Beltex

Beltex is a heavily muscled meat sheep breed developed in Belgium from Texel-type stock and later used widely as a terminal sire breed in the United Kingdom and elsewhere. It has extreme hindquarter shape, lean carcass yield, and a compact, powerful frame. Unlike maternal hill breeds or dairy sheep, the Beltex is mainly selected to sire market lambs with strong conformation when crossed onto commercial ewes.

The breed's strength also sets its management limits. Beltex rams can add carcass value, but ewes and lambs need attention to lambing ease, birth weights, structure, and adequate nutrition for muscling without over-fat condition. Purebred breeders should watch feet, mouths, locomotion, and reproductive soundness as closely as show-ring shape. Commercial flock owners usually choose Beltex genetics for a defined finishing system rather than as an all-purpose ewe flock, and recorded performance can be more useful than appearance alone.

Colors: Badgerface, Black, Blackbelly, Broken, Brown, Gray, Grey, Gulmoget, Katmoget, Moorit, Piebald, Red, Roan, Silver, Solid, Spotted, Tan, White, White with Black Points, White with Brown Points