What Breed Are We?

If you would like to know more about your sheep's breed then you have come to the right place! There is lots of info below on the different breeds featured on sponsorasheep.com

Scottish Black Face

Copyright Beth Maxwell Boyle © 2006 Monestery records show that monks in the 12th Century raised sheep that are the progenitors of the modern Scottish Blackface breed. The monks used the wool of the dun-faced sheep, as they were often called, for their own clothing and exported large amounts to Europe. Latter records show that in 1503 James the IV of Scotland established a flock of 5,000 Scottish Blackface Sheep in Ettrick Forest. Today the Blackface is the most important breed in the British Isles. Thirty percent of all sheep in the UK are Scottish Blackface! The Blackface epitomizes the mountain sheep. They have long coarse wool that shields them from moisture and biting winds. They are able to survive the harshest winters in the most extreme parts of Great Britain.

Blackface ewes are excellent mothers and will often attempt to defend their lambs against predators. They are good milkers and are able to yield a lamb crop and a wool clip even when on marginal pastures. The breed spread from the border areas during the Ninetieth Century to the highlands and the islands and also to Northern Ireland and the US. There are small flocks scattered across the USA but this robust little breed has remained a minor breed. Its potential has never been realized in the "States" where its stamina and tolerance of cold would be most valuable.

The Texel Breed

The Texel Sheep originates from the Island of Texel, one of the north-western Islands off Holland where it has been known since Roman times.

About 1933, the Texel was introduced to France and has since become established, particularly in the Northern provinces. In 1970, they were introduced to the United Kingdom with an importation organised by the Animal Breeding Research Organisation, who brought in four rams for experimental purposes. Another four followed in 1971 and ABRO initiated extensive trials to compare the Texel with other terminal sires. The verdict was that the Texel excelled in carcass quality and in particular, in lean meat yield.

In 1973, thirteen Lanarkshire sheep breeders joined forces with ABRO to import twenty-seven Texel females and thirteen rams from France. Further importations were made throughout the 1970s, with the first direct import from Holland at the end of that decade.

Adaptability (the Texel and the Blackface)

The Texel has primarily been developed as a meat breed but its native environment has endowed it with invaluable commercial traits. The Texel ewe is hardy and exceptionally thrifty and her lambs have a tremendous get-up-and-go attitude, searching hard for milk as soon as they are born. Again, the breed's harsh native environment has led to the development of a sheep that thrives on poor pastures and requires only modest amounts of feed in the run-up to lambing and whilst suckling.

In Great Britain, the Texels have shown that they are capable of withstanding the rigours of the Scottish winter without any hardship and their progeny have proved to be as adaptable in our climate and altitude as the Flocks in Holland and France. This makes them an excellent match for the Scottish Blackface.