Fibre Focus Friday: Merino sheep & their Welfare

We get asked a lot of questions about our fibres and being our most popualr range, our Merino is always one people want to know more about.  So, let's dive in to Merino, what it is and why welfare is so important!  (Get a cuppa and a biscuit, this could be a long one!)

What is Merino?

Merino is a breed of sheep which is known globally for it's fine fleece.  It originated in Spain and wasn't exported until the 1700's- until this point the Spanish had them all!  Once export started the sheep arrived in different countries and were crossbred with local breeds.  For example, France created the Rambouillet.  As the Merino spread across the world, it developed even further and breeds such as the Cormo popped up in New Zealand and variations of the breed appeared further afield in South Africa, Australia and America.

What makes their fleece so good?

The answer to this question is pretty easy - quality and quantitiy!  Us humans appreciate soft, warm fibres and although we've used wool for centuries, the option of having something as warm as your native breeds but softer is very appealing!

If you put a Merino next to another breed (let's use Blue Faced Leicester as an example) you'll notice the usual differences; they're different heights, their bodies are different shapes and their skin is very different.  In the sheep world you'll hear people talk about the tightness of a sheep's skin; for shearing a nice tight skin (not a baggy one) means that the fleece will come off easily and cleanly and that shearing should be nice and easy (if the sheep is in agreement, at least!).  The Merino is bred for the opposite!  A freshly-shorn Merino is very wrinkly, with lots of bagginess around their body, most noticable around their neck.  This is because they've been bred to have a lot of skin, because more skin means more wool.  They've also been bred to have fine, low micron fibres, which means they have a higher fibre density (we'll get there in a bit!).  So...finer fibres + baggy skin = more wool on the sheep = higher yields.

What are the grades of Merino?

Across the world wool is separated into different grades/qualities; this can be done by breed, micron, colour, or a mixture of all of them!

The micron (µm, or abbreviated to mic) is the diameter of an individual fibre - if we're getting technical it is 1/1000 of a mm, so a pretty tiny measurement, and this is how we measure fibre fineness.  A lower number means a finer fibre and a higher number means a more coarse fibre.  As an example camel fibre can be around 20mic and human hair can be 50mic+.  

We carry a few different micron-counts of Merino, but they can be split into the following Merino grades:

Ultrafine: super-duper soft and has to be under 15mic
Superfine: Very soft and has to be between 15mic and 19mic
Standard: Softer than UK wool (mostly, we're not going to split microns over this!) and has to be between 19mic and 24mic

It's really easy to say 'Oh, I don't want to use that coarse standard Merino, I only want ultra fine!' but we'll let you in to a not-very-secret...it's all really soft!  We carry different grades as they have different purposes; for example, you wouldn't make a wet-felt wall hanging with ultrafine but you would with standard, and you'd be more likely to make an heirloom, fine lace garment from an ultrafine fibre.

Why do people ask about welfare?

Animal husbandry practices vary all over the world and in some places (such as the UK) the rules and legislation are very strict about what can and can't be done.  In other places animal welfare and husbandry aren't such hot topics and aren't regulated in the same way.

As a wool business one of our responsibiltiies is to make sure that we are getting our wool from reputable sources.   This is important for us, for our customers and most importantly, for the sheep that are growing the fleeces!

Earlier in this article we mentioned how Merinos have been developed to have baggy skin so that they can grow more wool.  This is one of the big welfare issues for this breed; layers of skin sweat and sweat attracts flies.  Flies, doing what they do, like to lay eggs in these areas.  These then hatch into maggots which need something to eat...we're sure you can see where we're going with this.  Flystrike (or myiasis) is a problem for this breed, especially around the back end which is a fly's favourite place!  One husbandry technique used by some farms is known as mulesing; it removes skin from around the breech and tail of the sheep, this skin grows back as scar tissue which doesn't grow wool, hence making the sheep less susceptible to fly strike.

While there is a genuine welfare reason for this being done, it is a practice which is illegal in the UK and is something that is working towards being phased out in Australian wool sector as it is done without painkillers or sedation.

The question of mulesing comes up very often and we fully support our customers asking us about it.  Because we don't support this husbandry practice, all of our Merino is sourced from RWS (Responsible Wool Standard) farms which have to adhere to strict welfare guidelines and do not use mulesing in their practices.  This is also a voluntary standard which means that the farms that are on it are there because they want to go the extra mile.

How can I make sure I'm buying high welfare Merino?

If in doubt, ask!  Any good supplier of Merino fibre will know if it is RWS certified. Merino from Australia is more likely to be from mulesed sheep, but don't tar it all with the same brush - ask the question just to be safe as there are some farms that have stopped this practice.  Our Merino doesn't come from Australian producers, instead it is sourced from RWS farms in South America and South Africa.

Well, that's been one of our longest blog articles to date!  If you've got any questions about Merino, welfare or anything woolly don't hestiate to get in touch with us.  As you can probably tell, we're passionate about wool from the sheep through to the final crafted item!