|
Manchega rams
Manchega ewe and lamb
Photos
courtesy of
Universidad de Córdoba
Manx Loaghtan ewe
4-horned Manx Loaghtan ram
Photos
courtesy of
Manx
Loaghtan Sheep Breeders Group
Masham ewes
Image Source: British Sheep 8th edition
Meatlinc
Ram
Photo
courtesy of NSA
Wales & Border Ram Sales
Meatmaster ewe
Meatmaster rams
Photos
courtesy of Geelbeksdam
Stud
Miniature Cheviot
Photo
courtesy of The Shepherd's
Croft,
(Photo by Toni Kellers)
Mirror Sheep
Photo
courtesy of
EAAP-Animal Genetic Bank
Champion Montadale ewe
Montadale ram
Photos
courtesy of Montadale
Sheep Breeders Association
Morada Nova ewes
Cyprus Mouflon
Photo
courtesy of Agios
Cyrus Villas
Navajo Churro ram
Navajo Churro ewe
Photos
courtesy of Bid A Wee Farm
New Mexico Dahl ewe and lamb
Photo courtesy of Terra Patre
Wildlife Preserve and Rescue
New Zealand Halfbred ewe
New Zealand Halfbred ram
Photos
courtesy of Graham Meadows Ltd.
Nolana-Fleischschafe (meat-type)
Nolana-Landschafe (landrace-type)
Images
from Nolana-Network Germany
Norfolk Horn rams
Norfolk Horn ewes
Photos courtesy of Norfolk
Horn Breeders Group
North Country Cheviot flock
North Country Cheviot ewes
Photos
courtesy of
North
Country Cheviot Sheep Society
North of England Mules
Photo
courtesy of High
Stander Farm
North Ronaldsay ram
Photo
courtesy of
North
Ronaldsay Sheep Fellowship
|
Sheep Breeds M - N
-
Manchega
The Manchega sheep comes from the Entrefino breed and has a
double production use: milk and sheepmeat. Among this breed,
there are two accepted varieties: black and white. The latter
one makes up more than 90% of the animals. The average milk
production is 100 liters (26.4 gallons) per animal a year, being
markedly seasonal during the months of April, May and June.
Manchego cheese is the most important and well-known sheep’s
milk cheese in Spain. True Manchega cheese is made only from
whole milk of the Manchega sheep raised in the "La Mancha"
region. This region is a vast high plateau, more than 600 meters
(1,969 ft) above sea level.
Breed categories: dual purpose (dairy and meat)
Distribution: Spain, Europe
- Manx Loaghtan
The Manx Loaghtan is found on the Isle of Man off the coast of
Great Britain. It is member of the Northern Short-tailed group,
similar to the Hebridean, but slightly larger. It's wool is chocolate
brown with paler tips. The Manx Loaghtan is descended from the
primitive sheep once found throughout Scotland and the coastal
islands of Britain.
Manx Loaghtan are horned with four horns being
preferred. In England, the majority is two-horned. Individuals
are also found with six horns. The horns are small on the ewes,
but are larger and stronger on the males. They sometimes shed
their natural colored wool in the spring. The meat is appreciated
as a delicatesse and is protected by EU law.
Breed categories: primitive, short-tail
Distribution: United Kingdom, Europe
Go to Manx Loaghtan
Breeders' Group =>
- Masham
Masham sheep have been bred for over a centry on the hill farms
in the Northern Counties of England. They are produced by crossing
a Teeswater ram onto either a Dalesbred or Swaledale ewe, both
hardy hill breeds. It is from these parent breeds that the Masham
gains its hardiness, longevity, heavy milking qualities, strong
moterhing insticts and high prolificacy. The Masham ewe is medium
sized and hornless. Her fleece is long staples, 8-10 inches
on a yearling and 6 to 7 inches on a ewe, with a good degree
of lustre.
