 | |
| Conservation status | |
|---|---|
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Distribution |
|
| Use | meat and wool |
| Traits | |
| Weight |
|
| Wool colour | white |
| Face colour | white |
| Horn status | polled |
| |
The Border Leicester is a British breed of sheep. [3] It is a polled, long-wool sheep and is considered a dual-purpose breed as it is reared both for meat and for wool. [4] The sheep are large but docile. They have been exported to other sheep-producing regions, including Australia and the United States.
The live weight of a mature Border Leicester ram is in the range of 140–175 kg (309–386 lb) and a mature ewe 90–120 kg (200–260 lb). A yearling ewe is around 64 kg (141 lb). [5] Their white wool tends to be very long and by Merino standards, broad crimped, and in fineness about 32 to 38 microns, and is used for medium- to heavy-weight garments. This wool, though, is prized by spinners because of the crimp and lustre. The sheep are normally shorn twice a year when the wool has reached a length of around 100 mm (3.9 in). Lambs yield an average of 1.8 kg (4.0 lb) of wool; yearlings may yield 3.2 kg (7.1 lb) at each shearing. The United States, Australian and New Zealand Border Leicesters very rarely sport the extreme of British flocks. All strains of Border Leicesters are known for their docility. They produce good milk and are good mothers with a lambing percentage of about 150%. [6]
Border Leicesters are all white with a distinct long body, well-developed chest, well-sprung ribs and a wide, strong back. The nose should be black and the ears should be large, upright and alert. Feet should also be dark in colour. [5] The head and legs should be free of wool and only covered in short white hair making it easier for shearing. Sheep of this breed should also have a distinct Roman nose much like the North Country Cheviot. [4]
There are key strengths associated with the Border Leicester making them an excellent breed for farmers. They have excellent maternal characteristics meaning that they make good mothers while producing quality lambs. Lambs finish quickly due to their high growth rate and produce high quality, desirable meat. The breed is also hardy and easy to keep and manage. [7]
The Border Leicester was developed in 1767 in Northumberland, England. Their name derives from the fact that their birthplace is near the border of Scotland with their foundation stock being Dishley Leicester rams. [8] The Dishley Leicester was created and bred by Robert Bakewell (1726-1795) by crossing the old lincolnshire breed with the leicestershire type sheep. The Dishley Leicester became very popular with local farmers. George and Mathew Culley bought some of Robert Bakewell's Dishley Leicesters and the breed was soon found on both sides of the border through sales held by the Culley brothers. Around the 1830s two distinct types of Dishley Leicesters were developing on the two sides of the border. The Culley brothers were crossing their sheep with Teeswater sheep while other farmers in different areas along the border were crossing with Cheviots. This variation in the breed resulted in the two being nicknamed the "Bluecaps" and the "Redlegs". Many farmers preferred the hardier redlegs and around 1850 this variation of the Dishley Leicester became known as the Border Leicester. [9] They were a fairly common breed in the UK by the 19th century.
Registered flocks are now found in England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales. Border Leicester sheep have been exported to British Guiana, Canada, China, Colombia, South Africa, France, Spain, Portugal, United States, India, Japan, Yugoslavia, Iran, Hungary, Russia, Turkey and Switzerland.
Border Leicester sheep were imported to Australia in 1871, where they now have a large number of stud flocks. Border Leicester rams are used for mating with Merino ewes to breed the first-cross mothers that are so valuable for the production of prime lambs. Border Leicester Merino cross ewes produced in this way offer the greatest overall performance when breeding meat type sheep, with a well proportioned carcase, high fertility, good foraging ability and good milk production.
Border Leicester Merino cross ewes are mated to shortwool rams (e.g. Poll Dorset or Southdown) to produce prime lambs, which grow rapidly to market weights and have the ideal carcase shape. The vast majority of Australian lambs produced for meat are bred in this manner. [10]
Border Leicester sheep also contribute about 50 percent of the genetics used in the Gromark breed of sheep that were developed in Australia. [11]
The breed was imported into New Zealand in 1859, and after refrigeration was introduced in the 1880s, the Border Leicester was used as a crossing sire to produce heavyweight lambs and wether mutton. The Border Leicester was later used to develop New Zealand's Border-Romney cross (Coopworth) and the Border-Corriedale (Borderdale) breeds.
The first breed association was formed in 1888 in the United States [12] The American Border Leicester Association is the only registry in the USA. Breeders show their sheep at county shows and fairs throughout the year with the annual National Polly Hopkins Show traveling between The Big E in Springfield, Massachusetts and North American International Livestock Exposition held in Louisville, Kentucky.
