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There are many breeds of sheep, but these are generally sub-classable as wool class, hair class and sheep meat variety breeds. Dual-purpose breeds are bred for both wool and meat.
Major wool breeds include Merino, Rambouillet, Romney, Shetland, and Lincoln. Drysdale and Herdwick are bred specifically for carpet wool.
Breeds of meat sheep include Beltex, Suffolk, Portland, Hampshire, Columbia, Texel, and Montadale.
Breeders of dual-purpose wool class sheep concentrate on fast growth, multiple births, ease of lambing and hardiness. An easy-care sheep is the Coopworth that has long wool and good lamb meat production qualities. Other dual-use breed are the Corriedale and Shropshire. Sometimes sheep are used for both purposes equally and cross-breeding is practiced to maximise both outputs. For example, Merino ewes providing wool may be crossed with Suffolk rams to produce lambs which are robust and suitable for the meat market.
Hair class sheep are the original class of sheep in the world, developed for meat and leather. They are prolific and highly resistant to disease and parasites. Dorpers and Kahtahdins are composite breeds of wool and hair crosses with different degrees of wool/hair mixes within the hair class. True hair sheep such as St. Croix, Barbados Blackbelly, Mouflon, Santa Inez and Royal White shed their protective down fiber to an all hair coat in the Spring/Summer. Hair class sheep are becoming more popular for their no-shear aspects.
Major wool breeds include Merino, Rambouillet, Romney, Shetland, and Lincoln. Drysdale and Herdwick are bred specifically for carpet wool.
Breeds of meat sheep include Beltex, Suffolk, Portland, Hampshire, Columbia, Texel, and Montadale.
Breeders of dual-purpose wool class sheep concentrate on fast growth, multiple births, ease of lambing and hardiness. An easy-care sheep is the Coopworth that has long wool and good lamb meat production qualities. Other dual-use breed are the Corriedale and Shropshire. Sometimes sheep are used for both purposes equally and cross-breeding is practiced to maximise both outputs. For example, Merino ewes providing wool may be crossed with Suffolk rams to produce lambs which are robust and suitable for the meat market.
Hair class sheep are the original class of sheep in the world, developed for meat and leather. They are prolific and highly resistant to disease and parasites. Dorpers and Kahtahdins are composite breeds of wool and hair crosses with different degrees of wool/hair mixes within the hair class. True hair sheep such as St. Croix, Barbados Blackbelly, Mouflon, Santa Inez and Royal White shed their protective down fiber to an all hair coat in the Spring/Summer. Hair class sheep are becoming more popular for their no-shear aspects.
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