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Bleu du Maine sheep
| Place of Origin | France |
| Origin | The Bleu du Maine (also known as Blauköpfiges Fleischschaf (German), Bazougers, Bluefaced Maine, Blue-headed Maine, Maine-Anjou, Maine à tête bleue, Maynne Blue) is a breed of domestic sheep that originated in western France, in the region common to the departments of Maine-et-Loire, Mayenne and Sarthe. The breed was developed from crossing of Leicester Longwool and Wensleydale which were imported during a period from 1855 to 1880 with the now extinct Choletais breed. |
| Purpose | Meat |
| Characteristics | A large, prolific sheep, the most distinctive characteristic of the breed is its bald, gray–blue head which is polled in both sexes. More common in France and the Netherlands, it has also been exported to the U.K., where it is sometimes used for the creation of cross–bred mules. Though this breed does grow wool, it is raised primarily for meat. The Bleu du Maine are a large breed with mature rams weighing 240 pounds (109 km) and ewes 175 pounds (79 kg). The breed has no wool on its head or legs. The face is a dark gray or blue colour and both sexes are polled. In comparing the Bleu du Maine with the Texel breed, they show a higher litter size and age of sexual maturity. The average daily gain, carcass leanness, milk yield, lambing interval are comparable with the Texel and the Bleu du Maine are lighter muscled. The Bleu du Maine has a heavy fine fleece. The average fleece weight is 4 to 6 kilograms with a staple length of 8 to 10 cm and the quality is 50's to 56's. |
| Other Considerations | The Millennium Bleu is a new breed which began to be developed in the year 2000. It is a cross of a Bleu du Maine ewe with a Texel or Beltex ram. It is still rare in the U.K., and is used primarily as a terminal sire. |
