Southdown

breed of sheep

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Apr 3, 2024 - 03:00

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Southdown ram.

Southdown, breed of medium-wool, dark-faced, hornless sheep originating in the Sussex hills of England. The oldest of all British breeds of sheep, it has an ideal body conformation for meat production. Its fleece is close and is the finest of the British breeds; but, though white and of good quality, the wool is short and the fleeces relatively light in weight. The colour of its face and legs is brown to light brown or gray. Southdowns are popular in many parts of the world, especially in The Commonwealth and the United States.

See the Table of Selected Breeds of Sheep for further information.

Selected breeds of sheep
name	type of wool	distribution	characteristics	comments
Black-Faced Highland, also called Scottish Blackface	carpet	originally Scotland, now also U.S., Italy, Argentina	black or mottled, horned	stylish appearance
Columbia	medium	developed in U.S. since 1912	large, white-faced, hornless	high wool yield; mutton acceptable
Corriedale	medium	developed in N.Z., now also in U.S., Australia	white-faced, hornless	bright, soft fleece; good quality lambs
Cotswold	long	originally England, now also U.S.	large, white-faced, hornless	coarse, curly fleece; acceptable mutton
Dorset	medium	developed in England, now in U.K., U.S., Australia	medium-sized, white-faced	small wool yield; out-of-season lambs; horned and hornless varieties
Hampshire	medium	developed in England, now also widespread in U.S.	large, hornless; dark face and legs	superior mutton breed; limited wool
Karakul	fur	originally Central Asia, now also Africa, Europe, U.S.	medium-sized, fat-tailed	coats of very young lambs called Persian lamb
Leicester	long	originally England, now U.K., North America	massive body, white-faced, broad-backed	heavy fleece
Lincoln	long	originally England, now also Australia, N.Z., North and South America	world's largest sheep, hornless	coarse, long wool is used chiefly for carpets
Merino	fine	originally Spain, now also Australia, North America, South Africa	horned or hornless, heavily-wooled head	excellent, fine, soft fleeces
North Country Cheviot	medium	originally Scotland, now widespread	white chalk; large, deep-bodied	hardy; produces superior fleece
Rambouillet	fine	developed in France from the 18th century, now also in U.S.	smooth-bodied, horned or hornless	lambs mature rapidly; bred from Merino
Romney	long	originally England, now also N.Z., North America, Australia	hornless with white face and legs	mostly raised for mutton; wool used for variety of products
Southdown	medium	originally England, now also N.Z., Australia, North America	hornless with small, rounded body	raised for mutton; fleece is short
Suffolk	medium	developed in England, now also in U.S.	black face and legs, large, hornless	fine mutton breed; acceptable wool