Breed categories: half-breed, dual purpose, long wool
Distribution: United Kingdom
- Meatlinc
The Meatlinc is a British breed, in the Terminal Sire category,
developed from a breeding program originated by Henry Fell in
the early 1960’s.Originally a mixture of chosen individuals
from five breeds, two British and three French, the Meatlinc
evolved as a result of many years of rigorous and disciplined
selection based on performance recording carried out under strictly
commercial conditions.
The breed was closed to any further use
of outside genetic material in 1975. It is thus a genuine pure
breed with recognizable uniformity. It is amongst the biggest
of the British breeds, a mature ram weighing 140 kg (over 300
lbs).
Breed categories: meat, terminal sire
Distribution: United Kingdom, Europe
Go to Meatlinc Breed
Society =>
-
Meatmaster
In the early 1990's, determined to utilize the advantages of
the indigenous fat-tailed hair breeds and realizing the huge
gap between the fat-tailed breeds and the well-muscled British
and European breeds and the need for a truly good pure hair
breed with good meat qualities, a group of South African farmers
decided to develop a composite breed.
Various fat-tailed breeds
were thus crossed with well-muscled breeds and the dream of
the Meatmaster emerged. Meatmaster sheep are selected solely
for economic factors under natural conditions. They have been
exported to Namibia, Australia, and Canada. The Meatmaster must
just have a percentage of Damara blood in it. The rest can be
that of any other sheep breed.
Breed categories: hair (meat)
Distribution: Africa, Australia, Canada
Go to Meatmaster
Sheep South Africa =>
-
Miniature Cheviot
(Brecknock Hill Miniature Cheviot)
Cheviot sheep originated in the Cheviot Hills between England
and Scotland. They were introduced to the U.S. in 1838. Border
Cheviots are small, hardy sheep that spend their lives on the
moors. In the U.S., they have become larger than their ancestors
from the UK, so the Brecknock Hill Miniature Cheviot registry
was formed to preserve the original size. The registry recently
dropped "Brecknock Hill" from its name to differentiate
American Miniature Cheviots from the Brecknock Hill Cheviots
that originated in Wales and are slightly different.
Miniature
Cheviots are usually white, with small heads and erect little
pointed ears. Their fleeces provide a medium wool with a distinctive
helical crimp and a long staple, perfect for handspinning. Maximum
height at two years of age is 23 inches at the top of the shoulder
when sheared. Mature ewes weigh 45 lbs to 85 lbs; mature rams
55 lbs to 100 lbs.
Breed categories: dual-purpose, miniature
Distribution: United States
Go to Miniature Cheviot
Sheep Breeders Cooperative =>
-
Mirror Sheep
(Spiegelschaf)
The Mirror Sheep has a characteristic head design. Besides
its otherwise white color, it has black eye marks, black ear
points, and a black nostril. A medium-sized sheep, Mirror Sheep
are undemanding compared to other sheep. They descend from old
Bündner sheep races like the Prättigauer sheep and
probably have influences of the silk sheep and the Luzeiner
sheep. Austrian races might have participated like the Montafoner
and the eyeglass sheep in the emergence of the Mirror Sheep.
Breed categories: meat
Distribution: Europe
Go to Das Speigelschaf
=>
- Montadale
The Montadale was developed in the United States from Cheviot
and Columbia crosses. E.H. Mattingly, a well-known commercial
lamb buyer is given credit for developing the breed. His idea
was to bring together the qualities of big western-white faced
sheep and the popular mutton characteristics of Midwestern sheep.
His result was a good meat type, dual- purpose animal with the
head and legs free of wool and with the stylish appearance and
agile body of the Cheviot.
For fifteen years, many of these
Montadale lambs were carcass tested for characteristics which
are now the standard in the industry, but which at that time
were yet to become widely accepted as the ideal. The Montadale
breed is considered a dual-purpose breed noted for producing
both high-quality carcasses as well excellent wool.
