Scottish Blackface Sheep
Scottish Blackface are a thrifty breed of sheep. They are very hardy, easy to maintain, and a joy to look at in the pasture. Both ewes and rams have horns. They are a medium size with ewes maturing to weigh 120-135 pounds and rams 175- 200 pounds. In addition to an long attractive, white fleece, their roman nose and unusual black and white face markings set them apart in appearance. The Scottish Blackface fleece is long and coarse, known for strength and durability, its used for carpet and in Europe for Irish and Scottish tweed and for mattress making. Ewes are easy lambers and protective mothers of their lambs. Because of their excellent mothering ability, the breed is also excellent for creating thrifty crossbreeds.
The Scottish Blackface breed matures slowly and as a result has never really caught on for commercial production of lambs in the US. However, the carcass is lean, incredibly fine-grained, and has an excellent flavor. This and all of the breeds qualities make them ideal for the small farmer.