The Bluefaced Leicester sheep is a breed of domestic sheep originated from the United Kingdom. It was developed from a breeding scheme of Robert Bakewell in Dishley, Leicestershire in the 19th century.
The breed was first known as theDishley Leicester, and thenHexham Leicester。Bluefaced莱斯特成为已知的名称beginning of the twentieth century. It is also known asBluefaced MaineandBlue-headed Maine。
The Bluefaced Leicester sheep were exported to Canada in the 1970s. Today the breed is raised for both meat and milk production. Their fleece is becoming increasingly popular for handspinning.
Today the breed is mainly found in Northern英格兰, Wales and Scotland. Read some more information about this Britishsheep breedbelow.
Table of Contents
Bluefaced Leicester Sheep Characteristics
The Bluefaced Leicester sheep are large sized animals. They are mainly white in color with blue face.
These animals are easily recognizable by their Roman noses, which have a dark blue skin which can be seen through the white hair. And the breed is named so mainly for their face.
的平均身高Bluefaced莱斯特rams is around 90 cm at the withers, and around 85 cm for the ewes.
Average live body weight of the mature rams is around 110 kg. And the mature ewes on average weight around 89 kg. Photo and info fromWikipedia。
Uses
These sheep are dual-purpose animals. They are raised for bothmeatandwoolproduction.
Special Notes
The Bluefaced Leicester sheep are hardy and strong animals. They are well adapted to their local climates.
They have curly, fine, rather lustrous wool which is one of the softest of the UK clip. Their fleece is not very heavy, weighting only 1 to 3 kg.
Their head and neck are generally free of wool. Their pattern and shape of the wool is most like the温斯利代尔羊, but having smaller, tighter curls.
For producing mules, the Bluefaced Leicester rams are put over hillsheepewes, which combine the prolificacy of the Bluefaced Leicester sheep with the hardiness and mothering ability of the hill sheep.
The ewes are highly prolific with an average lambing percentage ranges from 220 to 250 percent. However review full breed profile of this breed in the following chart.
| Breed Name | Bluefaced Leicester |
| Other Names | Dishley Leicester, Hexham Leicester, Bluefaced Maine, Blue-Headed Maine |
| Breed Purpose | Dual-purpose (meat and wool) |
| Special Notes | 拉rge animals, very hardy and strong, well adapted to their native climates, have curly, fine, rather lustrous wool, fleece is not very heavy, ewes are highly prolific with an average lambing percentage ranges from 220 to 250 percent, good for both meat and wool production |
| Breed Size | 拉rge |
| Weight | Mature ram’s average body weight is around 110 kg, and the mature ewe’s average live body weight is around 89 kg. |
| Horns | No |
| Climate Tolerance | Native climates |
| Color | White |
| Rarity | Common |
| Country/Place of Origin | United Kingdom |