Breed categories: dual-purpose, medium wool
Distribution: North America
Go
to Montadale Sheep Breeders Association, Inc. =>
-
Morada Nova
The Morada Nova comes from northeast Brazil and is probably
of African origin. It may also be related to a Portugal breed
called Bordaleiro. The breed originated from selection of individuals
of the Brazilian Woolless. Both sexes are polled. The rams do
not have a throat ruff. It has been reported that they have
a litter size of 1.32 to 1.76. The predominant color is red
to cream, but white animals are also found. The breed is small
with mature lamb and ewe weights of about 40 (88 lbs) and 30
kg (66 lbs), respectively.
Breed categories: hair (meat)
Distribution: South America
Go to Associação Brasileira de Criadores de Ovinos
=>
-
Mouflon
(Ovis musimon)
The Mouflon is thought to be one of the two ancestors for all
modern sheep breeds. It is red-brown with a dark back-stripe,
light colored saddle patch and underparts. The males are horned
and the females are horned or polled. It is now rare, but has
been successfully introduced into central Europe, including
Germany, Austria, Czech Republic, Slovak Republics, and Romania.
Breed categories: native (wild)
Distribution: Europe, North America
Go to United Horned Hair Sheep Association =>
-
Navajo Churro
The Navajo-Churro was the first domesticated sheep introduced
into North America. Brought from Southern Spain in 1514, Churro
sheep became the mainstay of Spanish ranches and villages along
the Rio Grande.
Native Indians acquired flocks of Churro for
food and clothing through raids and trading and eventually incorporated
them into their lifestyle. After nearly becoming extinct through
a government sheep "improvement" program in the mid-1900's,
the breed is now recovering and becoming more popular, though
still considered a "rare" breed.
They are a small
breed, hardy, and disease resistant. Rams may carry four horns.
The Churro fleece is long, fine, and coarse. It has two layers
and is low in oil. Native Navajo tribes still use the Churro
fleece to weave their famous rugs and blankets. The Navajo Churro
is classified as a "rare" breed by the American Livestock
Breeds Conservancy.
Breed categories: double-coated, rare, heritage
Distribution: North America, Europe
Go to Navajo
Churro Sheep Association =>
- New Mexico Dahl
New Mexico Dahl Sheep are an almost extinct Spanish Colonial heritage
hair sheep breed under development at Terra Patre Wildlife Preserve
& Teaching Farm in Colorado and New Mexico. The goal in developing
these unique sheep is to produce a truly multi-marketable, low-maintenance
product. These hardy, no-shear sheep are beautiful and majestic
with the rams supporting magnificent horns. They are also very
excellent sources of lean, less muttony tasting meat.
The NM Dahl
is taking this one step further and wanting to increase the meat
marketability along with increasing the growth of the horns not
only on rams but also on the ewes for even better future horn
genetics. With this in mind, New Mexico Dahl Sheep are hybrids
of the best horned and meat hair sheep.
Beginning with the descendents
of hair sheep brought to the USA in 1598 by the Onate Spanish
Colonists, and not being limited to breeding within the Corsican
Sheep family (Texas Dall, Black Hawaiian, and Painted Desert Mouflon
crosses), breeding is based solely on a focus of easy care, big
horns and heavy meat carcasses, as well as maintaining the shedding
ability in these wonderful hybrids.
[Text provided by Terra Patre Wildlife Preserve and Rescue]
Breed categories: hair, exotic, heritage
Distribution: United States
- New Zealand Halfbred
The New Zealand Halfbred is a registered breed of sheep, originally
developed in the 19th century by crossing one of the English longwool
breeds such as Lincoln, English Leicester, or Romney, with the
Merino. New Zealand Halfbreds are mainly farmed in the foothills
of the South Island high country. Their wool has a fiber diameter
of 25-31 microns, intermediate between Corriedale and Polwarth.
Staple length is 3 to 4 inches.
Breed categories: half-bred, medium-wool, dual-purpose
Distribution: New Zealand
- Nolana
(Nolana-Fleischschafe, Nolana-Landschafe)
The breeding aim of the Nolana sheep is to combine the advantages
of hair sheep with the advantages of native wool sheep. Nolana
sheep are hair sheep. They don’t produce wool, but carry
a smooth coat during summer and a 4-5 cm (1.6-1.8 in) thick
pelt during winter which they shed naturally in spring. Therefore,
they don’t need to be shorn.
