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Wensleydale sheep are a rare
breed of polled sheep originating from the United Kingdom. Wensleydales are
large and generally very friendly sheep. Most of our sheep love
attention and come to us to be petted. If you love being friends with
your sheep, this is a great breed!
Wensleydales can produce
13-20 lbs per year of luxury fleece with an average annual staple length of
8-12". The fiber grows in tightly curled locks, and has a wonderful,
glowing luster. Wensleydale sheep also carry a quality known as "central
checking" which prevents the formation of kemp in the fleece which makes
processing of the fleece very nice! The initial reaction of a
first-timer to Wensleydale fleece is a gasp of admiration at the beauty of
the wool.
Spinning Wensleydale fleece
is a joy; its ease of spinning makes the novice spinner feel quite
accomplished! Wensleydale wool also felts easily, making it a
beautiful choice for fashion accessories that glow.
Wensleydale fleece is
widely acknowledged as the finest of the long wools. If you are looking for
a longwool sheep but dislike compromising on softness and handle,
Wensleydale is the sheep for you!
Registering
Wensleydales
The Wensleydale breed was
virtually lost at one time. The reason is generally attributed to the
affects of World Wars 1 and 2 on England, compounded by a steep decline in
the commercial wool industry. In re-establishing the breed in the
United States, the North American Wensleydale Sheep Association, established a
"breeding up" program. This allows the breeding of a purebred
Wensleydale ram to a Cotswald, Lincoln, or Leicester Longwool ewe. The
resulting ewe lambs are registered as 50% Wensleydale. Ram offspring cannot
be registered with a percentage of Wensleydale blood less than 75%.
The process repeats until lambs reach a percentage of 95% at which point
they are registered as "purebred" Wensleydale. 100% Wensleydale rams are
only available via shipped semen from the UK.
Further, rams must test R/R
at Codon 171 in order to qualify for registration. Codon 171 is the
location of the gene that imparts scrapie resistance. Sheep with the
alleles R/R are resistant to developing scrapie, a sheep version of "Mad Cow
Disease". A sheep that is Q/Q is susceptible to the disease.
Where does that leave the Q/R tested sheep? There have been no
reported cases of scrapie in Q/R sheep, however that sheep can pass the Q
variant of the gene to its offspring, and therefore will not contribute to
the genetic eradication of scrapie in the Wensleydale breed.
For more information on
Wensleydale sheep, please visit:
The North American Wensleydale
Sheep Association
Chance pictured as a yearling ram is an excellent representative of the Wensleydale
breed
and Champion Ram of the 2005 Oregon Flock and Fiber Festival.
Our
Wensleydale flock consists of...
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Rams |
Ewes |
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Andrew:
2002 50% white ram. Q/R
@ Codon 171
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Eboney:
2001 50% black ewe. R/R
@ Codon 171
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Barone:
2003 75% white ram. R/R
@ Codon 171
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Binky:
2003 50% black ewe.
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Cody:
2005 75% white ram. R/R @ Codon 171
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Barbie:
2003 50% white ewe.
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Corky:
2005 75% white ram. R/R @ Codon 171
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Sugar: 2006 62.5% white ewe
lamb |
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Cream: 2006 62.5% white ewe lamb |
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Emmy:
2006 62.5% white ewe lamb |
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Holly:
2006 62.5% white ewe lamb
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