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.
Sheep farming or sheep husbandry is the raising and breeding of domestic sheep. It is a branch of animal husbandry. Sheep are raised principally for their meat, milk, and fiber (wool). They also yield sheepskin and parchment.
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 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 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 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 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.
Bond sheep are an Australian sheep breed that was developed around 1909 near Lockhart, New South Wales by Thomas Bond when he mated Saxon-Peppin Merino ewes to stud Lincoln rams for primarily wool production. The resulting progeny was selected on the basis that they would be more suited to the Riverina environment. Initially these sheep were known as ‘the Commercial Corriedale’.
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.
The Blackhead Persian is a fat-tailed breed of domestic sheep from Africa. The sheep is originally from Somalia and a direct descendant of the Somali sheep. The breed is also a type of hair sheep, meaning they do not grow wool and tolerate heat better than wooled breeds and are raised primarily for meat. The Blackhead Persian has a white body and, as their name would suggest, an entirely black head.
Sheep are domesticated, ruminant mammals typically kept as livestock. Although the term sheep can apply to other species in the genus Ovis, in everyday usage it almost always refers to domestic sheep. Like all ruminants, sheep are members of the order Artiodactyla, the even-toed ungulates. Numbering a little over one billion, domestic sheep are also the most numerous species of sheep. An adult female is referred to as a ewe, an intact male as a ram, occasionally a tup, a castrated male as a wether, and a young sheep as a lamb.
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 Balkhi is a domesticated breed of sheep found in Afghanistan and North-western Pakistan. This breed is of the fat-tailed mutton type. Though this breed does grow wool, it is primarily raised for meat.
The Berrichon du Cher is a French breed of domestic sheep. It is one of two breeds derived from the old Berrichon of the Berry region of central France, the other being the Berrichon de l'Indre. The Berrichon derived from the Boischaut, Brenne, Champagne and Crevat breeds, all of which are now considered to be extinct. Images of the Berrichon from the sixteenth century show a horned long-woolled sheep; by the eighteenth century the Berrichon was polled and had wool of Merino type. In the nineteenth century some breeders crossbred the Berrichon with British breeds such as the Cotswold, Dishley Leicester, Romney and Southdown with the aim of improving its meat qualities; there was also some intromission from the Charmoise. The Berrichon du Cher derives from these crosses.
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.
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.
The Dohne Merino is a breed of domestic sheep from South Africa. The breed was started in the late 1930s by the South African Department of Agriculture. It was developed by interbreeding Peppin-style Merino ewes and German Mutton Merino rams. The Dohne Merino is a dual purpose breed providing meat and fine wool.
The German Whiteheaded Mutton is a breed of sheep developed to live along the North Sea coast of Germany. It is a dual-use breed used for both its fine wool and meat production. They often graze along the North Sea dikes in Northern Europe.
