Polled Dorset

The Polled Dorset is a breed of sheep developed for meat at the North Carolina State University Small Ruminant Unit in 1956. The name refers to the fact that it is a hornless variation of the Horned Dorset breed. The Polled Dorset is the result of a genetic mutation by which some of the offspring of a certain ram grew no horns. After some years of breeding work, a strain of Dorset was developed which had lost the characteristic horns and which bred true.

Polled Dorsets are an all-white, medium-sized sheep, prolific and able to breed out of season. The carcases are muscular with good conformation and the adults produce a thick fleece, which is free from dark fibers. Since its development, the number of Polled Dorsets registered in the United States has grown to exceed the number of Horned Dorsets. Without horns the sheep are easier to handle and there is much less risk of the rams hurting themselves or others by butting. The Polled Dorset is sometimes confused with the Australian Poll Dorset, but that breed did not start as a genetic mutation but resulted from the introduction of Corriedale and Ryeland blood into the Dorset breeding program.

Dorset

Dorset /ˈdɔːrsᵻt/ (or archaically, Dorsetshire) is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the non-metropolitan county, which is governed by Dorset County Council, and the unitary authority areas of Poole and Bournemouth. Covering an area of 2,653 square kilometres (1,024 sq mi), Dorset borders Devon to the west, Somerset to the north-west, Wiltshire to the north-east, and Hampshire to the east. The county town is Dorchester which is in the south. After the reorganisation of local government in 1974 the county's border was extended eastward to incorporate the Hampshire towns of Bournemouth and Christchurch. Around half of the population lives in the South East Dorset conurbation, while the rest of the county is largely rural with a low population density.

The county has a long history of human settlement stretching back to the Neolithic era. The Romans conquered Dorset's indigenous Celtic tribe, and during the early Middle Ages, the Saxons settled the area and made Dorset a shire in the 7th century. The first recorded Viking raid on the British Isles occurred in Dorset during the 8th century, and the Black Death entered England at Melcombe Regis in 1348. Dorset has seen much civil unrest: during the English Civil War an uprising of vigilantes was crushed by Cromwell's forces in a pitched battle near Shaftesbury; the Duke of Monmouth's doomed rebellion began at Lyme Regis; and a group of farm labourers from Tolpuddle were instrumental in the formation of the trade union movement. During the Second World War, Dorset was heavily involved in the preparations for the invasion of Normandy, and the large harbours of Portland and Poole were two of the main embarkation points. The former was the sailing venue in the 2012 Summer Olympics, and both have clubs or hire venues for sailing, rowing, sea kayaking and powerboating.

Dorset Horn

The Dorset or Horned Dorset breed of sheep is known mostly for its prolific lambing. It has been known to produce two lambing seasons per year: bred in May for lambs finished by the holidays, and bred again immediately after the first lambing to produce again in March or April. This type of management, the ewes sold with the lambs, sometimes produces as many as four or five lambs a year.

The Cornell University Sheep Program developed and teaches the STAR system to promote frequent lambing with Dorsets. Cornell maintains a research and teaching flock five miles south of Dryden, New York, USA. The Dorset has a white face with close short fleece. It has a solid build, with broad back and short legs. Originally, both rams and ewes had horns. The Polled Dorset originated in a herd at North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina, and a registry of the polled Dorset was established in 1956. Since then the polled breeders have outnumbered the breeders of the horned variety.

Dorset (disambiguation)

Dorset is a county in England.

Dorset may also refer to:

People with the surname Dorset

See also