The Bluefaced Leicester (BFL) is a longwool breed of

sheep Sheep or domestic sheep (''Ovis aries'') are domesticated, ruminant mammals typically kept as livestock. Although the term ''sheep'' can apply to other species in the genus '' Ovis'', in everyday usage it almost always refers to domesticate ...

which evolved from a breeding scheme of Robert Bakewell, in Dishley, Leicestershire in the eighteenth century. First known as the Dishley Leicester, and then the Hexham Leicester, because of the prevalence of the breed in Northumberland, the name Bluefaced Leicester became known at the beginning of the 20th century. In the 1970s, the Bluefaced Leicester was exported to

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. Exported frozen semen from the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...

is now used to expand the genetic diversity in Canada and the

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. This breed is raised primarily for meat, but their fleece is becoming increasingly popular for handspinning. Bluefaced Leicester sheep may also have brown on their face. The sell record has been set by a brown ram lamb selling for 23,000 guineas.

Characteristics

BFL sheep have curly, fine, rather lustrous wool which is one of the softest of the UK clip. The fleeces are not very heavy, only weighing . They have no wool on the head or neck, although the pattern and shape of the wool is most like the Wensleydale, but having smaller, tighter curls. Bluefaced Leicesters are recognisable through their Roman noses, which have a dark blue skin which can be seen through the white hair, hence the name. They are tangentially related to the original Leicester Longwool breed. BFL rams are put over hill sheep ewes to produce mules, which combine the prolificacy of the BFL with the hardiness and mothering ability of the hill sheep (- mules are the UK's most numerous sheep). Fully grown Blueface rams can weigh up to and ewes up to . At maturity and at the withers, rams are tall and ewes tall.

References

External links

Bluefaced Leicester Sheep Breeders Association
- United Kingdom
www.blueleicester.de
- Bluefaced Leicester Sheep Breeders' Association in Deutschland e.V.
Bluefaced Leicester Breeders Association
- United States
Bluefaced Leicester Union of North America
Sheep breeds Sheep breeds originating in England {{British livestock, R.1