Merino

Australia’s nation-wide wool sheep flock is largely made up of Merinos. Merinos are hardy sheep and can live in a variety of different habitats.

This breed produces finer wool than other sheep breeds, meaning most Australian wool is used in the manufacture of high quality clothing. Merino wool fibres range from strong (broad) wool (23 to 24.5 microns) to medium (21 to 22.9) to fine (18.6 to 20.9), superfine (15 to 18.5) and ultra-fine (11.5 to 15). This breed’s wool is suitable for blending with other fibres like silk and cashmere.

In Australia there are four main strains of Merino.

Peppin Merino

Up to 70 percent of today’s Australian Merinos are thought to be directly descended from the Peppin sheep.

The Peppin can thrive in drier inland regions, where its large frame and long legs are ideal for foraging. Its heavy fleece fits within the mid-range of Merino wool qualities and is protected from the extremes of the environment by a relatively high amount of natural wool grease, which appears as a creamy colour in the wool. But this highly adaptable strain can also survive well in the wetter areas of the country.

Peppin Merino wool is in the 20 to 23 micron range.

South Australian Merino

South Australian Merinos were bred specifically for the dry conditions found in a large part of the state.

This strain is the largest Merino type in Australia and produces more wool per year than any others. These Merinos are generally longer, taller and heavier than Peppins, and usually have less loose skin, or skin wrinkles, than other strains.

The wool from these sheep is at the strong end of the Merino wool type range and tends to carry a higher proportion of natural grease, which protects the wool fibre.

Saxon Merino

Saxon Merino sheep are adapted to the cooler and wetter regions of the country. Saxons are the smallest of the Merino types, and produce the least amount of wool. However, Saxon Merino wool is bright, white and soft, and fits in the ultrafine category, making it much sought after by the textile industry for highest quality and more expensive clothing.

Spanish Merino

This strain is directly descended from the Spanish Merinos originally brought to Australia. Superfine to fine wool sheep have been produced by crossing the Spanish Merino with the Saxon. This cross results in sheep with the extra wool cut and body size plus defined crimp from the Spanish merino and the finer fibre and overall body coverage of the Saxon sheep.

Other Wool Breeds

Lincoln

The Lincoln sheep is the largest of the breeds and produces the longest, heaviest and most lustrous fleece. Lincoln wool is perfectly suited for spinning and blending with other fibres like Mohair to strengthen them. The wool is very coarse and about 34 to 41 microns with medullated (or hollow) fibres.

English Leicester

The English Leicester produces heavy, curly, lustrous wool with a diameter from 32 to 35 microns.

This breed’s wool is softer than that of the Lincoln and comes in fleece colours of white, English Blue and black.

Cheviot

The Cheviot is a large-framed sheep and produces soft, chalky coloured wool with a fibre diameter of 27 to 33 microns.

Romney Marsh

The Romney Marsh is a large-framed, polled sheep that produces demi- lustrous wool of 30 to 34 microns fibre diameter.

Dual-purpose breeds (both meat and wool)

Border Leicester

The Border Leicester Sheep is a large framed polled sheep and has lustrous, broad crimped wool with a fibre diameter of about 32 to 38 microns. The wool is good for medium to heavy garments.

These sheep have excellent maternal characteristics while producing quality lambs, which finish quickly due to their high growth rate and produce high quality, desirable meat.

This is a popular breed for producing first cross (Merino ewe x Border Leicester ram) ewes, which are prolific at producing twins. Border Leicester x Merino crosses also produce good quantities of wool, which is thicker than most Merino fleece wool but still has a solid market niche.

Merino dual-purpose (bred for wool and lamb meat) breeds include the Dohne and South African Meat Merino (SAMM).

Dohne Merino

The Dohne Merino is a polled, plain body dual-purpose sheep which can do well on low quality pasture and is adapted to a broad range of environmental conditions.

Dohne ewes are good mothers who rear high performance lambs and produce quality apparel Merino wool.

Purebred ewes produce from 4-6kg annually of high quality, white 18 to 22 microns wool. They have high fertility and slaughter lambs grow quickly and can reach a market weight of 50kg after six months.

South African Meat Merino, or SAMM

First imported into Australia in 1996, the SAMM is a hardy, polled dual-purpose breed.

Ewes will produce 3.5 to 4.5 kg of medium to strong wool. The SAMM will produce a slaughter lamb of 35kg at 100 days of age.

SAMM wool is good quality, though not at the level of that from other Merinos. No mulesing is required with this breed.

Perendale

This breed was developed in New Zealand from the Cheviot and Romney for use in hilly farming areas. The Perendale’s hardiness makes it suited to colder, high-rainfall areas. These are a dual-purpose sheep, producing wool fibres of 28 to 32 microns diameter. They are easy to care for, the ewes have little trouble lambing and have good maternal qualities.

Poll Dorset

The Poll Dorset is a medium sized sheep breed that is good for milk, meat and wool. Their wool is very strong and white in colour used in most wool applications. The wool fibre diameter is in the 26 to 32 micron range with the wool being chalky white and relatively harsh to the touch.

Coopworth

The Coopworth is a medium sized sheep developed in New Zealand from Romney ewes and Border Leicester rams. This breed produces white lustrous wool with a fibre diameter of about 30 to 35 microns. The wool is used for clothing, hand-spinning and in carpet blends. The Coopworth has excellent mothering and milking ability.

Corriedale

Corriedale sheep were developed in New Zealand by crossing Lincoln or Leicester rams with Merino females. These are hardy sheep, suited to a variety of conditions, and produce bulky, high-yielding wool ranging from 25 to 32 microns fibre diameter suitable for blankets and legwear. The wool is moderately soft and is also good for felting projects.

The Corriedale has a large framed body practically free of skin wrinkles, a polled head, dark hooves and wooled legs. These sheep are easy care mothers with high fertility.

Polwarth

Polwarth sheep are a large-framed cross with three-quarter Merino and one quarter Lincoln bloodlines. They were crossed to improve the hardiness of the Merino and are well suited to wetter, colder areas. They are commonly used for wool but occasionally for meat production too.

The Polwarth produces fine (fibre diameter of 23 to 25 microns), soft wool suited for handspinning and felting. The ewes are good mothers.

Finnsheep

The Finnsheep, also known as the Finnish Landrace or Finn, is a recent import (mid 1980s) from Finland and Denmark. These sheep are a fast growing, lean breed for which multiple birthing of triplets and quads is common.

The wool is even, soft and lustrous with a well-defined crimp and a fibre diameter range 20 to

26 microns. In Finland, Finns also have an extensive range of colours in shades of brown, grey and black. Coloured Finns are currently in development in Australia.

Southdown

The Southdown Sheep has a small chunky frame and a wide back. Its wool feels harsh to the touch and has a fibre diameter in the 24 to 29 micron range.

Other dual-purpose breeds

Coolalee, Cotswald, Romney

Carpet wool breeds

Tukidale

The Tukidale is a very robust and hardy sheep that can produce prime lambs in areas of good rainfall and pasture conditions. They are horned, of medium fertility, with chalky white wool that is highly medullated and harsh to handle. They have an extremely fast rate of wool growth, resulting in two wool clips per year.

Tukidale wool fibre is perfect for carpet, strong upholstery, and other hard wearing products.

Drysdale

Drysdale wool is chalky white, has no crimp, is heavily medullated and an average fibre diameter of 35 to 40 microns. This wool is easy to spin and dyes well.