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2008 Watchlist;
Category 5, Minority.
Dorset Down Sheep are
justly known as "king of the prime lamb breed". One of
the oldest breeds of native sheep, Dorset Down Sheep
have a prestigious history as well as a successful
future in the British farming landscape. The Dorset Down
is renowned for producing early maturing lambs from grass,
making them ideal for organic, and other extensive
farming systems. The Dorset Down Ram is also proven as
the ideal Terminal Sire to virtually any other breed of
sheep making it the ideal solution for modern,
commercial flocks.
The Dorset Down is a compact, medium-sized sheep, with a
good depth of lean flesh. Historically the breed has
been used as a terminal sire to produce quick-maturing
lambs from crossbred ewes. However its numbers have been
declining and the breed is now on the rare breed
watchlist as vulnerable meaning that there are less than
900 breeding ewes.
Ewes and rams are very
quite and docile, easy to manage and shepherd,
especially at lambing time, and they are wonderful
mothers who produce very active lambs at birth. The
Dorset Down ewe will take the ram in most months of the
year, is apparently unaffected by extremes of
temperature and being docile and adaptable is ideal for
close winter housing.
The fleece is one of the most highly valued British
fleeces. The wool is short and fine in texture on mature
sheep, while good tight wool on the lambs resists bad
weather. Fleece weights range up to 2.177kg washed and
up to 2.450 kg greasy. The British Wool Marketing Board
classes Dorset Down wool as one of the highest grades in
the country; considerable quantities of it go to the
hosiery trade.
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