The history of the domestic sheep goes back to between 11000 and 9000 BCE, and the domestication of the wild mouflon in ancient Mesopotamia. They are usually white in coloration, and there are also a dark variation exists of these animals. The East Friesian ewes are excellent milk producers. The oldest is a lustre wool breed known as Gammel Norsk Spelsau (translated as Old Norwegian Spelsau). The breed is now predominantly medium grey colour and is commonly known as the Swedish Pelt Sheep. Its dense fleece is suited to knitwear and any other application where a good bulk is required. Their heads and … Read some more information about this breed below. This is a Dutch breed, which is also found in other countries, including the UK. It is one of the oldest sheep breeds. The breed has been exported and small flocks can be found in other countries, including Norway, Denmark, the UK and USA. Learn how your comment data is processed. Montadale sheep were developed in the United States from Cheviot and Columbia sheep crosses. Today, the breed is raised mainly as a dairy sheep breed. Woolly sheep began to be developed around 6000 BCE. Much of the knitwear available in the general marketplace is not produced from Shetland wool at all, but from wools of other origins, which have a similar quality and appearance. The fleece is suited to combing due to its length and is used in speciality products due to its limited availability. Although these animals are also used as a cross for other sheep breeds for improving milk production in non-dairy sheep breeds. It is the most widely distributed breed of all the British breeds. The sheep produces a good dense fleece of medium quality, which is suitable for fine carpet yarns, hosiery and knitwear, at the coarser count end. It is a descendant of Lincoln and Merino that were bred to produce a dual-purpose breed with an emphasis on wool production. The length is approx. And it is one of the best dairy breeds for milk production. The breed is now farmed internationally, including Australia and the USA. 32-40microns and length, 80- 150mm. The Shetland is the smallest of the British breeds found mainly on the Shetland Islands. Too frequently it is the custom to regard the study of the science of Armory as that of a subject which has passed beyond the limits of practical politics. This UK breed is classified as long-wool and lustre and is found in Northern England. Coloured sheep may occur in all breeds and some people like to cross breed for certain traits, so the Black and Coloured Sheep Breeders Association of Australia is of interest to some breeders, spinners and weavers - the NSW branch has a website, as does the Vic branch and they have a Facebook page. It is a hornless sheep with a blue face. 40-50microns and 200- 300mm long. Polwarth, a type of Comeback is a dual-purpose breed valued for fibre and meat. The breed is classified as mountain and hill and is found throughout the whole of the UK but originated in the Welsh mountains and uplands. It is approx. 150-380mm. They are very famous for hair production. The fineness is approx. However, the main breed in Norway is now a crossbred sheep, produced by crossing the Cheviot, which was imported from the UK in the 1800’s, and the Dala and Steigar breeds, native to Norway. The history of textiles is long and eventful, steeped in tradition and intrinsically woven into the heritage of West Yorkshire. This is the only purely black breed of sheep to be found in the UK. 29-36microns and 80-120mm long, which makes it suitable for combing. Classées par pays d'origine, voici une liste des principales races de moutons (Ovis aries) connues : … It is a cross-breed of Norfolk and Southdown and has become a breed in its own right. This breed is in demand for handmade textiles as the range of colours produced are more varied than other breeds. Marino sheep originated from Spain. Some wool finds its use in hand-knitting yarns. The fleece varies in colour from white to grey, being a similar breed in appearance to the Blackface sheep. It is quite bulky but carries more dead hairs (kemps) than other breeds. It is often used for blending with finer but shorter stapled wools, where a strong yarn is required. East Friesian Sheep Characteristics. Found mainly in the north of England. There is sufficient quantity of this wool to be used commercially. You can unsubscribe to these at any time. Marino. World of Wool © 2021. The East Friesian sheep is a breed of domestic sheep from Germany. However there is also a production of Devon close-wool, which is finer and shorter and does not have the same lustre. It is one of the oldest sheep breeds. They are usually white in coloration, and there are also a dark variation exists of these animals. Blue-faced Leicester wool is classed as long-wool with lustre. And it is either the best or one of the best dairy sheep breeds in terms of milk production per ewe. The sheep produces a long curly and lustrous fleece, a characteristic which is passed onto the Masham. Shipping to Europe Update | Koko