The North Ronaldsay or Orkney is a breed of sheep from North Ronaldsay, the northernmost island of Orkney, off the north coast of Scotland. It belongs to the Northern European short-tailed sheep group of breeds, and has evolved without much cross-breeding with modern breeds. It is a smaller sheep than most, with the rams (males) horned and ewes (females) mostly hornless. It was formerly kept primarily for wool, but now the two largest flocks are feral, one on North Ronaldsay and another on the Orkney island of Auskerry. The Rare Breeds Survival Trust lists the breed as a priority on its 2021–2022 watchlist, and they are in danger of extinction, with fewer than 600 registered breeding females in the United Kingdom.
The Manx Loaghtan is a rare breed of sheep native to the Isle of Man. It is sometimes spelled as Loaghtyn or Loghtan. The sheep have dark brown wool and usually four or occasionally six horns.
The Soay sheep is a breed of domestic sheep descended from a population of feral sheep on the 100-hectare (250-acre) island of Soay in the St Kilda Archipelago, about 65 kilometres (40 mi) from the Western Isles of Scotland. It is one of the Northern European short-tailed sheep breeds.
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 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 Jacob is a British breed of domestic sheep. It combines two characteristics unusual in sheep: it is piebald—dark-coloured with areas of white wool—and it is often polycerate or multi-horned. It most commonly has four horns. The origin of the breed is not known; broken-coloured polycerate sheep were present in England by the middle of the seventeenth century, and were widespread a century later. A breed society was formed in 1969, and a flock book was published from 1972.
The Hebridean is a breed of small black sheep from Scotland, similar to other members of the Northern European short-tailed sheep group, having a short, triangular tail. They often have two pairs of horns. They were often formerly known as "St Kilda" sheep, although unlike Soay and Boreray sheep they are probably not in fact from the St Kilda archipelago.
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 Texel is a Dutch breed of domestic sheep originally from the island of Texel. It is a heavy and muscular sheep, and produces a lean meat carcass. It is polled, clean-faced and clean-legged, with white face and wool. The fibre diameter of the wool averages about 32 μ, with a staple length of 8–15 cm; it is used mainly for knitting and hosiery wools.
Welsh Mountain sheep are small, hardy sheep from the higher parts of the Welsh mountains. The males have horns, and the females are polled (hornless); they have no wool on the face or legs, and they have long tails. There are a number of varieties, bred for sheep farming in Wales. These are mainly colour variations, but some are being developed as separate breeds.
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 Clun Forest is a breed of domestic sheep originating from the area surrounding the Clun Forest in Shropshire, England. Similar to many of the British breeds of upland sheep, Clun Forest are hardy, adaptable, good foragers, and are long–lived. With sleek heads and wide pelvic structures, Clun Forest ewes lamb easily. The breed has a short to medium–length wool and dark brown faces. They are a multi–purpose animal, kept for meat, wool, and milk. Like other dark faced sheep, Clun produce quality lamb and mutton. However, in contrast to more common meat breeds such as Suffolks, their wool is free of undesirable black fibres and kemp, and is suitable for handspinning. The breed's alert and stylish appearance, together with its reputation for hardiness and fecundity have made it popular with hobby farmers and large commercial flock owners alike. The Official Clun Sheep Breeders Society Show & Sale for males and females is held annually in early September at Ludlow livestock market by McCartneys.
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 Boreray, also known as the Boreray Blackface or Hebridean Blackface, is a breed of sheep originating on the St Kilda archipelago off the west coast of Scotland and surviving as a feral animal on one of the islands, Boreray. The breed was once reared for meat and wool, but is now used mainly for conservation grazing. The Boreray is one of the Northern European short-tailed sheep group of breeds.
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 Northern European short-tailed sheep are a group of traditional sheep breeds or types found in Northern Europe, mainly in the British Isles, Scandinavia, Iceland, Greenland, and the area around the Baltic. They are thought to be derived from the first sheep brought to Europe by early farmers, and for thousands of years they were the only type of sheep kept in Northern Europe. They are hardy sheep, adapted to harsh environments, but they are small and have been replaced in most areas with later types of larger, long-tailed sheep.
The Heidschnucke is a group of three types of moorland sheep from northern Germany. Like a number of other types from Scandinavia and Great Britain, they are Northern European short-tailed sheep. The three breeds of Heidschnucke are:
The Newfoundland, also called the Newfoundland Local, is a breed of sheep native to Newfoundland.
The Scottish Dunface, Old Scottish Short-wool, Scottish Whiteface or Scottish Tanface was a type of sheep from Scotland. It was one of the Northern European short-tailed sheep group, and it was probably similar to the sheep kept throughout the British Isles in the Iron Age. By the mid-nineteenth century it had mostly been displaced by the Scottish Blackface and it became extinct on the mainland of Scotland in the late nineteenth century. However, several local types of Dunface survived on islands around Scotland, giving rise to or contributing to existing breeds including the Shetland, North Ronaldsay, Hebridean and Boreray.
The Greenlandic sheep is a breed of domestic sheep. The Greenlandic breed is one of the Northern European short-tailed sheep, which exhibit a fluke-shaped, naturally short tail. The Greenlandic is a mid-sized breed, generally short-legged and stocky, with face and legs free of wool. The fleece of the Greenlandic sheep is dual-coated and comes in white as well as a variety of other colors, including a range of browns, grays, and blacks. They exist in both horned and polled strains. Generally left unshorn for the winter, the breed is very cold-hardy. Multiple births are very common in Greenlandic ewes, with a lambing percentage of 150% - 190%.
