Rambouillet Sheep

Rambouillet Sheep

The Rambouillet sheep breed is a noble-looking breed which originally comes from France – the product of breeding local stock with Germany’s Spanish Merino. Rambouillet sheep are the most common breed and perhaps the first of the U.S western area sheep flocks. Many consider this breed the foundation of the US sheep industry.  

About the Rambouillet Breed

This breed is distinguishable by its white face and wooly legs. The Rambouillet is considered one of the leading breeds of fine-wool sheep and Rambouillets can thrive in a wide variety of conditions, making them a popular choice for large range operations in the western U.S.

This breed is good in the west, because they have a strong natural instinct to stay together as a group.  

The Rambouillet breed has an exceptionally long breeding period – a characteristic which is valued by commercial farmers making Rambouillet ewes a common “core” for crossbred flocks.

Highly valued for their outstanding wool production and high-quality fine wool fleeces, the Rambouillet sheep breed also offers commercial farmers a decent rate of growth and suitable carcass: traits which help to separate this breed from some of the smaller fine wool breeds which experience a much slower rate of growth in lambs.  

Rambouillet rams have an impressive rack of horns in either a tight curl close to their head or a sprawling curl which extends away from the face.

Rambouillet ewes are typically polled (meaning they have no horns) – a desirable trait for many shepherds.

Rambouillet Sheep Breed Information

MATURE BODY WEIGHTRam 200-300 lbs.
Ewe 140-180 lbs.
AVERAGE FIBER DIAMETERMicron: 19-24
USDA Wool Grade: 60s-70s
GREASE FLEECE WEIGHTEwe: 10-15 lbs.
YIELD45-55%
STAPLE LENGTH2 1/2 – 4″

To learn more about this breed visit the American Rambouillet Sheep Breeders Association website.

Featured image courtesy Jiel, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons