Saturday, May 24, 2014

New to our Farm: Leicester Longwool Sheep

After many, many months of really wanting these sheep and thinking I wouldn't be able to find and/or afford this breed, I found some locally that we could buy! The sole registered breeder for this breed in Utah decided to liquidate her flock. Unfortunately, we missed out on being able to purchase the other ewes, but were able to buy a 2 yr old ewe and her wether/ram lambs and a very pretty silver yearling ram. The breeder's husband delivered them to our house on a very sunny, warm day. It was funny seeing them drive up to the house because you could literally hear them while they drove down the hill. Sheep in a trailer are LOUD!

First thing that I noticed with these sheep (after their loudness) was their WOOL! Oh my holy wooliness, they are the quintessential fluffy white British Isles sheep! When they arrived at our farm they had at least 6-8" of wool on the adults. The babies even had a nice 2-3" on them, and they're only 2 months old!

I honestly wish we'd started out with these sheep instead of the Soay sheep we bought first. They are much more docile, better on the eyes and because they're critically endangered it's a worthwhile effort to keep a small flock of them going just to help maintain and expand their numbers in the US.

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