Breed Standard CTD

REASONS FOR DISQUALIFICATIONToo big ( exceeding maximum height limit)
poor pasterns, bad hooves, legs overdeveloped
Rams, horns asymmetrical, too delicate, too tight or too open, abscence of horns.
Pie coloured
Tail too long
Ears too large
Prominant bridge in the ewe or over developed in the ram
Prescence of toggles at the throat
Admissable in young subjects, blacks lightly marked with white on the forehead, whites with rust on the neck tail or feet, these marks diminish with age.REMARKSThere appears (rarely) in some ewes, tiny horns, without any bony plate, if they are observed they cannot be considered a fault.
Outside the breed standard, it needs to be noted single births are a characteristic of the breed, twin births are rare and not sought after.
WOOL
Fleece- furnishing the forehead, and the cheeks partly. Covering all the body, descending at least to the knees and just to the hocks.
COLOURBlack, brown, chestnut, white, the pigmentation must be even throughout all the fleece.
TEXTURE
Fleece semi closed, and quite compact, locks (staple) of 8 - 10 cms for 12 months growth.
Prescence of hairs and medullated fibres at the throat - cravat (accentuated in rams) nape and britches. The hairs are similar to the rest of the fleece although, they may be a little darker.
AVERAGE THICKNESS medium 27 to 28 microns
QUALITY very soft wool to the touch, very springy
AVERAGE WEIGHT OF THE FLEECE Rams 4.5% of live weight Ewes 4%of live weight.
CAUSES OF DISQUALIFICATION Fleece outside the standard, colour uneven, marks in the fleece, fleece thin, matted , lacking texture, density, staple length.

The Breed Standard

With thanks to GEMO a copy of the breed standard in English (my translation, so it may not reflect the exact content of the french text)
Link to original french text Breed Standard FR

"Standard proposed by the General Assembly of the group of breeders of Ouessants ( GEMO) 5th December 1981, modified by the General Assembly 16th November 1991 and 29th october 2005.
HEAD
Fine and regular, the rams are horned, the bridge of the nose and forehead should form a continuous line. A very slight bridge to the nose in the ram
Eyes Bright and lively look, prominant orbit to the eye.
Ears fine, small, short, mobile and have a tendancy to be carried pricked.
Horns dark for the blacks and browns, light for the whites, triangular in section, strong, curled in a single spiral, of large amplitude, a good distance from the head.
NECK
rounded , without any dewlap, cravat (collar) in the rams.
TRUNK
withers not prominant , deep chest.
BACK
Straight ( level ) topline from the withers to the base of the tail.
RUMP
wide
LEGS
slender, of medium length, well proportioned, good pasterns. Hooves, dark for the black and browns, light for the whites.
HEIGHT
Maximum height for an adult Ram 49 cms
Maximum height for an adult Ewe 46cms

Addenum 29th October 2005. An optimum range has been determined particularly for competition, that corresponds to the ideal size looked for in selection. This range represents a division for obtaining a prize at the time of judging. The jury can decide to award a placement even if the subject is outside of the optimum range if, in their estimation, the qualities of the subject shown merits it and as long as they are within the norms for the standard.

Table for the optimum ranges.

Adult Ram 42 cm 48 cm
Yearling 40 cm 46 cm
Adult Ewe 40 cm 45 cm
Yearling 38 cm 44 cm

COLOUR
All uniform colours are accepted, black, noire brunissante, brown, white, a base of rust where there is a light touch of rust appearing on the fleece, appearing mostly on the head, feet or base of the tail is acceptable in whites.