Have you ever wondered how the wild big horn sheep survive without shearing? They roo. Despite growing up with sheep this is a word I was completely unfamiliar with. I’ll never forget our first spring with Icelandics when their wool began to break off & peel back from their bodies. I’ll admit I panicked. With domestic sheep you only see this with alopecia (wool slip) brought on by stress, illness or something awful like mites. You can imagine my relief when I learned this process was completely normal for Icelandics & our flock was healthy. The process is called rooing.
Why wouldn’t all sheep roo? You would think it would have been a matter of survival. At one time all sheep did roo until shepherds set out to selectively breed for sheep that did not. This would have been achieved by selectively breeding the sheep that rooed less, or not uniformly. The change would have been slow & gradual, but permanent nonetheless. The decision was made in order to better capitalize on the wool trade. If sheep could be bred that did not roo then breeders could control when they collected the wool.
The rams in varying states of rooing.
This coincided nicely with industrialization & the beginning of commercial fiber mills. Sheep that could lose, or roo, their wool whenever they needed to did not fit the industrial & large farm model. It’s amazing to me that humans were able to manipulate the genetics required to maintain entire flocks that were no longer able to roo! These sheep were not at the complete mercy of their shepherds. Once a sheep loses its ability to roo it requires being sheared in order to survive. A sheep will continue to grow wool until it becomes too heavy to stand or move comfortably. It makes me a little sad that we bred their ability to survive on their own straight out of them.
Although it was a boon for the wool industry, it came at the price of many proud sheep breeds becoming completely dependent on humankind. It’s one of the many things I love about Icelandic sheep. Due to their unique heritage, geographic isolation & history in Iceland they have been allowed to maintain most of their unique, ‘wild’ traits. They haven’t been taught to ‘flock’ the same way that domestic sheep have. They are fiercely independent & make a conscious decision to follow you (or not follow you.. much to my chagrin). In my opinion, their intelligence mirrors goats or dogs more than most domestic sheep. Everything from their wool, to their meat, to their horns is a bit more natural, a bit more wild.
Does this mean we don’t shear them? No, we actually shear twice a year (yes, Icelandics grow a lot of wool). We wait until May to shear so that the ewes are all past their post-lambing wool break. Many shepherds like to shear before lambing so there isn’t as much wool for them, or the new lambs, to contend with. Some shepherds like to crutch, which is to shear up around the backside & udders, but wait to shear the entire body (weather often dictates this choice).
2 year old Alexander’s rooing is very uniform & easy to assist.
Shearing before lambing makes sense for domestic sheep producers because this is their only shearing; their only wool collection. For Icelandics on our farm, the Spring fleece is usually not used for very much. With some work, it can be salvaged for felting or dryer balls, but oftentimes it is used in the garden or in landscaping projects. This is due to the hay that collects in the fleece over the winter. It lowers the value dramatically. Icelandics cannot be jacketed like many sheep breeds because their unique wool will felt.
2 year old Lamborghini’s rooing is more erratic & comes out in tufts.
The Fall shearing produces the more valuable fleece because the flock has been on green pasture all summer & the wool has been washed by the rain & dried by the sun countless times. It’s clean & the unique Icelandic crimp is at its best! The Fall shearing is also superior because it has the stunning & soft lamb fleeces as well.
This is why we wait until after the ewe’s experience their post-lambing wool break. Otherwise if we sheared before lambing, there would be a weak spot incorporated into the staple length come Fall. This is less than ideal for spinners & also must be taken into account at the fiber mill when making yarn.
One year old Cash didn’t begin rooing at the spine but on the belly.
Because we wait until May to shear we definitely see rooing! Oftentimes the ewes will just be starting, but the rams tend to roo earlier. They will use the fence lines to pull the wool free. Not all Icelandics roo as efficiently as others. Some will have their wool break free cleanly & practically roll off their backs in one piece. Others will have loose tufts, but not much more. You can always assist in the process by gently pulling on the wool & rolling it backwards. You shouldn’t have to pull hard. If the wool is ready, then a gentle, consistent pressure is enough to loosen it. It will usually break free at the spine first & then loosen down the sides of the body. Some sheep love help rooing & will stand patiently as you pull it free.
This is the ultimate goal- healthy clean fleeces by summer. This is Alexander & Lamborghini 10 months before the above rooing pictures. It always amazes me how they produce gorgeous wool from nothing more then green grass, sunshine, & water.
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