Breed: Dalesbred
Species: Sheep
Country: Great Britain
Description: The breed is white with round, low horns, and has a black face and a distinctive white mark above each nostril, the end of the muzzle becoming grey. The legs also have black and white markings. The wool coat is plentiful, and curly on the outside, with a dense undercoat. The Dalesbred is found in the Yorkshire Dales and surrounding area. The breed is used for the production of meat and wool. The ewes weigh 45 – 60 kg, the rams, 55 – 75 kg. Ewes have a fecundity rate of 1.20-1.40. On the hill most female lambs are kept for pure-bred lambing for the first three or four crops, producing good wethers for finishing at home or for sale as stores, and then they are mainly sold down the hill as draft ewes for crossbreeding. The half-bred breeding sheep are in turn sold for use in lowland flocks. Dalesbred ewes are often crossed with Teeswater rams to produce the Masham, which is one of the most famous of British cross-breds. A large proportion of the breed is hefted and due to its geographical location the breed was endangered in the 2001 FMD outbreak. The flock book was established in 1931 with the rams and ewes registered with pedigree information.
History: The breed has originated from the Swaledale and the Scottish Blackface and the animals can survive in the harsh environmental conditions and are well adapted to climatic changes. The breed is also noted for its extended productive life due to exceptional tooth retention.