sheep breeds

Blue faced leicester

commonly crossed with a hill breed to produce a mule

charollais

popular meat breed

terminal sire, fine bones to produce a good meat to bone ratio in lamb

suffolk

terminal sire breed

scottish blackface

maternal hill breed

border leicester

crossed with a hill breed

good mothering ability

welsh mountain sheep

good mothering ability

texel

terminal sire breed

muscling, long loin and lean meat

dorset

shorter gestation period

can produce large numbers of lambs

examples of hill breeds

• rough fell

• scottish blackface

• welsh mountain

• swaledale

• lleyn

• north country cheviot

• clun forest

• south country cheviot

• kerry hill

• exmoor horn

examples of upland breeds

• teeswater

• wensleydale

• border leicester

• blue faced leicester

examples of mules

scottish mule

masham

welsh halfbred

scottish halfbred

examples of lowland breeds

• suffolk

• charollais

• oxford down

• beltex

• hampshire down

• texel

• southdown

hill breed purpose

• pure bred breeding stock

• surplus female lambs and wether lambs are sold as stores to upland/lowland farms to be fattened

• older ewes that have lambed several times are transferred to milder climates of lower areas and crossed with longwool breeds to produce mules and half breds

upland breed purpose

• older ewes drafter from the hills can continue to breed in the easier conditions and are mated with longwool upland breeds to produce mule lambs

• female mule lambs are transferred to lowland farms for breeding, tey are crossed with a lowland/terminal sire breed

• male lambs reared for meat production

lowland breed purpose

• mule ewes mated to a lowland terminal sire breed to produce cross breed lambs

• most lambs reared for meat production

• some may be kept for replacements

• lambs grow faster and produce more meat in less time (easier terrain, good grass growth, large frame inherited from terminal sire)