Sheep
Oxford Down sheep
Britain probably has the largest range of native sheep breeds in the world and Mudchute is home to several of our native breeds, capturing just some of the wide variation in this species.
Our flock make up a large proportion of our livestock and much of our farming year revolves around their care, from annual shearing in the summer to the excitement of lambing in early spring. We do also have raw fleeces for sale from our flock, see details of available fleeces here and watch our sheep being shorn earlier this summer on the farm blog!
Find out more about each of our sheep breeds below.
Oxford Down sheep
Our Oxford Down sheep are easily recognisable from their dark faces and wooly white fleces. The Oxford is the largest of all the Down Breeds with some Rams weighing more than 150kg. A multipurpose breed, the Oxford Down has been bred for both its meet and wool.
The Oxford originated in the 1830s after crossing Cotswold rams with Hampshire Down and Southdown ewes. Over the next 50 years the breed stabilised and, as many of the early flocks were centered around the town of Witney in Oxfordshire, the name Oxford Down was adopted. Discover more about the breed from the Oxford Down Sheep Breeders Association.
White Faced Woodland Sheep
A rare hill breed, the White Faced Woodland comes from the borders between Yorkshire, Derbyshire & Cheshire. Also known as the Penistone sheep, they have a fine white fleece, which is quite short for a British hill breed The faces are broad and white, free from black markings. Both sexes are horned, with the males being very heavily spiraled. The tail is long and muscular, and legs and feet white. Woodlands have a large, strong boned frame, which is long in the body.
The White Faced Woodland are one of the largest hill breeds, with mature ewes weighing over 60kg and rams 130kg. They are widely used to cross with hill ewes to impart size and vigor. You can find out more about the White Faced Woodland from the White Faced Woodland Sheep Society.
Jacob Sheep
Jacob sheep are a piebald breed, mostly black and white spotted. These markings are actually present on the skin and this is evident during shearing! Like the White Faced Woodland, both the males and female Jacob sheep have horns. Jacobs can have from two to six horns horns, making them a polycerate (multi-horned) breed! The Jacob breed dates is thought to originate in the Mediterranean and have been known to be in England from as early as the 1750s, where they were primarily an ornamental park breed. You can find out more about the breed from the Jacob Sheep Society.