the Koala Needle Felting Kit | 30% OFF Botany Wool | New Andean Mountain Wool. The Masham, pronounced massam, is a cross of Teeswater or Wensleydale ram with Dalesbred or Swaledale ewes. 40-60microns and length, 200-250mm. The wool is predominantly used in carpet yarns and rug yarns due to its excellent resilience and hardwearing properties. His idea was to bring together the qualities of big western-white faced sheep and the popular mutton characteristics of Midwestern sheep. The wool is approx. Polwarth. They have pink nose and a thin tail. The fleece varies in quality from fine to coarse and has many applications, making this wool very versatile. The wool varies in quality from approximately 28-33microns and fibre length from 50-120mm. The older sheep-wool is a little too coarse for use in garments and not so lustrous. This is a New Zealand sheep breed, produced by crossing merino sheep with Lincoln and Leicester to produce a sheep with sound, long staple in the crossbreed range. The wool produced from the first clip is shorn in summer. When crossed with other hill breeds, such as the Swaledale, it produces a halfbred sheep called Teeswater half-bred, more commonly known as the Masham. Border Reiver family. The East Friesian sheep are large sized animals, and are large-framed. The fineness is approx. The fleece is very long and lustrous and the breed is found mainly in the north of England. Fineness ranges from 18/19microns to 32/33microns with the bulk of the wool being in the 27- 30microns category. This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Lambs-wool of this breed is in demand for its softness and lustre, being long enough to be combed. The wool price suffered a slump in 2005/6 and a peak in 2008. 25-30microns and staple length, 80-120mm. This UK breed is classified as short-wool and down. It is a dairy sheep breed and raised mainly for milk production. Photo and info from Wikipedia. This UK breed is classified as mountain and hill and is found predominantly in the northern counties of England and the Pennine hills. Le cheptel ovin mondial compte un milliard de têtes (2003). The lambs are taken away from their mothers after a few days and raised on a bottle like most other dairy animals. The wool found its popularity in the Cheviot suitings/fabrics, typical of Scottish border town production and has found its way into blankets, rugs and hosiery articles. Male sheep produce about 8-15 kg and female produce about 5-10 kg wool per year. 80-150mm. The base flock are Corriedale and Polwarth breeds with Dohne Merino, South African Meat Merinos, Afrinos and other breeds having been introduced to improve the fineness of wool and meat characteristics. Devon is predominantly classified as long-wool and lustre. Characteristics of some sheep breeds are described below. Therefore, it is well suited to combing. It was sometimes referred to as ‘Hexham Leicester’. An archeological site in Iran produced a statuette of a wooled sheep which suggests that selection for woolly sheep had begun to occur over 6000 years ago. There is more than one breed of sheep in Norway. The fineness varies from approx. The length is 80-100mm with the fleece showing good bulkiness and soft handle. This UK breed is classified as a long-wool and lustre. The Polworth is Three-quarter Merino and one quarter Lincoln, and closely resembles the Corriedale in general appearance. The fleece is a bright white with good crimp and soft handle and is very even. It is not too crimpy and is quite resilient, which makes the wool suitable for filling purposes, where a good white background is required. The wool fleece is one of the heaviest clips in the UK with fleeces weighing up to 10kgs. It was actually originated from the Friesland area in northern Germany and Holland, and also known as Ostfriesisches Milchschaf. Sheep were among the first animals domesticated. This UK breed is classified as mountain and hill. In some ways, and for certain applications, it can be considered better than Australian grown wool, especially for knitting yarn, where good bulk is required. b). The breed evolved during the 19th Century and originally came from the Tyne and Wear valleys, and hills of east Cumbria. The fleece is available in white and natural brown hue. It is native to the province of Gotland and is a sheep from open pasture. Your information will not be shared with any organisation outside of World of Wool. 30-40microns and length, 80-100mm. The breed has been exported and small flocks can be found in other countries, including Norway, Denmark, the UK and USA. 40-60microns and length, 100-200mm. These sheep were primarily raised for meat, milk, and skins. 40-60microns with a staple length approx. It is related to the Gotland and also the breeds of sheep found in Iceland and Faeroe. Terms of Use Privacy Policy, Please login to your account to signup to the newsletter. The first flocks in the UK were based on stock imported from the former Cape Colony, having been established there by settlers from Spain & Portugal. The quality of the fibre ranges from approx. The wool is fine, soft and silky to the touch with a good, bulky down characteristic. 