Hair Sheep Breeds
Sheep with hair are great if the main purpose is to raise them for dairy, meat, or leather. Wool breeds require extra work if raised for these purposes, as wool never stops growing and can reach truly bizarre proportions if left unshorn, but hair sheep avoid this issue entirely. Unlike wool sheep, they naturally shed their coats, eliminating the need for shearing.
Due to the absence of wool, these sheep are generally more resistant to diseases and parasites like sheep louse. Additionally, their meat is leaner, and the leather from their skin is finer due to the absence of coarse wool fibers.
Why Do Some Sheep Have Hair Instead of Wool
Hair sheep closely resemble their ancestor, the mouflon, which have hair coats that grow in response to changes in daylight. In fact, originally, sheep did not naturally grow wool at all; instead, they had winter coats that they shed when it became warmer. The development of wool in sheep resulted from selective breeding that began around 6000 BC.
List of Hair Sheep Breeds
| Breed | Size (in lbs) | Purpose | Where They are Found |
|---|---|---|---|
| Red Maasai | 110-275 | Meat | East Africa |
| Dorper | 180-270 | Meat and leather | South Africa |
| Wiltshire Horn | 150-250 | Meat | Wiltshire, England |
| Katahdin | 120-250 | Meat, milk, and fibers | Maine, United States |
| Royal White | 175-235 | Meat | Texas, United States |
| Uda | 99-220 | Meat | Chad, Niger, Northern Cameroon, and Northern Nigeria |
| Where They Are Found | 88-220 | Meat | Brazil |
| St.Croix | 150-200 | Dairy and meat | U.S. Virgin Islands |
| Romanov | 100-180 | Meat and fiber | Russia, Canada, France, Germany, and The United States |
| Somali | 150-176 | Meat | Somalia, Djibouti, Ethiopia, and Kenya |
| Damara | 110-176 | Meat | Namibia and South Africa |
| St. Augustine | 130-150 | Meat | Wyoming, United States |
| Blackhead Persian | 115-150 | Meat | Somalia and South Africa |
| American Blackbelly | 75-140 | Trophy hunting | Texas, United States |
| Barbados Blackbelly | 85-130 | Meat | South America and The Caribbean |
| Rabo Largo | 100-120 | Fibers | Brazil |
| Pelibüey | 75-120 | Meat | Cuba, Mexico, and The Caribbean |
| Africana | 66-118 | Meat | Colombia and Venezuela |
| Sahel-type | 77-90 | Meat and dairy | Mauritania, Mali, Niger, and Chad |
| Morada Nova | 59-88 | Meat and leather | Brazil |
| West African Dwarf | 55-82 | Meat | West and Central America |
FAQs
Certain hair breeds that have horns include the Wiltshire Horn and American Blackbelly.
