The Devon Longwoolled sheep is a breed of domestic sheep from United Kingdom. It is also called Devon Longwool, and is raised mainly as a dual purpose animal.
It was developed by crossing Leicester Longwool sheep with Bampton Nott and Southam Nott. The longwoolled sheep are available for centuries in the South West.
A breed association for the Devon Longwoolled sheep was established in 1977.
Today the breed is raised mainly it’s native area, and some flocks are also available outside of the South West. Read some more information about this British sheep breed below.
Devon Longwoolled Sheep Characteristics
The Devon Longwoolled sheep are large animals. They are sturdy animals with a distinctive longwoolled fleece.
They are shorter than other longwool sheep breeds but has a bulkier build body. They are usually white in coloration with white face and legs. And both rams and ewes are polled.
As a large sized breed, average live body weight of the Devon Longwoolled ewes is between 75 and 80 kg. And average live body weight of the mature rams vary from 100 to 110 kg. Photo and info from RBST and Wikipedia.
Uses
The Devon Longwoolled sheep are dual purpose animals. They are raised for both meat and wool production.
Special Notes
The Devon Longwoolled sheep are hardy and strong animals. They are able to adapt themselves with almost all types of environmental conditions. They also can do well on most grazing conditions.
They are usually placid animals, and can be bucket trained easily. The ewes are excellent mothers and they experience very few lambing problems. Lambing percentages of these animals are usually around 150 percent. The lambs are of medium size and quick to grow.
Today the breed is raised for both meat and wool production. Fleece of the Devon Longwoolled sheep is of good quality with a staple length of 20 to 25 cm, and average fleece production is between 7 and 10 kg per year.
Meat of these animals is also of very good quality, and the lambs can be slaughtered within their 4 months of age. Along with producing meat and wool, the Devon Longwoolled sheep is also used for crossing with other sheep breeds.
The ewes produce a good, fast growing lamb that will grade well, when put to a good terminal sire. A known cross is that of a Dorset Horn with a Devon and Cornwall Longwool to produce a ewe that will lamb out of season.
However, review full breed profile of this breed in the chart below.
| Breed Name | Devon Longwoolled |
| Other Name | Devon Longwool |
| Breed Purpose | Meat and wool |
| Special Notes | Very beautiful animals, striking appearance, especially well adapted to their local environments, lambs grow relatively faster, very hardy and strong animals, can do well on most grazing, placid, can be bucket trained easily, ewes are excellent mothers, raised for both meat and wool production, also good for cross breeding with other breeds |
| Breed Size | Large |
| Weight | Mature rams live body weight is between 100 and 110kg, and the mature ewe’s body weight vary from 75 to 80 kg. |
| Horns | No |
| Climate Tolerance | Local climates |
| Color | White |
| Rarity | Common |
| Country/Place of Origin | United Kingdom |