Two types of sheep have evolved
during the development of the Nolana sheep: a meat-type (fleischscafe)
and a landrace-type (landscafe) for more extensive settings
and landscape management. The meat-type is mostly white, while
the landrace-type is more variable in color and type.
Breed categories: hair (meat)
Distribution: Europe
Go to Nolana Network
Germany =>
Go to Nolana
Network Woolless and Hair Sheep Breeders in Europe =>
-
Norfolk Horn
The Norfolk Horn originated in Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridge,
England. It is one of the ancient "Heath" breeds now
being revived in small numbers. The Norfolk Horn was used along
with Southdown in the development of the Suffolk breed.
It is
a medium-sized breed with a long body and legs. The face and
legs are black or dark brown and free of wool. The fleece is
white with new born lambs being mottled. Both sexes are horned
and the horn pattern is an open spiral. The feet are black.
Breed categories: landrace, rare, medium-wool
Distribution: United Kingdom
Go
to Norfolk Horn Breeders Group =>
- North Country Cheviot
North Country Cheviots are a "hill breed" of sheep.
They evolved on the rugged Scotch highlands and of necessity
had to thrive unattended by man and search for food on wild
unimproved land. In these conditions the ewes usually lambed
alone, and the newborn lambs survived by their near-miraculous
ability to get-up, nurse, and run just minutes after their birth.
North Country Cheviot sheep are intelligent, self-reliant, resourceful,
and among the healthiest and most long-lived breeds. The North
Country is an tough sheep that produces both a superior lamb
crop and a fleece that delights handspinners. It has outstanding
crossbreeding ability and can be used as either the sire or
the dam breed.
Breed categories: dual-purpose, hill
Distribution: United Kingdom, North America
Go to American
North Country Cheviot Sheep Association =>
Go
to North Country Cheviot Sheep Society =>
-
North of England Mule
This medium- sized crossbred sheep, sired by the Bluefaced Leicester,
has a Swaledale or Northumberland type Blackface dam. The latter
two breeds are born and reared on the Northern fells and moors
and noted for their qualities of hardiness, thriftiness, and
longevity. The Mule ewe has the ability to produce and rear
prolific crops of lambs under any system.
Lambs from the Mule
by a Down or continental type breed of sire give a first class
carcass, at 17 to 22 kg (37-48 lbs), ideal for both the UK and
continental markets. The fleece of the Mule has a staple length
of 10-25 cm (4-10 in) and a Bradford Count of 46's-54's. It
is mainly used for the manufacture of knitwear and carpets.
The Mule is hornless with a brown/black face, clera of wool,
with a tendency towards a "Roman" nose. Ears and legs
are white with brown markings. It is the most popular crossbred
ewe in the UK.
Breed categories: half-breed, meat
Distribution: United Kingdom
Go to North of England
Mule Sheep Association =>
-
North Ronaldsay
(Orkney Sheep)
The North Ronaldsay is a small rare breed of sheep of the Northern
short-tailed group of breeds. They have remained virtually unchanged.
Their most unique feature is their diet, which consists mostly
of seaweed. Mature ewes rarely exceed 25 kg (55 lbs); rams about
30 to 35 kg (66-77 lbs.). The animals are primitive and fine-boned
and have evolved in a specialized seashore environment on their
native island.
They adapt well to mainland management including
conservation grazing. Rams are horned, but ewes can be horned,
polled, or scurred. Virtually any color of wool is possible.
Wool is fairy fine, with some kemp. Rams develop a mane and
beard of coarse hair. There are about 3,700 of these sheep still
on the island of North Ronaldsay.
Breed categories: rare, primitive, short-tailed
Distribution: United Kingdom
Go to North Ronaldsay
Sheep Fellowship =>
|
