Shropshire sheep
The Shropshire sheep is an old domestic sheep breed, which in the area of Shropshire ( England native) and was bred in the first half of the 19th century from local sheep breeds. The breed was first exhibited at the Royal Agricultural Society exhibition in 1859 and has been recognized as a breed ever since. However, the British Rare Breeds Survival Trust currently classifies the breed as potentially endangered.
features
The Shrophshire sheep is a medium-sized, vigorous meat sheep with a long, deep body and broad back. The pure white fleece has a dense crossbred wool. Hairless parts of the body are dark brown. The head, which is often covered with wool up to the forehead and cheeks, is set on a short, strong neck, is covered with black burin hair and is hornless. The strong legs have tight ankles and firm claws.
Buck reach a height at the withers of 65 to 80 centimeters and 80 to 120 kilograms. The height at the withers of the ewes is between 60 and 75 centimeters, with a weight of 60 to 85 kilograms. The sheep are considered a good breed of meat. They deliver around 2.5 to 3.5 kilograms of wool every year. In landscaping , the Shropshire sheep is mainly used to care for conifer crops that it does not bite.
Because of their robust constitution and great adaptability, Shropshire sheep are increasingly in demand. Even with very little feed, they can still achieve high levels of performance thanks to their very good basic feed conversion.
Shropshire sheep have good fertility, as evidenced by consistently high lambing rates of around 160%. The pronounced motherliness and good milk yield are a guarantee for vigorous lambs. Their behavior is calm, which makes herd management easier. During the long heat season, first occupancy is possible from 8 to 10 months.
Shropshire lambs are fast growing. You can be ready for slaughter with a slaughter weight of 18 to 22 kg in just 90 to 120 days. They have good carcasses with strong muscles.
Attitude history
The breed's popularity grew rapidly in Britain in the 19th century. As early as 1884, more Shropshires were shown at the Royal Agricultural Society's annual exhibition than other animals combined. In 1855 the first animals of this breed were exported to the USA .
In the late 19th century, it evolved into the predominant beef sheep breed in England.
In the United States, this breed became popular because it was able to adapt to different climatic conditions. As a dual-purpose breed with good wool and meat production, it also met the demands that agriculture placed on breeds at that time. At the turn of the 20th century, this breed was the most numerous breed of sheep in the United States.
While the breed was still referred to as the farmers' favorite in the 1930s , the numbers declined in the following decades. Breeders increasingly selected for wool performance; the body size of the animals decreased. The thick wool hangings on the face also restricted the animals' field of vision. Because of this, it had to be sheared regularly, a laborious process. The breed's popularity declined accordingly.
Breeders in the USA began to breed back to the old performance traits from the 1950s. Today there are again large stocks in the USA. Especially in the Midwest of the USA, animals are being kept again that correspond to the old ideal of two-use.
In England and the rest of Europe, the population of this breed remained at a very low level until the 1990s. The "Rare Breeds Survival Trust" recently placed it in the endangered category "at risk".
A trend reversal began in the early 1990s. A unique characteristic of Shropshire sheep was discovered. Unlike all other known breeds of sheep, they do not bite coniferous shoots. A success story began and continues to this day: Shropshire sheep are used for cultivation in Christmas tree cultures. Purebred Shropshire sheep have proven that they graze both conifer plantations and fruit tree crops reliably without biting the conifers' shoots or peeling the bark of the fruit trees. This valuable property is supported by a specially coordinated pasture management. They keep the grass between the fir trees short and thus ensure sufficient growth conditions for the small fir trees.
With this environmentally friendly weed control method, the farmer can forego the use of herbicides . Christmas tree companies with direct marketing also use Shropshire sheep as a popular figure and flagship for environmentally friendly production. A stable sward increases the trafficability. The sheep dung improves the soil life, continuously supplies nutrients and thus leads to uniform growth and an improved needle color of the trees.
Web links
- www.shropshire-schafhalter.de Support and dissemination of this breed
Individual evidence
- ↑ SHR Sheep Swiss Standard. Retrieved on May 27, 2019 (German).