Skip to main content

Rideau Arcott Sheep

The Rideau Arcott sheep is a breed of domestic sheep from Canada. It is one of only a few livestock breeds native to Canada. The name Rideau is a common in Ottawa, and the Arcott is an acronym for the Animal Research Centre in Ottawa.

The breed was actually developed from a breeding program that was created in 1966 by Agriculture Canada's Animal Research Centre in Ottawa. Canadian Arcott and the Outauais Arcott are the other breeds that were produce from the same program.

When developing the Rideau Arcott, their goat was to create a breed of sheep that produced multiple offspring rapidly. They introduced new technologies in quantitative genetics, reproductive physiology, nutrition and housing that allowed them to select for the traits they wanted to be expressed in the breed.

In the year of 1974, the research flock was closed, and the breed was distributed to shepherds beginning in 1988.

The Rideau Arcott sheep breed genetically 20 percent Suffolk, 9 percent Shropshire, 14 percent East Friesian, 40 percent Finnish Landrace, 8 percent Dorset Horn, and the remaining 8 percent is Corriedale, Romnelet, North Country Cheviot and Border Leicester.

The Rideau Arcott sheep breed has been selectively bred for good growth rate, high milk production, higher fertility and multiple births. However, read some more information about this breed below.

Rideau Arcott Sheep Characteristics

Rideau Arcott sheep is a large breed which is generally of white color. But some animals may have slightly colored legs. Face of these animals is white and free of wool, but a few dark patches sometimes occur. They are usually naturally polled. But some Rideau Arcott rams may develop horny protuberances.

Average live body weight of the mature Rideau Arcott rams is up to 100 kg. And average live body weight of the mature ewes vary from 70 to 90 kg. Photo and info from Wikipedia.

rideau arcott sheep, about rideau arcott sheep, rideau arcott sheep appearance, rideau arcott sheep breed, rideau arcott sheep breed info, rideau arcott sheep breed facts, rideau arcott sheep behavior, rideau arcott sheep care, caring rideau arcott sheep, rideau arcott sheep color, rideau arcott sheep characteristics, rideau arcott sheep ewes, rideau arcott sheep facts, rideau arcott sheep for meat, rideau arcott sheep for wool, rideau arcott sheep history, rideau arcott sheep horns, rideau arcott sheep info, rideau arcott sheep images, rideau arcott sheep lambs, rideau arcott sheep lambing, rideau arcott sheep meat, rideau arcott sheep origin, rideau arcott sheep photos, rideau arcott sheep pictures, rideau arcott sheep rarity, rideau arcott sheep rearing, raising rideau arcott sheep, rideau arcott sheep size, rideau arcott sheep temperament, rideau arcott sheep tame, rideau arcott sheep uses, rideau arcott sheep varieties, rideau arcott sheep weight

Housing

Providing good housing facility is a very important part of modern sheep farming business. Try to provide your animals with a suitable shelter and housing to ensure their overall good health, well-being and productivity.

Make their house in such a way so that it can offer protection from extreme weather conditions. And this will ensure the sheep remain healthy and comfortable throughout the year. Ensure adequate ventilation, proper lighting insight their house. Always try to clean their house on a regular basis.

Feeding

Feeding the animals with very good quality and nutritious food is very important for maintaining a healthy and productive flock. The Rideau Arcott sheep are known for their robust appetites and nutritional needs.

So, you have to provide a balanced diet that includes a mix of high-quality forages and grains to meet their dietary requirements. Along with providing good quality foods, always try to provide them with enough clean and fresh drinking water as per their demand.

Breeding

The Rideau Arcott sheep are naturally very good breeders. They will breed easily if you keep good ratio of male and females in your flock. Just select the breeding pairs based on some important traits (such as high fertility, strong maternal instincts, and rapid growth rates). Generally, one mature buck is sufficient enough for breeding around or up to 20-25 females.

Caring

Taking good care of the Rideau Arcott sheep is very important. Although they are very strong and hardy animals and generally require less caring. Providing them with a clean and comfortable shelter, ensuring access to fresh water, and nutritious feed will be enough for their overall good health.

Try to perform regular health check-ups, vaccinations, and parasite control. And always monitor their behavior and address any signs of distress or illness promptly and do the needful immediately.

Uses

Rideau Arcott sheep is a dual-purpose animal. It is good for both meat and fleece production. But today, the breed is raised mainly for meat production.

Special Notes

The Rideau Arcott sheep are very hardy and strong animals. They are kept for both meat and wool production. They have a rapid growth rate, and they produce a medium-quality fleece.

The ewes are very prolific, and lambing can occur at around eight months of intervals. The mature ewes produce 40 percent twins and 50 percent triplets, but the ewe lambs have a lambing rate of around 170 percent.

Today the breed is popular and noted for it's higher growth rate, high milk production, multiple births and higher fertility. However, review full breed profile of this breed in the following chart.

Breed NameRideau Arcott
Other NameNone
Breed PurposeMeat, wool
Special NotesVery hardy and strong animals, kept for both meat and wool production, rapid growth rate, produce medium-quality fleece, ewes are very prolific
Breed SizeLarge
WeightRams weight around 100 kg, and the ewe’s weight vary from 70 to 90 kg
HornsNo
Climate ToleranceAll climates
ColorUsually white
RarityCommon
Country/Place of OriginCanada

Comments

Popular Posts

Murray Grey Cattle

The Murray Grey cattle are a breed of beef cattle from Australia. It was developed in the upper Murray River valley on the New South Wales. The breed was developed in 1905 from an initial chance mating of a black Aberdeen Angus bull and a roan Shorthorn cow during the Federation drought. From these matings the resulting thirteen dun-grey calves were kept as curiosities. And then Peter and Ena Sutherland bred them on the Thologolong property along the Murray River in New South Wales. Murray Grey cattle grew faster and were good converters of feed and produced quality carcases. These are the reasons this animals become very popular after their development. And local farmers became interested soon in these animals and began breeding them. The first large scale commercial farms were established in the 1940s. Today the breed is available in many countries. Both live Murray Grey cattle and embryos have been exported to many countries such as Canada, South America, New Ze...

