Bleu du Maine

Bleu du Maine is a French meat and maternal sheep breed from western France, named for the blue-gray cast of its face and exposed skin. It was developed from local sheep with influence from British longwool and meat breeds, producing large-framed ewes with prolific lambing, good milk for lambs, and useful carcass production. The breed is not a blue-fleeced novelty; the color reference belongs to its face and type.

Commercial flocks may use Bleu du Maine ewes or rams where lamb numbers, mothering, and growth are important. Good management watches body condition before breeding, lambing supervision for multiple births, udder health, and enough nutrition to support twins or triplets. Wool is generally secondary to meat and maternal performance. Breeders should keep records on litter size, lamb survival, and growth because a prolific breed is only profitable when management can rear the extra lambs successfully.