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 capital punishment. 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 Perendale is a breed of sheep developed in New Zealand by Massey Agricultural College for use in steep hill situations. The breed is named after Sir Geoffrey Peren, and it achieves its aims by being the offspring of Romney ewes and Cheviot rams with sturdy legs. It is raised primarily for meat.
Polwarth is a breed of sheep that was developed in Victoria (Australia) during 1880. They were of one-quarter Lincoln and three-quarters Merino bloodlines. They are large, predominantly polled sheep with long, soft, quite fine wool and produce good meat carcasses. They were developed in an attempt to extend the grazing territory of sheep because the Merino was found lacking in hardiness in this respect. A dual-purpose breed with a major emphasis on wool production. Richard Dennis, of Tarndwarncoort in south west Victoria, bred the Polwarth, first known as Dennis Comebacks. Descendants of Richards Dennis continue to grow Polwarth wool at Tarndwarncoort, maintaining the original bloodlines in a flock referred to as the "Blue Dots".
The Cotswold is a British breed of domestic sheep. It originates in, and is named for, the Cotswold hills of the southern midlands of England. It is a large long-woollen sheep, and is kept as a dual-purpose breed, providing both meat and wool.
The Dorper is a South African breed of domestic sheep developed by crossing Dorset Horn and the Blackhead Persian sheep. The breed was created through the efforts of the South African Department of Agriculture to breed a meat sheep suitable to the more arid regions of the country. It is now farmed in other areas as well, and is the second most common sheep breed in South Africa.
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 Bluefaced Leicester (BFL) is a longwool breed of sheep which evolved from a breeding scheme of Robert Bakewell, in Dishley, Leicestershire in the eighteenth century. First known as the Dishley Leicester, and then the Hexham Leicester, because of the prevalence of the breed in Northumberland, the name Bluefaced Leicester became known at the beginning of the 20th century. In the 1970s, the Bluefaced Leicester was exported to Canada. Exported frozen semen from the United Kingdom is now used to expand the genetic diversity in Canada and the United States. It is raised primarily for meat.
The Shetland is a small, wool-producing breed of sheep originating in the Shetland Isles, Scotland, but is now also kept in many other parts of the world. It is part of the Northern European short-tailed sheep group, and it is closely related to the extinct Scottish Dunface. Shetlands are classified as a landrace or "unimproved" breed. This breed is kept for its very fine wool, for meat, and for conservation grazing.
The raising of domestic sheep has occurred in nearly every inhabited part of the earth, and the variations in cultures and languages which have kept sheep has produced a vast lexicon of unique terminology used to describe sheep husbandry.
The Charollais is a breed of domestic sheep originating in east central France, in the same region in which Charolais cattle originated, Charolles and Saône-et-Loire. It is known for ease of lambing and is used as a terminal sire to increase muscling and growth rate of the lambs. It has been exported internationally, and is commonly used in the United Kingdom as a sire to produce market lambs from pure-bred ewes and mules.
The Kerry Hill is a breed of domestic sheep originating in the county of Powys in Wales. It derives its name from the village of Kerry (Ceri), near Newtown. Kerry Hill sheep have a distinctive and unique coloration, with a white face bearing black markings around the mouth, ears, and eyes. Both rams and ewes are polled. Their wool is white, and their legs are white with black markings. First mentions of the breed date back to the early 19th century, and today it is distributed throughout the United Kingdom, Ireland, the Netherlands, Germany and Denmark. Though still not very numerous, the breed was removed from the records of the Rare Breeds Survival Trust watchlist in 2006. This breed is primarily raised for meat.
The South African Meat Merino or SAMM is a wool and meat sheep originating in South Africa, but now found throughout the world.
The Zwartbles is a breed of domestic sheep originating in the Friesland region of the north Netherlands. There it was primarily used for the production of sheep milk as well as lamb and mutton. They were often kept alongside dairy cattle herds.
The Devon Closewool is a British breed of domestic sheep. It is distributed almost exclusively on Exmoor in North Devon, in south-west England. It is raised primarily for meat.
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 Wiltipoll is a breed of polled domestic sheep that was developed in Australia from Wiltshire Horn sheep with the infusion of Border Leicester, Perendale, Poll Dorset, and Poll Merino genetics, that are raised for meat.
The Newfoundland, also called the Newfoundland Local, is a breed of sheep native to Newfoundland.
The Rideau Arcott is a breed of domestic sheep native to Canada, one of only a few livestock breeds native to the country.
Gromark sheep are a large-framed, plain bodied dual-purpose breed of sheep that were under development in 1965 by Arthur C. Godlee at "Marengo", Tamworth, New South Wales. They were selected for a high growth rate, fertility, wool quality and carcase attributes.