Sorting Cattle

Sorting cattle is important if you have a large number of animals. For better management you will need to separate the animals into different groups depending on their age, size, gender or condition score. If some cattle of your herd need to be examined by a veterinarian or confined due to injury or illness, then separation may also need to be done. Sorting is also needed for separating the calves that need to be weaned from their mothers. And separating the bulls is also necessary after they have done their duty with breeding cows. Sorting Cattle Sorting cattle is not actually a difficult task. It can be done easily if you understand stockmanship principles that take advantage of bovine psychology and behavior. However, here we are describing more about the ways of sorting cattle. Sorting From a Squeeze Chute In this system you can move your cattle through a working corral into a chute system into the squeeze. In this system you can check and process animals f...

Andalusian Black Cattle Farming

Andalusian Black cattle farming is not too popular, even in it's native area. It is a relatively rare breed which is valued for meat production. But today, the breed is listed as 'endangered', and total number of the breed is very less. The Andalusian Black cattle is a taurine cattle breed, and it was originated in west Andalusia, Spain. It is also known by some other names such as Negra de las Campiñas, Negra Campiñesa and Spanish: Negra Andaluza. The Andalusian Black cattle is actually a beef cattle breed which is raised primarily for meat production purpose. The breed is found in two main areas of west Andalusia (from Cordova to the foothills of the Sierra Morena), and in the provinces of Seville, Cádiz and Huelva. Today, total population of the Andalusian Black cattle breed is very less. And there were about 800 purebred cattle in the year of 2007. Total number of this breed decreased mainly for crossbreeding with other local cattle breeds. Other reason...

Belted Galloway Cattle Farming

Belted Galloway cattle farming is popular, especially in it's native area. It is a beef cattle breed and raised mainly for meat production purpose. The breed is also known by some other names such as Beltie, Oreo Cow and Panda Cow. The Belted Galloway cattle breed was originated from Galloway in the west side of Southern Scotland. It is a heritage breed, and is well adapted to living on the poor upland pastures and wildswept moorlands of the region. Exact origins of the breed are unclear. But it is often surmised that the white belt of the breed may be a result of cross breeding with the Dutch Lakenvelder belted cattle. And the breed is named so mainly because of the belt. An association for the breed named the Belted Galloway Association was formed in 1921 in Scotland. And the name of the association was changed to Belted Galloway Society in the year of 1951. The association keeps and records pedigrees for Belted Galloways and oversees the registration of White and Re...

Cleaning A Cow

Cleaning a cow in the proper way can keep the animal look and feel fresh. Cleaning also help to prevent external parasites. You may also need to clean your cow to show it off at your local county fair or other occasions. And you need to clean your cows more often especially if you have dairy cows. You can integrate a spraying system for cleaning a cow once a day or so. Along with cleaning the body, you should also provide a footbath for better health of the cow's hooves. However, here we are describing more about the process of cleaning a cow. Sprinkler System Add Sprinkler in a Pre-milking Wash Pen You can construct a pre-milking wash pen with sprinklers for cleaning multiple cows. In this system, install sprinklers all along the pen you hold the cows in before milking. Using concrete for the floor will be good. It will help to keep the floor dry quickly and you will not have a constantly muddy area. You should spray sprinklers both up and down to wash the cows th...

Agerolese Cattle Farming

Agerolese cattle farming is not common, even in it's native area. It is a dairy cattle breed which is raised mainly for milk production purpose in it's native area. It is a pretty rare breed and not available outside it's native area. The Agerolese cattle is actually from the area of Agerola, in Campania in southern Italy. It was developed from cross-breeding of indigenous Podolica cattle with Bruna Italiana, Italian Holstein-Friesian and Jersey cattle. The breed is particularly associated with the Sorrento Peninsula and Monti Lattari. The Agerolese cattle is one of the 16 minor Italian cattle breeds of limited diffusion recognized and protected by the Ministero delle Politiche Agricole Alimentari e Forestali, the Italian ministry of agriculture. There were a total of 200 animals available according to a census completed on 1 January 2002. And the conservation status of the Agerolese cattle breed was reported by the FAO as 'endangered-maintained' in 200...

Ankole-Watusi Cattle Farming

Ankole-Watusi cattle farming is pretty popular, especially in it's native area. It is a multi-purpose breed of domestic cattle which is raised and valued for show, draught, meat and milk production purpose. The Ankole-Watusi cattle is a landrace breed, a type of Sanga cattle and originally native to East Africa. It is also known as Ankole Longhorn, and also sometimes known simply as Ankole or Watusi. Ankole-Watusi cattle is actually an ancient breed, and ancient rock paintings and depictions of these animals have been observed in the Sahara region and in the Egyptian arts and pyramid walls. The Sanga breed has spread to the Sudan, Uganda, Kenya and some other parts of Eastern Africa, becoming the base stock of the indigenous African cattle populations. It has most of the usual Zebu characteristics such as the pendulous dewlap and sheath, hump of variable size and the upturned horns. The Ankole-Watusi cattle have played a very important role in the lives of various ...