Hill Sheep?

The show’s emphasis is on UK Hill breeds:

Scottish Blackface, North Country Cheviot, Herdwick, Border Cheviot, and Black Welsh Mountain.

It will also include Mules (Scotch & Cheviot Mules),

Bluefaced Leicester, and terminal sire breeds such as Suffolk and Texel

Hill Sheep Breeds

  • Scottish Blackface

    Hardy, thrifty, independent, and excellent mothers that lamb easily, the SBF breed produces outstanding gourmet lamb using rough and coarse grazing ground. Perhaps the finest gourmet quality, the carcass is free from superfluous fat and waste, and fits very well into the burgeoning ethnic market.

    The Scottish Blackface ewe has a long life and typically will give four or five lamb crops on the hill or marginal ground and a further two or three crops on the lower ground.

  • North Country Cheviot

    North Country Cheviot sheep are intelligent, self-reliant, resourceful and among the healthiest and most long lived breeds.

    The North Country is an intelligent, tough, resourceful sheep that produces both a superior lamb crop and a fleece that delights handspinners.

    It has outstanding crossbreeding ability and can be used as either the sire or the dam breed. The resulting lambs from cross-breeding to meat breeds have superior carcasses. At 90 to 120 days a first class North Country lamb will yield a carcass of around 45 pounds with a high proportion of lean meat of excellent quality.

  • Herdwick

    Known as the “smiling sheep” from the Lake District, the Herdwick breed is the ultimate Hill breed.

    A sturdy, dual-purpose breed, producing uniquely flavoured lamb and mutton and a coarse grey wool, they were made famous by authors Beatrix Potter and James Rebanks of the UK.

    Genetics have recently been imported to the US.

    Turned out to graze wild on the fells, Herdie mothers raise hardy lambs on native herbage, and look happy doing it!

  • Bluefaced Leicester

    With its long body, milkiness and undisputed crossing qualities, the BFL has earned its spot as the most utilized crossing sire in the UK.

    Made famous by its “mule” progeny, everyone should have a BFL ram in their Hill flock.

  • Suffolk

    This lowland breed has a classic look and puts the pounds on those market lambs.

    It is often used as the terminal sire on Mule ewes, and it isn’t hard to see why!

  • Texel

    Easily recognizable, the Texel breed has come into the spotlight as of late as a popular terminal sire for Mules, and crossing ram on Hill breeds.

    Its growth rate is certainly impressive!

Register

Mules

The resulting offspring of a Bluefaced Leicester ram and a hill-breed ewe, the Mule is the second part of the 3-Tier Breeding System.

The mule ewe is the Golden Ticket. She is the Crown Jewel.

The secret sauce.

She is the crème de la crème and the most important part of the whole system.
She has inherited all of the great attributes from both parents: the thriftiness, health and hardiness, and great mothering instinct from her hill-breed mother, and the fast growth, long body, prolificacy and milkiness from her father.
Why does all this matter?

She’s going to raise your Prime Market lambs.