All About Our Sheep
10th January 2019
Lifestyle
Do you know your Wensleydales from your Texels? Discover more about the four breeds we have at our farm in our fact file below. You’ll soon know the difference!
Suffolk
Texel
Wensleydale
Zwartble
Sheep Glossary
Crossbreed – a breed of sheep that has originated from the mating of two pure breeds.
Dam – a mother sheep
Ewe – a female sheep
Fleece – the wool from a single sheep in the shorn grease state
Fleece Weight – the weight of a single, full sheep fleece, often measured in kilograms
Hogget - a British term for a yearling sheep that has not yet been shorn.
Jug - a pen where a ewe and her new-born lambs are put to bond.
Lamb - a young sheep
Micron - one millionth of a meter, the measurement unit for wool fibre diameter.
Micron Range – the diameter range of the sheep’s wool fibre, measured in microns.
Paddock - an enclosed area for grazing animals.
Purebred - wholly of one breed or line (as opposed to crossbred)
Ram - uncastrated adult male sheep
Shear - the act of cutting wool.
Sire – a father sheep
Staple - refers to the length of a lock of shorn wool; in the trade, "staple" refers to the longer length wools within a grade
Tup – a British term for an uncastrated adult male sheep.
Weaning - removal of young mammals from their source of milk
Wether - a castrated male sheep.
Yearling - an animal between 1 and 2 years of age.