Meat
Rouge de l'Ouest
B tier
Rouge de l'Ouest is a brick-red-faced French meat breed from the Loire and Vendée, developed for prolificacy, maternal ability, and well-fleshed lambs on western France’s mixed farms. The distinctive rufous head and legs make purebreds easy to recognise in the field and at market. Lamb is tender with a gentle sweetness typical of French lowland breeds—excellent for gigot rôti, épaule, and navarin printanier. Carcasses balance fat and lean better than extreme terminal types, suiting traditional boucherie cuts and whole-carcass restaurant buying.
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Characteristics
Preparations
Traits
Grading systems
Grades are placed along a shared scale so systems can be compared side by side.
History
Local western French sheep with reddish colouring were improved for meat and maternal traits.
Official breed recognition and selection schemes fixed Rouge de l'Ouest standards.
Small imports introduced the breed to British specialty and crossing flocks.
Continued use in French quality-label lamb chains emphasised regional identity and eating quality.