The British Milk Sheep is a breed

Breed

A breed is a group of domestic animals or plants with a homogeneous appearance, behavior, and other characteristics that distinguish it from other animals or plants of the same species. Despite the centrality of the idea of "breeds" to animal husbandry, there is no scientifically accepted...

 of domesticated sheep developed by Lawrence Alderson in Wiltshire

Wiltshire

Wiltshire is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset, Somerset, Hampshire, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire. It contains the unitary authority of Swindon and covers...

 and Northumberland

Northumberland

Northumberland is the northernmost ceremonial county and a unitary district in North East England. For Eurostat purposes Northumberland is a NUTS 3 region and is one of three boroughs or unitary districts that comprise the "Northumberland and Tyne and Wear" NUTS 2 region...

. It can now be found in the UK and Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

. The exact composition of this breed is debated. However, it is agreed that the breeds East Friesian

East Friesian

The East Friesian is a breed of dairy sheep originating from East Frisia in northern Germany. It is either the best or one of the best sheep breeds in terms of milk yield per ewe....

, Bluefaced Leicester, Polled Dorset

Poll Dorset

The Poll Dorset is a short wool, meat producing sheep that was developed in Australia between 1937 and 1954 with the aim of breeding a true Dorset type sheep without horns. The poll gene was introduced into Dorset Horn flocks from two other polled breeds and following a strict back-mating programme...

 and Lleyn are at least a part of this breed. The breed was released in 1980. As the name of the breed suggests, it is a prolific milk producer. However, it is also known for its extremely high percentage of twinning and triplets, and is often raised for meat as well as dairy purposes.

Characteristics

The average litter size for yearling ewes is 2.21, two year old at 2.63 and for ewes greater than two years old 3.07 lambs per litter. Ewes have a 300 day lactation period, producing 650 l (171.7 US gal) to 900 l (237.8 US gal) of milk during that period with a 5.5 to 9.5% fat content. The British Milk Sheep has white fleece and face. Ewes produce 4 kg (8.8 lb) and rams 6.5 kg (14.3 lb) fleece with a spinning count

Spinning count

Spinning count is a measure of fibre fineness and distribution developed by the English. It is defined as the number of hanks of yarn that can be spun from a pound of wool. A hank of wool is 560 yards long...

 of 50 to 54s

S number (wool)

An S number on the label of a wool suit, or other tailored wool apparel, indicates the fineness of the wool fiber used in the making of the apparel. The numbers may also be found on wool fabric and yarn. The S numbers for fine wool products are intended to state, with precision, the fineness of the...

. The staple length is 12 to 18 cm (4.7 to 7.1 in). At maturity, rams weigh 103 kg (227.1 lb) and ewes 79 kg (174.2 lb) on average.

External links

• British Milk Sheep, Sheep101.info