SUFFOLK BREED
Suffolk breed
The Suffolk sheep were bred in England by crossbreeding Southdown rams with Norfolk Horned ewes. The breed is large with long woolless black legs and face, without horns. Their fleece is moderately short (5.5-8.0 cm) with fine fibers (25-33 micron). Because of their short coat, the breed does not produce a lot of wool (2.25-3.6 kg), hence the breed is mostly used for its meat.
The breed is very popular for use as a terminal sire in many countries in the world. Using the Suffolk as a terminal sire for ewes of a different breed or half-bred Suffolks creates lambs with excellent conformation. Highly heritable traits of the Suffolk include a long well-muscled loin with low-fat percentage, large hindquarters, and narrow wedged shoulders – what makes lambing easier.
SUFFOLK EWES AND CROSSBREEDSPRODUCE SUFFICIENT MILK
TO GET FAST
GROWING LAMBS
SHEEP AND LAMB
Suffolk ewes, and crossbreeds, produce sufficient milk to get fast-growing lambs. Litter size is 1.7 lambs on average and single lambs weigh up to 5.5 kg at birth. Suffolk sired lambs can reach 40 kg in about 15 weeks, which is a very fast growth compared to some other breeds.
