Merino sheep

Merino sheep are renowned for the quality of their wool. It is extremely thin and soft. It is used to make expensive woolen items that are sold in stores with a special mark. The article will tell about the origin of merino sheep, varieties of the breed, as well as the characteristics of the wool of these animals.

Merino sheep

History of origin

Merino sheep is a descendant of Spanish rams and sheep brought from Asia Minor and North Africa. In the 12th century AD, Spanish sheep breeders carried out breeding work by crossing these animals. As a result, a breed was obtained, which is distinguished by an unsurpassed quality of clipping. Until the 16th century, Spain was the leading country in the production of wool, and Merino sheep were on its territory due to the ban on the export of animals. Those who dared to violate this decree were executed.

Only at the beginning of the 18th century the ban was lifted. After that, merino gradually spread across Europe and other continents. First they were taken to Sweden, a little later – to Saxony, and by the end of the 18th century, the animals came to Australia. Over time, rams from Spain, famous for their excellent quality of wool, were crossed with other breeds to get new varieties. This is how Australian, Soviet and other Merino sheep appeared.

The value of wool

Merino wool is highly valued due to its characteristics:

  1. Its fibers are several times thinner than those of other breeds of sheep. Their thickness varies between 15-40 microns.
  2. Even a fleece that has not been processed is soft and tender.
  3. From one kilogram of Merino wool, it turns out to make three times more fabric than from the same amount of sheared sheep of other breeds.
  4. Wool fibers of merino sheep are able to have excellent thermal insulation properties. Interestingly, in clothes made from the rune of these animals, it is neither hot nor cold.
  5. Merino wool is hygroscopic and absorbs moisture quickly.
  6. The fleece contains a substance with antibacterial properties, lanolin.
  7. Wool can be easily dyed to any color.

Wool can be easily dyed to any color

Wool can be easily dyed to any color

Attention! How thin the merino wool fibers are can be understood by an example – the density of hair per 1 mm of the skin of these animals reaches 89, while in other sheep there are only 7-29 hairs on the same area of ​​​​the skin.

Merino breeds

As Merino sheep spread throughout the world, breeders from different countries began to work to improve their meat and other characteristics. Since then, several dozen new breeds have been bred. These include:

  • soviet merino;
  • Australian merino;
  • Ascanian;
  • electoral breed;
  • breed negretti.

Soviet merino

This variety is the fruit of the labor of Soviet breeders. The best representatives of the Novokavkazskaya and Rambouillet breeds were taken as a basis. On the territory of Russia, these animals are common in the Urals, in some parts of Siberia, in the Stavropol Territory, as well as in the Republic of Dagestan.

Animals are distinguished by a strong physique and high productivity of both meat and wool. The average weight of an adult ram reaches 110 kg, and ewes – 50-55. It is profitable to breed such sheep not only for obtaining high-quality wool, but also for meat.

Distinctive features and characteristics of the Soviet merino:

  • beige coat color;
  • strong constitution of the body;
  • the body is proportional;
  • powerful backbone;
  • skin folds form on the neck of these animals – either 1 longitudinal or 2 transverse;
  • the length of the fibers is 10 cm, they are curled;
  • the annual shearing from an adult ram is 14-16 kg, from a lamb – up to 7 kg;
  • fecundity of ewes – 120%.

Sheep breed Soviet Merino

Sheep breed Soviet Merino

Attention! Slaughter yield is 42-48%.

australian merino

The history of Australian merinos began at the end of the 18th century, when 70 animals were brought to the continent from Spain. Local sheep breeders immediately assessed the characteristics of the wool of the arrived specimens and began breeding work. Spanish rams were crossed with local selected lambs, thanks to which Australian merinos were obtained. There are several varieties of these sheep. They differ in fleece thickness, constitution and other characteristics. Consider them:

  1. Fine. A distinctive feature of the fines is the small size of the body and the thinnest fleece. The thickness of the hairs varies between 15-20 microns. The average weight of rams is 70 kg, and ewes – 40 kg.
  2. Medium. This category includes sheep with wool up to 25 microns thick. Medium sheep are larger. The weight of males reaches 85 kg, and the queens – 50. The strong constitution of the body allows the use of these animals for meat production.
  3. Strong. Merino strong are the largest animals, but their fleece is slightly inferior in quality to the wool of the two previous varieties. The thickness of the hair exceeds 25 microns. The average annual crop received by farmers is 8-10 kg.

Australian merinos are unpretentious and hardy. They easily adapt to different climatic conditions, for which they are valued all over the world.

Attention! In Australia, 4 out of 5 sheep are Merino, this is the most common breed on the continent.

Ascanian sheep

From the name of the breed it becomes clear exactly where the Ascanian sheep appeared – on the territory of the Ukrainian reserve Askania-Nova. Selection work was then led by Academician Ivanov. His goal was to improve the characteristics of the local Merinos, which had lost some of their characteristics during the war. For crossing, representatives of the rambouillet and prekos breeds were used.

Askani breed of sheep

Askani breed of sheep

Breed characteristics:

  • strong build;
  • the average weight of queens is 58-65 kg, rams – 120 kg;
  • males have horns, lambs do not;
  • there is a skin fold on the neck;
  • white wool of medium density;
  • overgrown belly, head and limbs increased;
  • the length of wool fibers in rams reaches 10 cm, in lambs – 6-8 cm;
  • queen fertility – 125%;
  • the average annual shearing of wool for females is 7 kg, and for rams – 14.

Askanian merinos are used to improve the characteristics of other sheep, and therefore they are often found in breeding farms in Russia. The most widespread in Ukraine – in the Kherson, Zaporozhye and Nikolaev regions.

electoral

Electoral Merino sheep are of Spanish origin. The main feature of animals is good fineness. However, representatives of this variety have a number of disadvantages – they are too small, their body weight is 25 kg, and the length of the hair barely reaches 4 cm. In this regard, the average annual shear rate is too low – up to 1 kg of wool.

Reference. The thickness of the wool fibers of electoral sheep is 8 times less than the cross section of a human hair.

Animals do not adapt well to difficult climatic conditions, do not tolerate temperature changes and do not have strong immunity. Given these features of the breed, almost no one is engaged in its breeding.

Negretti

German breeders set out to create a breed of Merino sheep that would give the maximum amount of wool. They managed to get animals with a huge number of skin folds.

Breed Negretti

Breed Negretti

The goal was achieved – the Negretti breed gave up to 4 kg of fleece, but its quality characteristics were inferior to other merino wool. The meat productivity of sheep also suffered, so this breed did not become so popular.

Merino sheep are valued for the finest wool they produce in abundance. Some varieties are also bred for meat. Breeding work with Merino, which has been going on for almost 200 years, has helped to obtain several dozen varieties of breeds, but Australian sheep are still the most popular and in demand.

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Anna Evans

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