Sheep Breeds M-N
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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
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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
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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
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Image source: British Sheep 8th edition |
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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 |
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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
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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
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Photo
courtesy of The Shepherd's
Croft, |
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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
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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 |
Photos
courtesy of Montadale
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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 |
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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
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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 Distribution: North America, Europe
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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
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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
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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
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Images from Nolana-Network Germany |
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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
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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
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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
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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 |
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