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The Merino is a breed or group of breeds of domestic sheep, characterised by very fine soft wool. It was established in Spain near the end of the Middle Ages, and was for several centuries kept as a strict Spanish monopoly; exports of the breed were not allowed, and those who tried risked the death penalty. During the eighteenth century, flocks were sent to the courts of a number of European countries, including France, Hungary, the Netherlands, Prussia, Saxony and Sweden. The Merino subsequently spread to many parts of the world, including South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand. Numerous recognised breeds, strains and variants have developed from the original type; these include, among others, the American Merino and Delaine Merino in the Americas, the Australian Merino, Booroola Merino and Peppin Merino in Oceania, the Gentile di Puglia, Merinolandschaf and Rambouillet in Europe.
The Coopworth is a modern New Zealand breed of sheep. It was developed by researchers at Lincoln College in the Canterbury region of the South Island between about 1956 and 1968, the result of cross-breeding of New Zealand Romney ewes and Border Leicester rams. It has become the second-most numerous sheep breed in New Zealand, and has been exported to Australia, some European countries, and the United States.
Mulesing is the removal of strips of wool-bearing skin from around the breech (buttocks) of a sheep to prevent the parasitic infection flystrike (myiasis). The wool around the buttocks can retain faeces and urine, which attracts flies. The scar tissue that grows over the wound does not grow wool, so is less likely to attract the flies that cause flystrike. Mulesing is a common practice in Australia for this purpose, particularly on highly wrinkled Merino sheep. Mulesing is considered by some to be a skilled surgical task. Mulesing can only affect flystrike on the area cut out and has no effect on flystrike on any other part of the animal's body.
The Border Leicester is a British breed of sheep. It is a polled, long-wool sheep and is considered a dual-purpose breed as it is reared both for meat and for wool. The sheep are large but docile. They have been exported to other sheep-producing regions, including Australia and the United States.
The Romney, formerly called the Romney Marsh sheep but generally referred to by the local farmers as the Kent, is a breed of sheep originating in England. The Romney is a "long-wool" breed recognized in England by 1800. Exported to other continents, the Romney is an economically important sheep breed, especially to the sheep-meat and wool export trades of New Zealand.
The Finnish Landrace, Finn or Finnsheep is a breed of domestic sheep native to Finland. It is one of several Northern European short-tailed sheep breeds, but is notable for its high incidence of multiple births – it is common for a ewe to have three, four, or even five lambs at once.
The Corriedale is a New Zealand breed of sheep. It was bred from about 1882 in the South Island by James Little, who cross-bred Merino and Lincoln Longwool sheep. The breed was officially recognised in 1911. It has been exported to Australia and to many countries in Africa, Asia, Europe and North and South America. In 2021 it was reported from twenty-five countries, and the total population was estimated at just over 5 million.
The Peppin Merino is a breed of Merino sheep raised for their wool, mostly in Australia. So important is the Peppin Merino that wool producers throughout Australia often classify their sheep simply as being either Peppin, or non-Peppin.
The Poll Merino is a subtype of the Australian Merino breed of domestic sheep, without horns, that was developed in Australia.
The Rambouillet is a breed of sheep classified of the genus Ovis. It is also known as the Rambouillet Merino or the French Merino. The development of the Rambouillet breed started in 1786, when Louis XVI purchased over 300 Spanish Merinos from his cousin, Charles III of Spain. The flock was subsequently developed on an experimental royal farm, the Bergerie royale built during the reign of Louis XVI, at his request, on his domain of Rambouillet, 50 km southwest of Paris, which Louis XVI had purchased in December 1783 from his cousin, Louis Jean Marie de Bourbon, Duke of Penthièvre. The flock was raised exclusively at the Bergerie, with no sheep being sold for several years, well into the 19th century.
The raising of domestic sheep has occurred in nearly every inhabited part of the globe, and the variations in cultures and languages which have kept sheep has produced a vast lexicon of unique terminology used to describe sheep husbandry.
Domestic sheep reproduce sexually much like other mammals, and their reproductive strategy is furthermore very similar to other domestic herd animals. A flock of sheep is generally mated by a single ram, which has either been chosen by a farmer or has established dominance through physical contest with other rams. Most sheep have a breeding season (tupping) in the autumn, though some are able to breed year-round.
HMS Reliance was a discovery vessel of the Royal Navy. She became famous as one of the ships with the early explorations of the Australian coast and other the southern Pacific islands.
The British Milksheep is a robust, dual-purpose sheep commonly known for its milking characteristics.
The Comeback is a type of domestic sheep originating in Australia. This type of sheep results from crossbreds produced by British Longwool sheep and Merinos being mated back to Merinos. This cross is made to achieve a finer, better style of wool. Comeback style wool is also produced by Bond, Cormo and Polwarth sheep and they may prove easier to breed than Comebacks. The Comeback sheep are raised for meat and their fine wool.
The Rideau Arcott is a breed of domestic sheep native to Canada, one of only a few livestock breeds native to the country.
The Polled Dorset is an American breed of domestic sheep. It is a polled (hornless) variant of the British Dorset Horn. It was developed at the North Carolina State University Small Ruminant Unit in the 1950s after a genetic mutation led to the birth of a polled ram. After some years of breeding work, a true-breeding polled strain was established.
Sheep farming is a significant industry in New Zealand. According to 2007 figures reported by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations, there are 39 million sheep in the country. The country has the highest density of sheep per unit area in the world. For 130 years, sheep farming was the country's most important agricultural industry, but it was overtaken by dairy farming in 1987. Sheep numbers peaked in New Zealand in 1982 to 70 million and then dropped to about 27.6 million. There are 16,000 sheep and beef farms in the country which has made the country the world's largest exporter of lambs, with 24 million finished lambs recorded every year.
Collinsville Station is a pastoral lease that operates as a sheep station in South Australia. The property is situated approximately 25 kilometres (16 mi) east of Hallett and 180 kilometres (112 mi) north of Adelaide. It is composed of flat and hilly terrain with areas of saltbush and mallee scrub along with bluebush plains.
The Cambridge is a modern British breed of domestic sheep. It was bred at the University of Cambridge by John Owen and Alun Davies between about 1964 and 1979, with the aim of increasing prolificacy. It is among the most prolific of all sheep breeds, but is critically endangered.
References
- ↑ Montgomery, G.W.; Galloway, S.M.; Davis, G.H.; McNatty, K.P. (2001). "Genes controlling ovulation rate in sheep". Reproduction. 121 (6): 843–852. doi: 10.1530/rep.0.1210843 . PMID 11373170.
- ↑ Turner, Sydney; Sydney Young (1969). Quantitative genetics in sheep breeding. Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornell University Press [1969].