7. But nowadays Marino sheep farming spread throughout the world. The East Friesian sheep were introduced to the United States from Canada as purebreeds in 1994, and the breed quickly caught on in local dairy operations. The origin of the Jacob or Spanish sheep is not known with any certainty. The sheep produces a fairly small weight of fleece for its size and the fleece has been highly prized in recent years for its likeness to mohair, for production of attractive lustrous yarns with good resilience. Polwarth The Polwarth is a dual-purpose sheep bred from a Lincoln-Merino Cross. The first sheep were released from the quarantine and allowed to leave the farm in 1996. The breed produces wool in several shades, including white, brown (moorit), grey and black. However, review full breed profile of the East Friesian sheep in the following chart. The common features of today's sheep were already appearing in Mesopotamian and Babylonian art and books by 3000 B.C. The Gotland is a native breed of Sweden. The majority of the wool produced emanates from the Polwarth. It is raised mainly for milk production. 38- 44microns and length approx. Sheep are among the first animals to have been domesticated by humans. The wool produced is approx. The fleece is mottled/patchy in appearance with the dark patches becoming lighter as the sheep matures. It is believed to be of Scandinavian origin. Their heads and legs are generally clear of wool, and have pale hooves.Both rams and ewes are generally polled, that means they have no horns. This breed is found in many countries of the world and the quality of fleece produced varies greatly, depending on growing conditions and animal husbandry. The fibre fineness ranges from 30- 44microns with the lambs-wool at the finer end. It is good felting wool and with the added lustre and resilience is ideally suited for carpet manufacture. 30-40microns and the length, 80-100mm. By subscribing to our newsletter you agree to receive emails with latest news from World of Wool. 32-40microns and length, 80- 150mm. They have pink nose and a thin tail. They were then imported to Africa and Europe via trading. The ewes tend to lamb by the time they are a year old and mature ewes are more productive. The lambs from this breed are excellent for knitwear and woven fabrics. The fleece is also quite curly and similar in some ways to mohair. Its fleece is fine enough to be used in speciality products and is long enough to be combed. It is native to the province of Gotland and is a sheep from open pasture. It is found in the uplands of the Scottish borders, Northumberland, South Wales, Canada, Scandinavia, USA, South Africa and New Zealand. The Polwarth has a large framed body, usually with some neck folds, polled, has no kemp on the face and legs and is well woolled. The fibre fineness is approx. 11 pregnant East Friesian ewes and 4 rams were imported into New Zealand from Sweden in 1992. The fineness is approx. The animals were placed in quarantine in Silverstream and a breeding program was created that used embryo transfer techniques, and only embryos from the original sheep were allowed to be released from the quarantine. They are relatively docile in terms of temperament which is a desirable trait in any dairy livestock. The clip is relatively small compared to other world clips and was, until recently sold predominantly through the UK. Staple length varies from 30-90mm. North East England surnames : Origins and meaning ARMSTRONG SURNAME. The bulk of Merino wool production is 20-23microns. The Merino of Australia is the backbone of the largest wool producing country in the world and this breed is the only one grown purely for its wool. Production is fairly small and much of the clip is consumed by the islanders themselves. The breed grows well in arid conditions as found in Australia, South Africa and parts of New Zealand. To see our full privacy policy click here. 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The wool of the Norfolk was used in the original East Anglian cloths, which were made in the medieval times, which is where many of the cloths were produced at that time. The East Friesian sheep are large sized animals, and are large-framed. They are able to produce roughly 300-360 liters of milk over a lactation period of 200-300 days. The Merino sheep and its crossbreeds are the basis of southern hemisphere fine wool production. The name ‘Shetland’ has become generic. The ewes are ideal for cross breeding with other sheep breeds which are already well adapted to local climates. E.H. Mattingly, a well-known commercial lamb buyer is given credit for developing the breed. The Spelsau is a breed with coarse outer hair and shorter, finer second growth. The Merino ranges in micron from superfine, 12-13microns to coarse, 25-26microns, the finest grown in Australia. The Merino originated in Spain. The wool is fine and dense with a good lustre and is long.