The Dorset or Dorset Horned breed of sheep

Domestic sheep

Sheep are quadrupedal, ruminant mammals typically kept as livestock. Like all ruminants, sheep are members of the order Artiodactyla, the even-toed ungulates. Although the name "sheep" applies to many species in the genus Ovis, in everyday usage it almost always refers to Ovis aries...

 is known mostly for its prolific lambing. It has been known to produce two lambing seasons per year: bred in May for lambs finished by the holidays, and bred again immediately after the first lambing to produce again in March or April. This type of management, the ewes sold with the lambs, sometimes produces as many as four or five lambs a year.

The Cornell University

Cornell University

Cornell University is an Ivy League university located in Ithaca, New York, United States. It is a private land-grant university, receiving annual funding from the State of New York for certain educational missions...

 Sheep Program developed and teaches the STAR system to promote frequent lambing with Dorsets. Cornell maintains a research and teaching flock five miles south of Dryden, New York

Dryden, New York

Dryden, New York can refer to:* Dryden , New York* Dryden , New York...

, USA. The Dorset has a white face with close short fleece. It has a solid build, with broad back and short legs. Originally, both rams and ewes had horns. The polled Dorset originated in a herd at North Carolina State University

North Carolina State University

North Carolina State University at Raleigh is a public, coeducational, extensive research university located in Raleigh, North Carolina, United States. Commonly known as NC State, the university is part of the University of North Carolina system and is a land, sea, and space grant institution...

, Raleigh, North Carolina

Raleigh, North Carolina

Raleigh is the capital and the second largest city in the state of North Carolina as well as the seat of Wake County. Raleigh is known as the "City of Oaks" for its many oak trees. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the city's 2010 population was 403,892, over an area of , making Raleigh...

, and a registry of the polled Dorset was established in 1956. Since then the polled breeders have outnumbered the breeders of the horned variety.

Characteristics

Both horned and polled Dorsets are all white sheep and medium size having good body length and muscle conformation to produce a desirable carcass. The fleece is very white, strong, close and free from dark fiber. Fleeces average 5 to 9 lb (2.3 to 4.1 kg) in the ewes with a yield between 50% and 70%. The staple length ranges from 2.5 to 4 in (6.4 to 10.2 cm) 2.5 inches (6 cm) to 4 inches (10 cm) with a numeric count of 46's-58's. The fiber diameter ranges 33.0 to 27.0 microns.Ewes weigh 150 to 200 lb (68 to 90.7 kg) at maturity, some in show condition may very well exceed this weight. Rams weigh 225 to 275 lb (102.1 to 124.7 kg) at maturity.

Related breeds of sheep

The Somerset is related, but is larger and has a pink nose. (The Dorset's is white.)

The Portland

Portland (sheep)

The Portland is a sheep breed that takes its name from the Isle of Portland. This breed is raised primarily for meat.-History:Once common all over Dorset, the breed was once of the one rarest in Britain and is still at risk. In the 1970s, it was nearly extinct altogether, but has now recovered...

, is a smaller, primitive Dorset breed that takes its name from the Isle of Portland and was once common all over Dorset, with a dressed weight of 10 lbs. per quarterper cent

Sources

• This text was derived from The Domestic Sheep by Henry Stewart, 1898, pp. 66–70. Supplemented by the breed page at the Oklahoma State University website.
• Information about the STAR system is from the Cornell University website.

External links

• Dorset Horn and Poll Dorset Sheep Breeders' Association
• The Domestic Sheep by Henry Stewart (1898), "The Dorset" (with photographs).