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Livestock Resources -
Sheep Breed Profiles
Sheep breed profiles of some of the most common breeds of sheep for hobby farmers.
Sheep offer much to hobby farmers; they can provide wool or meat and even dairy products. Hobby Farms sheep breed profiles offer basic information about some of the most popular and most suitable sheep for hobby farmers. Read more to find out which one is best for you.
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
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Barbados Blackbelly
Barbados Blackbellies are meat breed sheep ideal for situations where their hardiness, productivity, parasite- and foot rot-resistance, and ability to take care of themselves makes a difference, such as in low-input, organic, and grass-fed lamb operations. |
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Cotswold
If you're a fiber artist or conservator breeder, here is your sheep! The Cotswold is a peerless producer of eight to 12 inch locks of lustrous white or colored fiber in the 33 to 40 micron range; ewes clip about 12 to 15 pounds of fleece. |
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Dorset
Dorsets are dual-purpose wool and meat sheep. Dorset fleece is white, strong, and free of dark fiber. Averaging a five to nine pound clip with a two to four inch staple, it measures in the 26 to 32 micron range. Because they're attentive, extremely milky dams, Dorset ewes produce fast-growing, meaty lambs; twins are the norm. |
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Icelandic
The medium-sized Icelandic makes a wonderful triple-purpose addition to the farm. The versatile, double-coated fleeces grown by this breed charm hand spinners with a wide and lovely range of natural colors. |
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Katahdin
Katahdins make hardy, low-maintenance meat animals and produce excellent lamb crops throughout their long productive lives. The lambs yield a lean, mild-tasting carcass that holds appeal for specialty markets. |
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Karakul
Karakul wool is an ideal medium for weaving fine rugs and saddle blankets as well as for felting. While not meat sheep per se, Karakul flesh is lean, fine-textured, and tasty. |
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Merino
The Merino is justifiably famous for its wool. Hand spinners adore the Merino’s exceptionally fine fleece, which spins up into a soft yarn that, when turned into garments, offers lightweight warmth without the itchy, scratchy feel of coarser wools. |
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Navajo-Churro
Navajo-Churros have a lustrous fleece composed of a strong outer layer and a soft undercoat which is low in lanolin, making it easier to wash, card, spin, and weave. The open locks and wide color range make Navajo wool ideal for hand spinners and weavers. |
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Scottish Blackface
In Europe, the long, coarse wool of the Scottish Blackface is made into fine carpets, Irish and Scottish Tweeds, and used to stuff mattresses. This medium-sized breed also produces a lean, fine-grained, and flavorful meat. |
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Shetland
Shetlands grow soft, strong fleeces in a delightful range of colors, patterns, and textures – a spinner’s dream come true. Indeed, the Shetland woolen industry with its fine, un-dyed sweaters, shawls, and other knitted garments owes its fame to this hardy little wool breed. |
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Shropshire
Classed as a medium-wool breed, the Shropshire produces a heavy, dense fleece with a soft handle and little kemp. The wool – wonderful for spinning and knitting-- has a staple length of 2.5 to 4 inches. The lambs of this dual-purpose breed gain weight quickly and yield a good, meaty carcass. |
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Southdown
The American Southdown Breeder’s Association hails this fast-growing breed as an efficient and economical converter of grass to lean, tender and flavorful meat. These sheep make popular exhibition livestock and good 4-H/FFA projects for young people due to their mellow temperaments. |
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Tunis
Tunis sheep excel as extremely feed-efficient, productive meat animals capable of thriving on poorer pastures and in hot, dry conditions. According to the National Tunis Sheep Registry website, Tunis lambs require less feed than larger sheep breeds to reach the same market weight within similar time frames. |
Sheep Breed Associations
All Farm Animal Profiles Coming soon ....
American Jacob Babydoll Southdown Bluefaced Leicester Border Cheviot Border Leicester Minature Cheviot California Red Cheviot Clun Forest Columbia Coopworth Cormo Corriedale Debouillet Delaine Merino Dorper Finnsheep Gulf Coast Hampshire Hog Island Leicester Longwool Navajo-Churro Panama Polypay Rambouillet Romanov Romney Soay St. Croix Suffolk Targhee Teeswater Texel Wensleydale
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