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| Source: www.homefarmdulas.co.uk |
Polled Dorset is a breed of sheep developed for meat at the
North Carolina State University Small Ruminant Unit in 1956. Their name refers
to the fact that they area hornless variation of the Horned Dorset sheep. Polled
Dorsets are the result of a genetic mutation by which some of the offspring of
a certain ram grew no horns. After some years of breeding work, a strain of
Dorset was developed which had lost the characteristic horns and which bred
true.
Polled Dorsets are an all-white, medium-sized sheep,
prolific and able to breed out of season. The carcases are muscular with good
conformation and the adults produce a thick fleece, which is free from dark
fibers. Since its development, the number of Polled Dorsets registered in the
United States has grown to exceed the number of Horned Dorsets. Without horns
the sheep are easier to handle and there is much less risk of the rams hurting
themselves or others by butting. The Polled Dorset is sometimes confused with
the Australian Poll Dorset, but that breed did not start as a genetic mutation
but resulted from the introduction of Corriedale and Ryeland blood into the
Dorset breeding program.
About Polled Dorset Sheep
