A British breed of domestic sheep that originated in the late eighteenth century near Bury St Edmunds in Suffolk, England, developed by crossing Norfolk Horn ewes with improved Southdown rams. It is a large sheep, white woolled and polled, with a black face and black legs free of wool; males typically weigh around 125 kilograms and stand 80 centimeters tall, and females average 88 kilograms and 74 centimeters. The Suffolk is raised mainly for meat and is widely used as a terminal sire on crossbred ewes to produce fast growing lambs for slaughter. The breed has spread worldwide and is among the most numerous sheep breeds anywhere, exported to Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United States, where it arrived in 1888, among many other countries.
Facts
Scientific Name Domestication Region Domesticated When (Circa)between 11,000 and 9,000 BC 3 Primary UsesMeat production; rams used as terminal sires in cross breeding to produce fast growing lambs 1 Classification
Breed Risk Status Era
Era (category) In the Other Atlases
Sources
1. Wikipedia: Suffolk sheep, Wikipedia
Use
Suffolk rams are commonly used as a terminal sire on cross-bred ewes to produce fast-growing lambs for slaughter.
Infobox status field (FAO 2007 and DAD-IS 2022 agree)
DAD-IS (2022): not at risk
View the Source2. Suffolk sheep (Wikipedia)
lead: originated in the late eighteenth century in the area of Bury St. EdmundsView the Source 3. Sheep (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationIntroduction
Sheep (pl.: sheep) or domestic sheep (Ovis aries) are a domesticated ruminant mammal typically kept as livestock.
History
the date of domestication is estimated to fall between 11,000 and 9000 BC in Mesopotamia, from which it spread to Mehrgarh in the Indus Valley around 7000 BC.
History, domestication clause
the date of domestication is estimated to fall between 11,000 and 9000 BC in Mesopotamia, from which it spread to Mehrgarh in the Indus Valley around 7000 BC.
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