GENERAL INFORMATION

There are more than 200 breeds of domestic sheep currently in existence. All of these were developed from the wild sheep of Europe and Asia. Although their exact ancestry is unclear, ft is thought that domestic sheep descended primarily from two wild stocks; the Moufflons, Ovis musimon and Ovis orientalis, and the Asiatic Urial, Ovis vignei.

DESCRIPTION

The Dorset Horn Sheep is white with a tan-colored face. It is a large breed with rams (males) averaging around 21 0 to 250 pounds and the ewes (females) ranging from 140 to 180 pounds. The horns are long, curving downward in a circular pattern and then upwards, creating almost a full circle. Polled (hornless) strains of the Dorset Horn Sheep were developed by North Carolina State University in the early 1950's and these have gradually been replacing the horned varieties. 

HISTORY

The Dorset Horn sheep has the ability to breed year-round, unlike most other varieties of sheep which breed only once a year. They may produce lambs as often as twice a year. Recent breeding practices and selection pressure has tended to concentrate on easy lambing, causing some flocks of the Dorset Horn to no longer possess the genetic ability to breed throughout the year. Dorset Horn sheep can produce 5 to 9 pounds of wool each year. This wool can be clipped and used for spinning to produce clothing. They have also been raised for meat production, mainly to supply large cities in the eastern United States. These sheep, like many other domestic varieties of animals, are totally dependent on humans. They are completely unable to survive on their own in the wild.

Sheep were among the first animals to be domesticated by man approximately 8,000 years ago. Sheep were first raised for their skins and meat, but as humans learned to spin and weave, sheep became valuable for their wool as well. The behavior as well as the appearance of domestic sheep, have been altered by centuries of selected breeding for desirable traits. The Dorset Horn Sheep is native to southern England and was first imported into this country in 1885. They originated from Spanish sheep being crossed with the native English stock during the 16th century. During the 18th and 19th centuries, these sheep, known as the Portland breed, were improved by crossing with southdown Sheep to produce the Dorset Horn. The Dorset Horn Sheep is one of a group of animals known as minor breeds. These are livestock breeds that exist today in small numbers. Some of these minor breeds are in danger of extinction, just like many wild animals. Many of these minor breeds were actually the predominate breeds of livestock during the last century and played a major role in the development of our North American agriculture. As modern agricultural practices shifted to intense production, many of these old breeds have been replaced by specialized breeds better suited to today's conditions. As modern agriculture practices change in the future, the valuable qualities and genetic diversity of the old breeds may once again be useful. An organization known as The American Minor Breeds Conservancy was formed to help save these rare breeds of livestock. There are currently close to 80 breeds of livestock which are considered to be endangered with various classifications within this listing. The Dorset Horn Sheep's official status is listed as WATCH, meaning that there has been a steady decline in numbers of registered animals over the past 25 years or less than 5000 registrations per year. There is currently concern that selection pressures could lead to the loss of once standard Dorset Horn traits such as year-round breeding.

MEET OUR DORSET HORN SHEEP

The Nature Center has 3 Dorset Horn Sheep, one ram (male) and 2 ewes (females). The ram weighs about 225 pounds and came to the Nature Center from a breeder in Wytheville, Virginia. One of our ewes also came from this same breeder and the other one was donated to us by Rocky Flats, a historical site in Piney Flats, Tennessee. Both of the ewes weigh about 175 pounds each. The sheep at the Nature Center live on our educational farm spending their days in one of the outdoor lots and coming into the barn at night to sleep. Their diet consists of a combination of high quality hay and sweet feed, a commercial mixture of grains, molasses, and other ingredients, along with the standard salt block which they lick to get vitamins and other nutrients.

INFORMATION LINKS

Breeds of Sheep

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©2002 WNC Nature Center