Swaledale (sheep)

Swaledale is a breed of domestic sheep named after the Yorkshire valley of Swaledale in England. They are found throughout the more mountainous areas of Great Britain, but particularly in the Yorkshire Dales, County Durham, and around the pennine fells of Cumbria.

Swaledales are noted for their off-white wool, curled horns and white around their nose and eyes. They are used for the production of lamb/mutton, the North of England Mule sheep, and as Pedigree breeding stock. Together with the Rough Fell, Herdwick, and Dalesbred sheep, they are one of the three variations associated with the English Lake District.

Well suited to the exposed regions in which they predominantly live, the Swaledales are very hardy, thick coated, able bodied, and bold. The ewes make excellent mothers and are known for being able to rear lambs well, even in adverse conditions. They are of a medium build, with black faces marked with bright white around the nose and eyes, and both males and females grow curled horns, however the males horns are much larger. Their coats are thick and very coarse, and are considered a uniform white or off-white colour. The wool they produce, although durable, resilient and usable for a number of applications, is worth very little, with the British Wool Marketing Board paying approximately 40 pence per kilo of wool. The marketed fleece and fibre may contain kemp that is not white, so some yarns and prepared fibres from the Swaledale are grey. The sheep are also known for their tender and good-flavoured lamb and mutton.

The Swaledales as a breed are related to Scottish Blackface and Rough Fell sheep, both of which are also predominant in upland locations in the United Kingdom and noted for their ability to thrive in exposed locations. Although the specific origins of the breed are unknown, a non-indigenous and exotic ancestor for the Swaledale was considered by two noted names of the eighteenth century, John Naismyth and Charles Findlater. Published in 1796, Naismyth's opinion in Young's Annals of Agriculture was that the origin of the black-faced highland breeds was "impossible to trace". Robert Trow-Smith in his book A History of British Livestock Husbandry, 1700–1900 wrote: "... it has already been suggested that this family stood outside the main stream [sic] of ancient British sheep..." and that the root of the Swaledale and Scottish Blackface breeds could be the Argali. This tenuous link between domestic sheep and the wild Argali has since been proved to be insupportable due to a significant difference in genetic make-up and number of chromosomes.

...
Wikipedia