Welsh Mountain sheep are small, hardy sheep from the higher parts of the Welsh

Wales

Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...

 mountains. The males have horns, and the females are polled

Polled livestock

Polled livestock are livestock without horns, of species that normally have them. The term refers both to breeds or strains which are naturally polled through selective breeding and also to naturally horned animals which have been dehorned...

 (hornless); they have no wool on the face or legs, and they have long tails (normally left undock

Docking (animal)

Docking is a term for the intentional removal of part of an animal's tail or ears. The term cropping is also used, though more commonly in reference to the cropping of ears, while docking more commonly—but not exclusively—refers to the tail. The term tailing is also commonly used...

ed).

There are a number of varieties. These are mainly colour variations, but some are being developed as separate breeds.

Varieties

• White Welsh Mountain sheep, all-white. The most common variety in the Welsh Mountains; also kept elsewhere.
• Badger Face Welsh Mountain
  Badger Face Welsh Mountain (sheep)
  The Badger Face Welsh Mountain is a distinct variety of the Welsh Mountain breed of domestic sheep. It is a hardy upland breed known for producing a high percentage of twins and triplets under good conditions...
  
   (Defaid Idloes, ˈdevaɪd ˈɪdlɔɪs). Two varieties:
  • Torddu (tɔrˈðiː, "black-bellied"), white with dark face and belly.
  • Torwen (tɔrˈwɛn, "white-bellied"), black with white belly and white stripes over the eyes.
• Balwen Welsh Mountain, black (fading to brown in sunlight and greying with age) with white blaze on face, white socks on legs below hocks and part-white tail.
• Black Welsh Mountain
  Black Welsh Mountain sheep
  The Black Welsh Mountain sheep is a colour type of the Welsh Mountain sheep. It occurs occasionally in flocks of other colours, but is now often maintained as a separate strain. Like other Welsh Mountain sheep it is found mainly on the hills in Wales, but is also kept elsewhere.Introduced into...
  
   (Defaid Mynydd Duon, ˈdevaɪd ˈmənɪð ˈdɪɔn), all-black. Many flocks of white Welsh Mountains have one or two black sheep, but they are now also bred as a consistent black variety.
• South Wales Mountain. Similar to other Welsh Mountains, but rather larger. White, with tan markings on legs and face, and a brown collar.

External links

• Welsh Mountain, Oklahoma State University, Dept. of Animal Science