Sheep breed
Mule (sheep)
Mule (sheep)
Bluefaced Leicester × hill ewe: the crossbred mother of British lamb production.
Description1
The Mule is not a breed but a crossbred ewe type: the offspring of a Bluefaced Leicester ram and a purebred hill ewe (usually Swaledale). It underpins a widely used British breeding system.
The cross brings hybrid vigour, combining the hill ewe's hardiness and mothering with the lowland ram's prolificacy and milk. Types include the North of England (Swaledale), Scotch (Scottish Blackface), Welsh, Clun, Cheviot, Black (Jacob) and Mayo Mule.
The source gives no body weight, fleece or population figures, as these depend on the parent breeds (tbc).
History1
The system
Bluefaced Leicester ram × purebred hill ewe (often Swaledale) → Mule ewe.
Next step
The Mule ewe is mated to a meat ram (Suffolk, Texel) for market lambs.
After about 4 years
The hill ewe moves to a lowland farm to breed further Mules.
Breed standard and breed society
The official breed description, breeding goal and herdbook rules are published by the breed's recognised breed society.
- English Wikipedia – Mule (sheep)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mule_(sheep)
Photo gallery
All photos are freely licensed (Wikimedia Commons, Flickr); author, source and licence are shown under each image.
Sources
Accessed: 2026-10-18.