturally polled
Fleece: a soft, lustrous undercoat with a long, coarse outer coat
Breeding: seasonal
Lambing rate: 170-180 percent
Behavior: alert, almost wild; rams can be dangerous; poor flocking instinct; good browsers and strong mothering instinct
Use: milk, meat, fleece
Origin: Iceland
Environment: suitable for cool climates
ALBC rating: not rated