The meat of Icelandic lambs is tender and has a fine texture. The meat of a Dorper is tender and great tasting. The lambs take longer time to reach market weight but produce lean, mild-tasting and meaty carcasses nonetheless. Moreover, fibre can be dyed effortlessly. The meat of an Icelandic sheep is appreciated throughout the world for its organic purity and mild flavour. Exotic Sheep Breeds: Merino. The ewes are desirable for easy lambing, high fertility, and good milk production. It is a multi-purpose livestock that is raised for skin, meat, dairy and fiber. It is found in Bombay-Deccan region and parts of Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh States. Comeback produces fine, soft, heavy fleece with an outstanding felting quality. The fleece has a fineness of 19-23 microns. While the meat of some does not lose taste with age, others grow pretty fast, saving you time and money. Chitrangada Sharan from New Delhi, India on January 13, 2021: I had no idea about the different sheep breeds. These are crossbreds of native sheep with exotic fine wool/dual-purpose/mutton breeds. What they lack in size, they make up in quality and taste of meat. This breed has excellent adaptability to the tropics and potential for both milk and meat production. The downside to wool from Cormo is the short length of staple and high crimp that makes it troublesome for the spinners to maintain even tension. Some raisers of Suffolk complain that they eat a lot but I believe it is normal considering the growth rate of the lambs. The fibre is white, soft and has average fineness with low lustre. These animals are well adapted to harsh local environment, which is characterized by high temperatures, prolonged dry periods, pests and diseases. Merino: The word Merino is derived from an early day royal officer of Spain, called the Merino, Merino is of Spanish origin, well-known as the best fine-wool breed in Linda Crampton from British Columbia, Canada on January 12, 2021: This is a very informative article. They are hardy with a high fertility rate and adaptability. The sheep are quite hardy and able to thrive in a hot and dry climate. These sheep are extremely hardy and can withstand harsh winters. The fibre is uniform, semi-lustrous and has more crimp than most longwool sheep. Suffolk. The Barbados Blackbelly is a dark-haired sheep breed that originated from Barbados in the West Indies. It is a fertile and hardy breed that adapts to harsh climate conditions. The staples are typically the longest among the fine wools. The Rambouillet is hardy and large with a hard body. There two classes of Mouflon, the urial Mouflon and the common or European Mouflon. Overall it is one of the best wool sheep for felting. These are the so-called dry and wet tropics. Nali Sheep: Medium-sized sheep; face is light brown in colour; skin is pink; ears are large and leafy; Low parasite resistance, high feed needs and intolerance to cold are the three main disadvantages of Dorpers. The female merino sheep live & yield longer when compared to other breeds. Meat is of good quality and has a delicate taste even in older lambs. This capability of sheep is helpful for shepherds looking to avoid shearing for meat production. Teeswater is an excellent commercial wool breed considering its staple length, staple strength and lustre. The staple length is reasonably good in all individuals of Polwarth. The Dorper sheep is often raised for mutton, but its a popular hair breed, too. These sheep are known for their fine, soft, black fibre. Lambs reach marketing weight at four to five months. The sheep that are not blue-faced at all produce fibre of fineness 24-28 microns. Jaisalmeri Sheep. They make excellent foragers and would rarely need supplementation. There is no wool on face or legs, and the nose is distinctively black. The crimp gives excellent loft and elasticity to the fibre. Texels are middle-sized and have a high muscle-to-bone ratio. The Charollais is one of the latest recognized domestic sheep breeds. Polwarth, a type of Comeback is a dual-purpose breed valued for fibre and meat. Origin Also known as Shami, is a native breed of Syria and other near East Countries. Little Lion in German, is one of the rarest dog breeds in the world. It is a medium to large-sized, dual-purpose breed used for fibre and meat. The Dorset ewes give birth to three lambs a year, which is appealing for the farmers who are interested in marketing lambs for meat. Thank you for sharing so many details about wool, Sherry. These sheep were developed by crossing Merino with British longwool. These sheep fall under the category of some of the low maintenance breeds. Nearly all the latter are woolled and many are multipurpose. The outstanding quality wool of Bond is a result of the mix of traits of its ancestors, Merino and Lincoln. Suffolk breed is native to United Kingdom (UK). indigenous breeds except for less than 1% exotic sheep group of mainly Awassi-Menz and Dorper crossbreds. Although there is little information presently available concerning rates of reproduction, body growth or wool growth of sheep in south-east Asia, plans are in progress for the performance testing in Indonesia of selected indigenous ecotypes or breeds and a limited number of exotic breeds. the introduction of exotic breeds of sheep and goats and to the development of intensive livestock production. Indigenous cattle are excellent foragers and will graze These sheep have good longevity; they are active and hard to be kept in a fence. where as the European Mouflon is a smaller Ewes have strong mothering instincts and are known for problem-free lambing. Finnish Landrace also popularly known as Finn or Finnsheep grows fibre of just perfect length and high, fine crimp. Wensleydale is a large-sized, polled longwool sheep with distinctive blue-grey faces. It is indeed among the highly adored backyard fellows because of its advantages. Im glad Ive learned about them. They are particularly suited for the New Zealand climate and do not do well in hot or dry climate conditions. After reading your informative and well-illustrated article I shall be taking a closer look next time I visit to see what breed they are. Because of a low amount of lanolin, the fleece grows relatively clean on the animal. Unlike the other sheep breeds in this list, Blackbelly sheep are not usually common among farmers who market sheep meat. They have a solid white body with a black head, but there are also white or red-headed strains.