This weeks featured sheep, (ok I am a little late), is my Clun Forest ewe named Clarissa. I have three purebred Clun Forest sheep. These are a relatively new breed to this country, originating from, believe it or not, Clun Forest in England. What I find attractive about these sheep (pictured here is Clarissa and her daughter)is the color of their face and their alert, upright ears. They are also excellent foragers, eating many types of grasses and weeds that the other sheep turn their noses up to. They also gain and keep weight a little better than my other gals. And another bonus is they tend to have twins and triplets and are excellent mothers.
Their wool is very springy and strong, perfectly suited for quilt batts giving a lovely loft. The wool is also good for strong outer garments. The natural color of the wool is a lovely cream shade.
It takes dye readily and here is a ball of 2 ply Clun yarn dyed light orange.
We do put some lambs in the freezer every year and the meat is by far the best of any breed we have tasted so far.... very mild, and also has much less fat than other breeds.
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