Breed Description
General Description
A small, fine boned sheep with black wool and two or more horns, belonging to the North European short-tailed group. Ewes typically weigh about 40kg with Rams being proportionately larger. The legs are proportionately long and are thin and delicate below the hocks. The feet are small with exceptionally hard horn. The sheep are not inclined to fatness nor to carrying excess condition; mature adults even on good keep rarely have a body condition score greater than 3. The body is relatively long for an animal of the size with well sprung ribs; the back should be level throughout.
Head
The
face is slightly dished, particularly in ewes, and is of a generally
delicate appearance. The ears are small and borne almost horizontally.
The head is free of wool (except often there is a
small patch on the forehead) and the
hair is black. In animals with 4 horns the upper pair should not
tilt so far forwards so that they may eventually impede grazing;
the lower pair should not curl round into the face.
The upper eyelids of these animals should show no sign of splitting
and should present a smooth, notch-free curve. In two-horned animals
the horns sweep upwards from the head before flowing backwards
and outwards; those which simply curl laterally outwards are undesirable.
In two-horned rams more than 1¼ spirals are rare. Polled
sheep (which are genetically 4-horned) sometimes occur.
Tail
The tail is short and well covered in wool in animals in full fleece . The bones should not taper too much and, although the tail should approach the hocks, they should not extend below them.
Wool
A good dense weather-proof fleece,which is true black in colour is most desirable but fleece tips may become bleached by the sun giving a brown appearance. Many sheep go grey with age and this shows particularly on the coarser wool of the hindquarters and on the flanks. No other colouration, spots or patches should be present in animals of more than a few weeks of age. The fibre has an average diameter of 33-38 microns (Bradford count of 48-50) and a staple length of 5 - 15cm; the average fleece weight is about 1.5kg (ewes) and 3-4kg (rams).
Breeding
Mature ewes normally produce twins, even under less than ideal conditions. They are excellent mothers, lamb very easily, even when crossbred with meat sires, and produce relatively large amounts of milk. They have the ability to adapt successfully to a wide range of managements.