Bluefaced Leicester

Bluefaced Leicester
Ewe with lambs
Conservation status
  • FAO (2007): not at risk: 146 
  • DAD-IS (2025): not at risk
Other namesHexham Leicester
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Distribution
  • Canada
  • Holland
  • Ireland
  • United States
StandardBluefaced Leicester Sheep Breeders Association
Useterminal sire
Traits
Weight
  • Male:
    average 115 kg (250 lb): 765 
  • Female:
    average 80 kg (180 lb): 765 
Height
  • Male:
    average 90 cm (35 in)
  • Female:
    average 85 cm (33 in)
Skin colourblue-grey
Wool colourwhite
Face colourblue
Horn statusnaturally polled

The Bluefaced Leicester is a British breed of longwool sheep. It originated in north-east England in the late nineteenth or early twentieth century, and derives from the white-faced Border Leicester, with some influence from the blue-coloured Wensleydale and possibly also from the Teeswater.: 765  It was bred specifically for use as a terminal sire to be used on ewes of hill sheep breeds to produce mules. By about 1920 it was known either as the Bluefaced or as the Hexham Leicester, for the town of Hexham in Northumberland.

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