Romney Sheep
The Astoundingly Popular Romney Sheep
Primarily a meat yielding breed, the Romney sheep experiences great numbers across the globe. Everywhere from Portugal to Australia to Southern California, this hardy and brilliant breed graces farm country and stock holds with creamy color and good temperament. The parentage of the Romney sheep stems back to the medieval centuries, and the origins of it were a long, course wool sheep who fed upon the tidal salt marsh stretches of the Gaelic regions. The modern Romney sheep has not changed much at all, though the wool is of a much higher quality and the meat yield is of better texture and quantity. This result was achieved through cross breeding the medieval Romney with the English Leicester during the early 1800’s.
New Zealand gains favor for its Romney sheep population and bloodlines, and the meat market for both lambs and adults is a strong business factor for this country. These sheep are really quite beautiful, with wooly legs and sweet, doughty facial expressions. The mothering instincts of the ewe are very strong, and multiple births are well supported by her ample milk supply. It is not at all uncommon for a consistent string of twin births or better, though rarely more than four lambs are dropped per pregnancy. The lambs are born quite hardy and dense, and early harvest of meat is of great profit to Romney sheep farmers.
The first overseas export of New Zealand Romney sheep meat is still a much celebrated and fantasized day. February 15th, 1882, marked the day that a successful export of 4,900 frozen carcasses by ship was destined for the meat market in London, England. Though great leaps and bounds have since been made, allowing for a consistent and easy meat export business, this remarkable task has been marked as a great victory, and regarded with respect ever hence. England decided that they may have a go at raising the Romney sheep for their own, after the successful sale and reputation spread during the 1800’s.
The wool of the Romney sheep is considered to be quite desirable, with little kemp and a very even coloration and consistency throughout. As mentioned, this breed is a full fleece sheep, which means that the wool grows over the legs as well. The only place that is free of wool is the white face. Shearing has become a rather pricey endeavor for farmers of late, but the wool of the Romney sheep is worth the trouble for must caretakers. They are also quite easy keepers, and gain weight easily from birth to adulthood. These are very desirable sheep, and require very little supplemental care in order to thrive, to grow, and to succeed as stock.