Menoturals; Sheep 101

We all enjoy the LLB gang's Nature Friday meme, don't we? Yours Truly tends to stretch the envelope a bit, but nature is a multifaceted thing! If you are a regular reader, you will know what is coming at you over the next few... 

An introduction to some different sheep breeds, as seen at the Westmorland Country Show. Just about everybody will have heard of the Merino, most famous in Australian wool production because of its hardiness in arid climates, as it originated from Spain. This is the most prolific sheep breed for wool, which is superfine and of high quality. Merinos in the UK, though, are rare. In the last decade, there have been two flocks established and adapted to British conditions, which are now producing fine wool products. There were no Merinos on show at Westmorland.

Probably the next most ubiquitous sheep worldwide would be the Suffolk. It's also one of the most used for interbreeding, due to its 'low trouble' qualities.

Suffolks are mainly a meat producer, which can be seen from the fleeces that are not particularly heavy (and, yes, these are among the most commonly 'painted' sheep. The colour used is usually from ground ochre - but sometimes turmuric.) If you put your fingers into the coats here, the wool length is discovered to be short and coarse. The sheep do have to be sheared every year, so the wool can be used for spinning, but it is better blended with other fibres for softer handling.

These are a very handsome sheep, with appealing black faces, which were developed from two earlier breeds, the Norfolk Horn and the Southdown. This was done in the eighteenth century, around Bury St Edmunds, in Suffolk, hence the name.

As you see, not all of them go neon! Let's end this post with a rose for Rosy...