Ile de France Sheep

The Ile de France sheep is a breed of domestic sheep from France. It is native to the region of Île-de-France near Paris. And the breed is named so for it's native place. It was first developed at a French veterinary college in 1830s. The breed was developed through crosses of Rambouillet and Dishley Leicester sheep.

The Mauchamp Merino sheep was also use in the breed's development later. And the breed was originally known as the Dishley Merino sheep. Currently the Ile de France sheep breed is widespread in France. And in the 1970s, it was introduced to Britain.

A breed association for the breed was formed in 1933, and it was rigorously tested early on it's breeding for meat characteristics and maternal qualities. Read some more information about this breed below.

Ile de France Sheep Characteristics

The Ile de France sheep are large sized animal and are thick set. They are white in color and have white face. And their nostrils and lips are pink in color.

ile de france sheep, about ile de france sheep, ile de france sheep appearance, ile de france sheep breed, ile de france sheep breed info, ile de france sheep breed facts, ile de france sheep care, caring ile de france sheep, ile de france sheep color, ile de france sheep characteristics, ile de france sheep color varieties, ile de france sheep development, ile de france sheep ewes, ile de france sheep facts, ile de france sheep for meat, ile de france sheep history, ile de france sheep horns, ile de france sheep info, ile de france sheep images, ile de france sheep meat, ile de france sheep origin, ile de france sheep photos, ile de france sheep pictures, ile de france sheep rarity, raising ile de france sheep, ile de france sheep rearing, ile de france sheep size, ile de france sheep uses, ile de france sheep varieties, ile de france sheep weight, ile de france sheep wool

Their lower legs and face are free from wool. Both rams and ewes are naturally polled, that means they have no horns. Photo and info from ansi.okstate.edu and Wikipedia.

Uses

This sheep is a meat sheep breed. It is raised mainly for meat production purpose.

Special Notes

The Ile de France sheep are strong and hardy animals. They are mainly used as a terminal sire in the United States, but are also occasionally found as a dairy breed there. And today, the breed is one of the top meat sheep breeds worldwide. And it is present in Australia, South Africa, the Americas and as well as in Europe.

Along with meat production, the breed is also good for wool. They produce a fine and heavy fleece that is very high in grease (which results in low yields).

Average fleece weight is 4 to 6 kg, with a 7 to 8 cm staple length. And the quality of fleece is 56's to 60's. Review full breed profile of these sheep in the following chart.

Breed Name	Ile de France
Other Name	Dishley Merino
Breed Purpose	Meat
Special Notes	Hardy and strong animals, used as a terminal sire in the United States, occasionally found as a dairy breed in the United States, it is among the top meat sheep breeds worldwide, very good for meat production
Breed Size	Large
Horns	No
Climate Tolerance	Almost all climates
Color	White
Rarity	Common
Country/Place of Origin	France

Comments

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 ...

Search This Blog