Devon Closewool

The Devon Closewool is a British breed of domestic sheep. It is distributed almost exclusively on Exmoor in North Devon, in south-west England.[6][7]: 296  It is raised primarily for meat.[2]

Devon Closewool
Conservation status
Country of originUnited Kingdom
DistributionNorth Devon
Traits
Weight
Wool colourwhite
Face colourwhite
Horn statusnaturally polled

History

The Devon Closewool was developed in the second half of the nineteenth century by cross-breeding native Exmoor ewes with Devon Longwool rams.[8]: 797  The oldest known flock dates from 1894.[8]: 797  A breed society – the Devon Closewool Sheep Breeders' Society – was formed in 1923, and a flock-book was started in the same year.[4] By 1950 there were close to 230 000 head.[9] In 2009 total breed numbers were estimated to be 5 000. Of these, about 95% were distributed within an area in North Devon some 100 km across, coinciding approximately with the extent of Exmoor;[7]: 296  about 75% are within 20 km of the mean centre of distribution.[8]: 797 

Characteristics

The Devon Closewool is of medium size, ewes weighing up to about 62 kg and rams up to 100 kg. It is solidly built, with strong legs.[5] It is naturally polled in both sexes, white-woolled and white-faced, with black nostrils and short ears.[5] The fleece is dense and of medium length and staple.[4] It is a hardy grassland breed, well suited to grazing on the grasslands and heaths of the uplands of its area of distribution.[8]: 797 

Use

The Devon Closewool is reared for meat and for wool.

On lowland grass, lambs may be ready for slaughter at between twelve and sixteen weeks, when they yield a dressed carcase weight of about 18–21 kg; on upland grazing they may take up to twenty-four weeks to reach the same weights.[5] Ewes have good maternal qualities, and a lambing percentage of some 150–160%.[8]: 797  Ewes may be put to rams of a terminal breed such as the Suffolk or Texel to produce cross-bred lambs; these grow fast and quickly reach slaughter weight.[8]: 797  Ewes may also be put to ram of a breed such as the Blue-faced Leicester to produce more prolific cross-bred "mule" ewes;[5] this is however uncommon.[8]: 797 

Ewe fleeces weigh some 3–4 kg, those of rams 5–6 kg.[8]: 797  The wool is dense and of medium length; staple length is 100–150 mm, fibre diameter is approximately 35 μm.[10] It is used for carpets[10] or for tweeds and hosiery.[8]: 797 

References
  1. Barbara Rischkowsky, Dafydd Pilling (editors) (2007). List of breeds documented in the Global Databank for Animal Genetic Resources, annex to The State of the World's Animal Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture. Rome: Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. ISBN 9789251057629. Archived 23 June 2020.
  2. Breed data sheet: Devon Closewool / United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (Sheep). Domestic Animal Diversity Information System of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Accessed June 2021.
  3. Watchlist 2021–22. Kenilworth, Warwickshire: Rare Breeds Survival Trust. Archived 12 April 2021.
  4. Devon Closewool. Action Heritage Sheep. Archived 22 February 2012.
  5. Devon Closewool. Kenilworth, Warwickshire: Rare Breeds Survival Trust. Accessed June 2021.
  6. List of breeds. York: The Sheep Trust. Accessed June 2021.
  7. Amanda Carson, Matt Elliott, Julian Groom, Agnes Winter, Dianna Bowles (2009). Geographical isolation of native sheep breeds in the UK – Evidence of endemism as a risk factor to genetic resources. Livestock Science. 123 (2–3): 288-299. ISSN 1871-1413. doi:10.1016/j.livsci.2008.11.026. (subscription required).
  8. Valerie Porter, Lawrence Alderson, Stephen J.G. Hall, D. Phillip Sponenberg (2016). Mason's World Encyclopedia of Livestock Breeds and Breeding (sixth edition). Wallingford: CABI. ISBN 9781780647944.
  9. About The Breed. South Molton, Devon: Devon Closewool Sheep Breeders' Society. Accessed June 2021.
  10. Devon Closewool. British Wool. Accessed June 2021.
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