Suffolk

The crossing was underway around Bury St Edmunds in the late 1700s. The name Suffolk was in use by 1797, the breed was recognized as distinct by 1810, and the present name settled in 1859.

The English Suffolk Society formed in 1886. Two years later G.B. Streeter of Chazy, New York brought the breed to the United States, where it became both the dominant terminal sire and the dominant show sheep.

They are unmistakable: black head and legs with no wool on either, unpigmented skin, a large frame, fast growth, and no horns.

Wikipedia puts rams around 275 pounds and ewes around 195, standing about 31 and 29 inches, and notes that American lines have been bred to larger frames than the British at some cost in carcass quality.

Rams are large and can be aggressive in season. Plan ram housing, and your own habits, around that.

The ewes are the sheep the whole industry handles every day; there is nothing exotic about working them.

A Suffolk ram on almost any ewe produces a lamb that reaches market weight quickly with a lean, well-muscled carcass, which is the whole reason the breed is used.

They are also the dominant show breed in the United States, which has pulled parts of the population toward height and style rather than production.

The trade is hardiness and wool. Suffolks are less thrifty than the hill breeds, and they want better feed.

The fleece is short and coarse enough that it is a by-product rather than income; price your system on the lamb alone.

The United Suffolk Sheep Association keeps the US registry. Ask whether a ram comes from production or show breeding, because the two have diverged; height wins ribbons, growth data feeds lambs.

For a commercial buyer the questions are the ram's own growth numbers and, if he has lambs on the ground, theirs.

Recent sale prices on HoofnHorn, where there are any, are further down this page.