Oxford Down
Oxford Down
The Oxford or Oxford down is a sheep (Ovis aries Linnaeus, 1758) of Oxford County, England, with a main aptitude for meat production.
Systematics –
From a systematic point of view it belongs to:
Eukaryota domain,
Kingdom Animalia,
Phylum Chordata,
Mammalia class,
Order Artiodactyla,
Suborder Ruminantia,
Bovidae family,
Subfamily Caprinae,
Genus Ovis,
O. aries species,
Oxford down breed.
Geographic and Area Distribution –
The Oxford down is a breed originating in Oxford County in England and was obtained by crossing the Cotswold and Hampshire breeds (with a small Southdown blood supply). It was also exported to the United States as early as the mid-19th century.
Outside the UK it is distributed in ten other European countries, as well as Canada and the United States; it is estimated that the world population was around 20,000 head.
Origins and History –
The Oxford Down is a British sheep breed which developed from around 1830, when Hampshire Down and Southdown sheep were bred with Cotswold rams. Much of this breeding took place in the Witney area of West Oxfordshire and this gave rise to the name of the breed. The breed society, the Oxford Down Sheep Breeders Association, was founded in 1889 and a studbook was published the same year.
However in the twenty first century it is an endangered breed in the UK and is listed as ‘at risk’ on the Rare Breeds Survival Trust watchlist. In 2021, a population of just over 1000 was reported to DAD-IS.
Morphology –
The Oxford Down is a very large sheep, the largest of the Down breeds, robust and powerful. Rams weigh around 110–145 kg and ewes 90–110 kg. It is one of the largest breeds of sheep, surpassed only by the Lincoln.
It is a shorthaired breed, white on the body with brown or black wool on the face and lower legs.
Produces the heaviest fleece of all Down breeds. Its ability to produce a large, meaty carcass for further processing has piqued the interest of the meat industry, and it also produces the most wool of all terminal bull breeds.
Productive attitude –
The Oxford Down breed has never become important outside its native area of England, although some animals have been exported to many countries.
The Oxford is a specialized sheep breed crossbred for meat production.
From the point of view of reproductiveness, it is also a very prolific breed.
Guido Bissanti
Sources-
– Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
– Balasini Dialma, 2001. Applied zootechnics. Sheep and goats. Sheep and goats. For technical and professional institutes, Caledrini Edagricole, Bologna.
– Daniele Bigi, Alessio Zanon, 2010. Atlas of native breeds. Cattle, horses, sheep and goats, pigs reared in Italy, Edagricole-New Business Media, Bologna.
Photo source:
– https://oxforddown.se/varfor-oxford-down/