Welcome to the Northern Ryeland Group
The Ryeland Sheep
The Ryeland breed of sheep is the ideal breed for the smallholder or first-time sheep-keeper, in fact anyone with ‘more than a garden but less than a farm’. They are small (an average ram weighs about 82kg, a ewe 54kg), very docile and easy to handle. You do not need a sheep-dog to look after a flock of Ryelands, they quickly learn to come when called if rewarded with a tit-bit.
The Ryeland is one of the oldest british breeds and, until recently, was classified as a rare breed. There are now sufficient numbers for it to be a ‘minority’ breed.
The breed originated in Herefordshire on land which grew a great deal of rye and the earliest references date back to the twelfth century when the monks of Herefordshire were trading in Ryeland wool. Ryeland wool traded from Leominster was known as ‘lemster ore’ for the amount of gold it earned.
In those days, of course, sheep were kept primarily for wool but the modern Ryeland is a true ‘dual purpose’ sheep producing excellent meat lambs (on milk and grass alone) as well as the fine-woollen fleece which is very suitable for hand-spinning (fleece weight 2.50-3kg, staple length 6-10cm, Bradford count 56’s-58’s). Unless you do your own shearing, however, expect to pay your shearer a bit above average as Ryelands have wool everywhere.
Pure-bred Ryeland lambs are obviously smaller and slower growing than, say, a Suffolk-cross, but the meat has a wonderful flavour – just like lamb used to be. If a larger lamb is required, the Ryeland ram makes an excellent terminal sire when crossed with Scottish and Welsh half-breeds, Mules, Mashams or Welsh Mountains and is a useful ram to use with ewes lambing for the first time, producing a slightly smaller lamb than a Suffolk or a continental breed.
Although originally a lowland sheep, the Ryeland is very hardy and can live almost anywhere. Its thick fleece provides protection against the weather even in the North of Scotland and the Welsh Mountains. The lambs are hardy too but, as with all sheep, it is safer to lamb under cover if at all possible.
Ryelands are generally good mothers and present no Particular problems at lambing time. First-timers often produce a single lamb but thereafter twins and occasionally triplets. A well-fed Ryeland is perfectly capable of raising triplets by herself without any extra bottle-feeding.
The most attractive characteristics of the ryeland to the Smallholder, however, is its placid temperament. They do not normally try to jump out of their field (their legs are too short for athletics!) and, if they do happen to escape they rarely go any further than the next patch of nice grass which means you are not constantly chasing them about the countryside. The docile nature of the Ryeland is also an advantage when carrying out routine tasks such as foot trimming and shearing. Ryeland rams are normally as placid as ewes.
Ryelands are very adaptable to most conditions and do well even on poor grazing, making them useful for following on as grass cutters after Horses have been brought in or for keeping grass in an orchard under control. They also seem to be virtually immune to foot-rot which keeps foot-care to a minimum