History of the Oxford Breed in America Original text by Merril Neary Updated by Wayne O’Brien EARLY DEVELOPMENT AND EXPANSION Oxfords were developed in the 1830s in Oxford County, England. The land in this area is very fertile and abundant crops and forages are produced. The progressive farmers of Oxford County needed a large sheep capable of converting the ample supplies of feed into wool and meat.
Howard Kimmerly, Ohio, Champion Oxford Ram at the 1956 Chicago International.
At that time, the Hampshire breed was being developed in a neighboring county. The Hampshire of that time was a large, hardy, bare-faced breed that was being improved in its caucus quality by the careful addition of Southdown bloodlines. It was felt by the founders of Oxfords that the Hampshire was not large enough to fully utilize the feeds available in their region and its wool, while of good quality, was low in quantity. To the west of Oxford Country lay the country of Cotswold, which contained the massive, longwool breed of the same name. A deliberate cross was made between these two breeds to take advantage of the hardiness, muscling and wool quality of the Cotswold. This resulted in a sheep ideally suited to the area. After 1850 little crossbreeding was done and efforts were made to establish Oxford breed type through line breeding and selection. The Oxford was recognized as a true and distinct breed at the Royal Agricultural Society Show in 1862. The impressive qualities of the new breed caught the eye of American importers. The first Oxfords came to North American in 1846. Sev-
”
n o x i
“N
Wallpe 0100
Wallpe 0090
RESERVE JUNIOR CHAMPION - NAILE Jr. Show Congratulations Addy Kendle!
eral other importations continued to be made until 1900 and to a limited extent afterwards. The American Oxford Down Record Association was founded in 1882 at Xenia, Ohio. Oxfords imported prior to 1900 were very large, rectangular, upstanding, strong topped, wide backed, long bodied, stylish, and nearly black in color with only a small amount of wool on the head and legs. Mature rams were known to have weighed over 400 pounds. The breed at this point tended to lack somewhat in hindquarter muscling. The fleece weight was 12-20 pounds in a year’s clip. Some individuals had coarse or loose fleeces. Breeders of that time continued to breed a similar type sheep while striving to improve the fleece quality and muscling. The breed spread rapidly into Eastern Canada, the Great Lakes States, and the Cornbelt. Farm flock owners of that time sought the massive Oxford rams to use on their native ewes to improve the growth rate and carcass quality of the lambs. The Oxford lambs grew rapidly and continued to grow efficiently at heavier weights without becoming overly fat. The Oxford cross ewe was valued for her heavy milking qualities, twinning ability, docile disposition, heavy shearing, and overall size and large structure. Oxfords were used with success by a number of western commercial sheep producers to cross on finewool ewes. However, they did not enjoy the widespread acceptance in that area that they did in the farm flock region. Oxfords continued to expand in numbers into the 1900s despite strong competition from Shropshires and Hampshires. In the early 1900s Oxfords were the third most numerous breed of sheep registered in America. At this point the breed had changed very little since its early importation. The color had been lightened to include a white spot on the nose in some flocks. Perhaps the breed was slightly smaller and heavier muscled. However, without a doubt, Oxfords were the largest size of any of the Down breeds by a good margin.
Slick Yearling Class Winner She won her class every where she showed! RESERVE JUNIOR CHAMPION NAILE Open Show Our Ohio Showcase Entries will feature two that should be in our show string!
Wallpe 0106
Nathan, Cassie & Bryson Wallpe 5442 S. CR 400 E. • Greensburg, IN 47240 Cassie Cell (330) 401-7551 • cassiewallpe@gmail.com
Page 4
2022-2023 OXFORD DIRECTORY
