The Perendale is a breed of
sheep
Sheep or domestic sheep (''Ovis aries'') are domesticated, ruminant mammals typically kept as livestock. Although the term ''sheep'' can apply to other species in the genus ''Ovis'', in everyday usage it almost always refers to domesticated s ...
developed in
New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
by Massey Agricultural College (now
Massey University
Massey University ( mi, Te Kunenga ki Pūrehuroa) is a university based in Palmerston North, New Zealand, with significant campuses in Albany and Wellington. Massey University has approximately 30,883 students, 13,796 of whom are extramural or ...
) for use in steep hill situations.
[
] The breed is named after Sir
Geoffrey Peren, and it achieves its aims by being the offspring of
Romney ewes and
Cheviot rams with sturdy legs. It is raised primarily for
meat
Meat is animal flesh that is eaten as food. Humans have hunted, farmed, and scavenged animals for meat since prehistoric times. The establishment of settlements in the Neolithic Revolution allowed the domestication of animals such as chic ...
.
[
]
History
Since the early 1980s, the flock numbers of this sheep has increased, mainly because hill-country farming has increased and they are more adaptable to the terrain.
Developed from the Cheviot and Romney, the Perendale is a dual-purpose sheep producing wool fibres of diameter with a staple length. The Perendale is characteristically a high fertility animal, and has great potential to produce a prime ewe lamb when crossed with the Merino. As a purebred, its hardiness makes it ideally suited to colder, high-rainfall areas. The Perendale is easy to care for; the ewes have little trouble lambing and are good mothers.
Characteristics
The mature body weight of a ram is and a ewe is . The average fiber diameter is 29 to 35
microns
The micrometre ( international spelling as used by the International Bureau of Weights and Measures; SI symbol: μm) or micrometer (American spelling), also commonly known as a micron, is a unit of length in the International System of Unit ...
.
[''Preparation of Australian Wool Clips'', Code of Practice 2010-2012, Australian Wool Exchange (AWEX), 2010] The USDA wool grade is 44's to 54's.
[
]
References
External links
Perendale Sheep Society of New Zealand
Sheep breeds
Sheep breeds originating in New Zealand
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