The weird, wild and wonderful sheep breeds yet to make it to Australia

Australia is one of the largest sheep farming nations in the world, with strong sheepmeat and wool industries.

Breed popularity and trends have changed over time, however, there are still some yet to reach Australian shores.

Stock & Land has taken a look at some of the potential new sheep on the block that are popular in other countries.

Dutch Spotted

Dutch Spotted sheep, also known as 'Spotties', were originally developed in the Netherlands as early as 1800.

Farmers in the western Netherlands used them to maintain grass in reclaimed land.

In the 1950s, Dutch farmers began crossing them with other breeds like Texel and Zwartble to enhance their commercial traits.

The breed, known for its striking black and white spotted appearance, has recently gained popularity in other parts of Europe, including the United Kingdom, France, Germany and Ireland.

The former imported the first specimens of the breed as recently as 2018, and the first lambs were born in the US in 2024.

The colourful sheep is also valued for its lean meat, ease of handling and good temperament, making them increasingly popular for both pedigree and commercial farming.

Mature ewes typically weigh between 75-95 kilograms and rams between 115-135kg.

Like many coloured breeds, the Dutch Spotted is also known for its inquisitive nature.

"They are great for any substantial farming system, but equally happy in a smallholding," a description on the Dutch Spotted Sheep Society of the UK reads.

Zwartble

Another coloured sheep breed which has gained popularity in Europe, the Zwartble was also first bred in the Netherlands.

The breed's history began in the 1800s and early 1900s, and it was thought that the Zwartble sheep descended from a relatively large breed called the Schoonebeker, named after an area of north-east Netherlands.

The Schoonebeker lambs were often sold as store lambs to farmers from Northern Friesland, and a number of these decided to line breed these 'Zwartbles' with some influence from Friesian Milk sheep and Texels.

However, due to changes in farming practices, numbers dwindled to an estimated 500 animals by 1978, with only about 250 of these considered to be of purebred Zwartbles.

Numbers started to increase by the early 1980s, mainly due to the interest of hobby wool spinners in black wool, and in 1985, a number of Dutch breeders started a Zwartbles flock book.

The first Zwartbles were imported into the UK in 1986, with numbers increasing into the 1990s.

The breed also gained popularity in Ireland in the 2010s and has since made ground in the US.

"Zwartbles are an elegant sheep with outstanding maternal properties, making them an excellent crossing variety as well as a pure breed," the Zwartbles Sheep Association said.

"Pedigree Zwartbles have enjoyed considerable success in the showring due to their striking appearance, amenable nature and lively character."

Rouge de L'Ouest

The Rouge de L'Ouest sheep, often shortened to simply Rouge, has a name which translates to 'The Red of the West'.

The red-faced breed was developed in the Loire area of France and is similar to the better-known Charolais sheep.

Renowned for its rich, thick milk, the Rouge was originally kept as a dairy sheep producing the famous Camembert cheeses.

French breeders later concentrated on breeding their flocks for superior conformation, whilst retaining prolificacy and milkiness.

These characteristics, rarely seen in all sheep, were part of the reason the breed was introduced in the UK.

It has also gained popularity in Ireland and in mainland Europe.

The British Rouge Sheep Society said Rouge lambs were easily born, lively at birth and got up and started suckling quickly.

They said Rouge ewes made quality flock replacements, and rams could be used as medium-sized terminal sires.

The breed is known to have a carcase with great length of loin and overall muscling.

"It has meat in all the right places with an extremely high meat-to-bone ratio," the British Rouge Sheep Society said.

Blue de Maine

Where the Rouge has red skin, the Bleu du Maine sheep has blue.

The breed originated in the 1800s in western France in the Maine-et-Loire, Mayenne and Sarthe regions.

It was developed from the crossing of Leicester Longwool and Wensleydale sheep, which were imported to France from the UK from 1855 to 1880.

These breeds were crossed with the now extinct Choletais breed.

The breed spread throughout France, Germany and Belgium, and the first commercial imports of the Bleu du Maine arrived in the UK in 1982.

The British Bleu du Maine Sheep Society described the striking sheep as "large and prolific".

"The most distinctive characteristic of the breed [are] its bald, blue-grey head which is polled in both sexes," the society said.

Kajli

The Kajli sheep is a thin-tailed breed that is bred for mutton and wool production.

It is found in the Punjab Province of Pakistan.

The breed is known for its long ears and distinctive black spots around the eyes and at the tips of the ears.

Kajli sheep have a large size, are white in colour and have an average wool yield of 3kg.

The breed has a typical 'Roman' nose, and according to Pakistan's Department of Agriculture, it has a well-developed and muscular body, which is "very leggy".

The Kajli ewe averages one litre of milk production a day.

Fat-tailed sheep

More a grouping of breeds rather than an individual one, fat-tailed sheep are known for their distinctive large tails and hindquarters.

Fat-tailed sheep breeds comprise approximately 25 per cent of the world's sheep population, and are commonly found in northern parts of Africa, the Middle East and across Central Asia to China.

The tail fat from the sheep is an important ingredient in many regional cuisines.

However, fat-tailed sheep have yet to find a home in Australia.

Two general varieties of fat-tails existed - the broad fat-tails and the long fat-tails.

The long-tailed varieties have the smallest geographical distribution.

The majority of fat-tailed sheep breeds have broad fat-tails, where the fat is accumulated in baggy deposits in the hind parts of a sheep on both sides of its tail and on the last vertebrae of the tail.

Fat-tailed sheep are known to be well-adapted to life in arid landscapes, with their fat providing a food reserve when desert conditions prevail.

Dassenkop/Badger Face Texel

The Dassenkop, also known as the Badger Face Texel, has distinctive dark facial markings, resembling a badger's face, on a lighter-coloured body.

The breed is relatively new and gaining popularity in Europe, particularly in Belgium and the Netherlands.

There are also growing flocks in the UK and Ireland.

Like the Texel breed, from which it was originally developed, the Dassenkop has a medium build with a well-muscled carcase.

The British Badger Face Texel Society said while the breed was known for its carcase and distinctive looks, it was also an excellent maternal ewe.