Learning Sheep Breeds Learning about major breeds of sheep. Click here to continue

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Let’s get started, click on the first breed to begin! Skip to quiz Suffolk Hampshire Shropshire Oxford Southdown Dorset Corriedale Dorper **Please go in order!

Suffolk Skip to quiz Breed Characteristics: Head should be black, hornless and well covered with a thick, fine hair coat The fleece/wool should be dense and free of dark fiber The back should have a straight spine from the base of the neck to the tail head The rump should be long, wide and level from hooks to pins Suffolk Ram

Suffolk Skip to quiz Fast Facts: Meat breed Show animal Breeding Market Noted as a breed as early as 1810 An original English breed Average Ram weight: 300 lbs. Average Ewe weight: 200 lbs. Shown fitted or slicked Suffolk Ewe

Hampshire Skip to quiz Breed Characteristics: The face should be of good length, dark in color, and practically free of wool from the eyes down. The body should be relatively deep with a strong level top. The back should be strong, well muscled and uniform throughout. It should be covered well with muscle and not fat. The fleece of the Hampshire should be free of black fibers in the fleece. Hampshire Ram

Hampshire Skip to quiz Fast Facts: Meat breed Show animal Breeding Market Average Ram Weight: 270 lbs. Average Ewe Weight: 200 lbs. Breed developed in Southern England Shown fitted or slicked Hampshire Ewe

Shropshire Skip to quiz Breed Characteristics: Naturally dark face (not jet black), gray nose not objectionable. No sign of horns. White wool, covering the whole poll. Wool should be free from black fiber and hairiness. Shoulders blending smoothly into the ribs. A full heart girth, strong and straight back with adequate body capacity. Shropshire Ram

Shropshire Fast Facts: Meat Breed Show Animal Breeding Market Originally brought to America in 1855 Average Ram Weight: 255 lbs. Average Ewe Weight: 150 lbs. All sheep are shown slick shorn. Skip to quiz Shropshire Ewe

Pop Quiz! All three of the breeds you have already learned about the fleece/wool is to be free of dark/black fibers. – True True – False False

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Nice Try! All of these breeds wool are to be free of black fibers according to their set of breed standards. Click here to learn about more sheep breeds!

Oxford Breed Characteristics: Color Variation: The typical Oxford brown has no suggestion or black about it. Shades of coloration should range from steel gray to a dark (chocolate) brown. The color of the face, ears and legs should match. The wool is compact, free of black fiber and of good stable length. The back is full and level, the ribs are well sprung, the barrel deep, thick and long, with a straight underline. Skip to quiz Oxford Ram

Oxford Skip to quiz Fast Facts: Meat Breed Show Animal Breeding Market Average Ram Weight: 250 lbs. Average Ewe Weight: 200 lbs. Shown fitted or slicked Oxford Ewe

Southdown Skip to quiz Breed Characteristics: The hair on the muzzle should be gray to brown, not white and not approaching black. The optimum color of the tip of the nostril should be black, color blue or purple is acceptable and some speckles are not uncommon. Hindquarters are wider than the forequarters and carry good width to the pin bones. There should be a good bulge on the outside of the leg to indicate heavy muscling. Southdown Ram

Southdown Skip to quiz Fast Facts: Meat Breed Show Animal Breeding Market Average Ram Weight: 190 lbs. Average Ewe Weight: 130 lbs. The Southdown is one of the oldest purebred sheep breeds in the world. The first breed to show the animal slick shorn, in which today all sheep are shown slick shorn. Southdown Ewe

Dorset Skip to quiz Breed Characteristics: The head should be neat and well covered with wool on the crown and under the jaw. The wooled and haired portions of the head should be free from any brown, liver or reddish colored spots. Solid pink noses and lips are preferred. The rump should be long, wide, level and very well muscled. Dorset Ram

Dorset Skip to quiz Fast Facts: Meat Breed Show Animal Market Breeding Average Ram Weight: 225 lbs. Average Ewe Weight: 150 lbs. Polled Dorsets were developed from a gene mutation. The polled strain has helped Dorsets become one of the most popular sheep breeds in the country today, where it has the largest white face breed registry in the country and second overall. Shown fitted and slick shorn Dorset Ewe

Pop Quiz! Which of these breeds are NOT a white faced breed according to the previous pictures? – Southdown Southdown – Oxford Oxford – Dorset Dorset

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Nice Try! The Oxford is not a white faced breed. The oxford has brownish gray coloring to their head while the Dorset and Southdown are white faced breeds. Click here to learn about the final 2 breeds of sheep! Click here to learn about the final 2 breeds of sheep!

Corriedale Skip to quiz Breed Characteristics: They are large framed and plain bodied, hornless and have a broad body. Dense fleece is medium-fine and high yielding, with good length and softness, somewhat between medium wool and long wool. Corriedale Ram

Corriedale Skip to quiz Fast Facts: Wool Breed Show Animal Breeding (mainly) Market Average Ram Weight: 200 lbs. Average Ewe Weight: 150 lbs. Corriedales are known for their mothering ability and their ability to forage under a variety of climatic conditions. Shown fitted Corriedale Ewe

Dorper Skip to quiz Breed Characteristics: Dorper RamWhite Dorper Ram

Dorper Skip to quiz Fast Facts: Hair Breed Show Animal Breeding Average Ram Weight: 245 lbs. Average Ewe Weight: 180 lbs. Originated in South Africa Shown slick shorn. White Dorper Ewe

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Question #1 Identify the sheep in the given picture: – Hampshire Hampshire – Dorper Dorper – Dorset Dorset – Shropshire Shropshire

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Nice Try! Click here for next question The sheep pictured is a Dorset. It is a white faced fitted lamb shown in the picture. The Hampshire and Shropshire are neither a white faced breed and Dorpers are not shown fitted.

Question #2 Choose the breed or breeds of sheep classified as a wool breed in this lesson. – Dorper, Hampshire and Corriedale Dorper, Hampshire and Corriedale – Dorper and Corriedale Dorper and Corriedale – Corriedale Corriedale – Dorper, Hampshire, Shropshire, Oxford Dorper, Hampshire, Shropshire, Oxford

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Nice Try! Click here for next question Simply the only wool breed talked about in this lesson is the Corriedale breed.

Question #3 What is the largest white faced breed talked about in this lesson? – Dorper Dorper – Dorset Dorset – Shropshire Shropshire

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Nice Try! Click here for next question The only white faced breed listed is the Dorset. The Dorper has an all black head and the Shropshire has a mousey brown coloring to it’s head.

Question #4 Identify the sheep in the given picture: – Shropshire Shropshire – Oxford Oxford – Hampshire Hampshire – Southdown Southdown

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Nice Try! Click here for next question The sheep in the picture is an Oxford. Reasoning for not being a Southdown is because it is not white faced nor slick shorn. Reasoning for not being a Hampshire is it is more brown in coloring than black. Reasoning for not being a Shropshire is because it has too much face wool. This was a very tricky question!

Question #5 What breed was the first to be shown slick shorn? – Southdown Southdown – Dorset Dorset – Shropshire Shropshire – Suffolk Suffolk

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Nice Try! Click here for next question However all of these breeds can be slick shorn, the answer is the Southdown, it came right out of the reading.

Question #6 Identify the sheep in the given picture: – Suffolk Suffolk – Shropshire Shropshire – Dorper Dorper – Corriedale Corriedale

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Nice Try! Click here to go on The sheep pictured is a Suffolk, it was the only breed talked about with an all black head.

Closing Notes… Today you have learned about 8 of the major sheep breeds. The things that you have read about and have been quizzed on are things that will help you to identify the breeds in the future!