The Vendéen is a breed of domestic sheep originating near Vendée in western France. It was developed by crossing local ewes with Southdown rams in the early 19th century. It is primarily a meat breed known for its muscularity and ability to produce large litters of lambs. They have fine, medium-length wool. Both Vendéen ewes and rams are usually polled, but occasionally rams can have small horns. Their faces and legs have dark brown or grey hair. The breed is commonly used among farmers as a terminal sire for producing lambs for meat.
The Vendéen breed has been known in the Vendee region of France for many hundreds of years and is said to owe some of its blood to sheep saved from the wrecks of Spanish galleons at the time of the Armada. More definite links were established with the importation of Southdown sheep to the Vendee a little over a century ago. Recently sheep have been selected to provide lean meat as demanded by the French market. Further selection has been made in recent years for hardiness and prolificacy.
The first importation into Britain was in 1981 (at about which time the British Vendéen Sheep Society was formed) when the first ewe lambs to be imported all produced twins.