The Bluefaced Leicester evolved from a breeding scheme, to develop
the Longwool sheep in the 1700's, by Robert Bakewell. Originally known
as the Dishly Leicester. The breed was developed over the next 200 years
and became commonly known as the Hexham Leicester due to it's early
concentration in the North of England.
Today it is known as the Bluefaced Leicester and is now the most popular
crossing sire throughout the British isles. In 1963 the Bluefaced Leicester
Sheep Breeders Association was formed to encourage the breeding and
maintain the purity of the Bluefaced Leicester sheep. A flock book
was also established.
Today there are 1200 members with an average flock size of 20 ewes.
The Bluefaced Leicester is regularly crossed with many of the native British
breeds, particularly hill breeds such as Swaledale, Blackface, Welsh Mountain
and Cheviot, to produce the mule ewe. The term mule sheep means any
crossbred sired by a Bluefaced Leicester.
The 'mule ewe' now makes up almost half of the UK's crossbred ewe population. |
The Sheep |
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£23,000 breed record holder
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Bluefaced Leicester sheep should have a broad muzzle, good mouth and a
tendency towards a roman nose, bright alert eyes and long erect ears.
The colour of the head skin should be dark blue showing through white
hair; although a little brown is acceptable. There should be a good length
of neck laid into broad shoulders with a good spring of rib and a long
strong back with no weakness behind the shoulder. The hindquarters
should be broad and deep, the legs well positioned and strong boned.
It is important that the wool be tightly purled, fine and open cleanly to the
skin. |
Breed Development |
The Association and its breeders have a long standing commitment to
develop the breed and its offspring and to this end a Breed Development
Scheme and a Sire Reference Scheme were set up.
The Penglas flock is located at the Institute Of Rural Studies in Aberystwyth,
Wales. It is the nucleus flock for the Bluefaced Leicester association and has
been central to on-going research focused on developing better breeding tools
for use within the breed. The best contact for arranging a visit to the Penglas
flock is Dewi Jones at Wris. dhj@aber.ac.uk
The Penglas Flock, which is owned and run by Bluefaced Leicester Sheep
Breeders Ltd was initiated by donations ofewes from members around the UK
and has been used over the years to look at developments within the breed.
In thepast 5 years it has been used as the nucleus flock in the government
funded Crossbred Ewe Project, which was setup to look at future
development of the crossbred ewe in the UK. |
Sire Reference Scheme |
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1706/X1 2006 sire reference ram |
The Bluefaced Leicester Sire Reference Scheme is still going strong, with
nine flocks recording and producing recorded rams for sale.
This year we are considering having a sale of recorded shearling rams so
that people interested in purchasing high index rams will have the chance
to buy rams at a specific sale with figures available for all sheep on offer.
We are also hoping to produce estimated breeding values for worm
resistance by recording faecal egg counts from lambs. This should be of
value to the whole sheep industry if we can breed rams with high worm
resistance for use on the hill flocks to produce the different types of mules.
Anyone interested in the Sire Reference Scheme or as Associate Members
using semen from the reference sires we have available please contact
Jo Binns for further information - Tel: 01873 890395
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The Mule |
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46% of all the United Kingdom Crossbred Ewes are Mules. It is common to breed from the Mule
Ewe lamb in her first year and
she will normally continue to
produce for at least six years. |
The Bluefaced Leicester provides length in the cross-bred lambs, which
enables the ewes to carry multiply births with ease and the wether lambs
to be taken to a wide range of carcase weights. Crossbred lambs are blessed
with vigour at birth and eagerness to foot
and suckle. They are also well
protected to withstand harsh conditions. Pure Bluefaced Leicesters,
are capable of obtaining lambing percentages in excess of 250%,
given good management. This trait is in turn passed onto their progeny
and it is not uncommon for Mule Flocks to produce Prime Lamb
Crops exceeding 200%.
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