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We sometimes have wool for sale from our flock of rare breed sheep. Our sheep
are usually sheared towards the end of June - depending on conditions. Please
feel free to contact us at wool@bonnyrigghall.co.uk or phone 01434 344021 if
you would like to enquire about availability.
Our Jacob ram (known as Rambo!). He looks mean - and sometimes acts
mean - but only when he's hungry. |
Some of Rambo's offspring. A pure jacob on the right, and a pair of
Jacob cross bred twins on the left. When the get older, most Jacob
cross-breds become all black. |
The sheep live outdoors all year round so the wool is mostly free of straw
and other rubbish. However, wool is a natural product, and is therefore
subject to natural variation and contamination. Inevitably, it is possible
to find small amounts of grass, seeds, insects etc. Our wool is not washed,
so retains all the natural lanolin, which aids home spinning. We farm to
organic principles so our sheep have minimal veterinary inputs, and
they have not been dipped in 2006.
We have the following types of wool (subject to availability):
Jacob
The Jacob allows for creative yarns from one fleece because it
is the only pure bred sheep that carries two grades of wool. The white
is finer and the black, brown or ginger spots are somewhat coarser |
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Shetland
Shetland wool is some of the finest among the UK breeds. It is soft,
yet strong and durable, and is a delight to spin. Shetland wool comes
in one of the widest ranges of colours of any breed. Everything from
the purest white to the deepest coal black. There are 11 main colors
and 30 markings. Our own shetlands are either black or light brown
(known as morit) or a combination, when crossed to the Jacob. |
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Herdwick
Herdwick sheep are common on the Lake District fells and have a distinctive
thick grey fleece well adapted to the harsh environment.
Farmers
find that
the
Herdwick’s
fleece dries out quicker than other breeds after rain. It’s hard wearing
qualities and natural grey colour has been developed into a wide range
of products. |
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Mule
The mule sheep was originally a cross breed of the Swaledale ewe with
the Bluefaced Leicester ram to create a prolific hardy cross with good
mothering and high fecundity. The wool has a staple lengh of 10 - 22mm,
fleece weight of 2.5 - 4 kg, and micron range 29 - 33. |
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Hebridean
Hebridean wool is dense and basically black but bleaches brown as
it grows and may go grey with age, especially on the hind- quarters. |
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Blackface
The fleece that the Scottish Blackface has today is the result of
selective breeding since medieval times from a short coarse wooled
ancestor. The fleece of the modern Scottish Blackface weighs from 1.75
to 3 kg with a staple length of 15 to 30 cm.
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cross breeds based on the above, usually to a Jacob ram |
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