Romney sheep is a world-famous wool breed, with early maturation, fast growth and development, strong grazing and good coat quality.
Origin and distribution
Romney sheep are native to Romney and Sussex in Kent, southeast England, so they are also known as Kent sheep. The old Romney sheep, which were large and rough, robust but in poor shape, were originally bred in the county, and later, the Leicester breed ram was used for improvement, and in the process of improvement, the Leicester ram gave the old Romney sheep compactness and precociousness, and significantly improved the quality of the wool.
In addition to the United Kingdom, Romney sheep are now distributed in New Zealand, Argentina, Uruguay, Australia, Canada, the United States and Russia, and New Zealand is currently the country with the largest number of Romney sheep in the world. In 1998, New Zealand raised 27.7 million Romney sheep, accounting for 15.24% of the total number of sheep in the country in the same year.
Appearance characteristics
Due to different ecological conditions, the size and appearance of Romney sheep vary from country to country. The British Romney sheep has higher limbs, a long and wide body, a relatively developed hindquarter, a slightly narrow and long head shape, a poor wool cover of the head and limbs, a strong physique, strong bones, and good ability to wander.
The meat of the New Zealand Muroni sheep is good in size, with short limbs, a wide back and waist, a long body, and a good wool cover on the head and limbs, but the ability to graze and wander is poor. Australian Romney sheep are somewhere in between.
Variety performance
The Romney sheep raised in China, respectively, are introduced from the United Kingdom, New Zealand and Australia, and their production performance is as follows:
(1) British Romney sheep Adult sheep weigh 80 kg ram and 41 kg ewe. Shearing capacity, adult ram 7 kg, ewe 3. 5 kg. The hair grows 13 cm for adult rams and 11.5 cm for ewes. The capillary is 50 to 60, and the net gross rate is 45.5% to 53%. The lambing rate was 104.6%.
(2) New Zealand Romney sheep Adult sheep weigh 77.5 kg for rams and 43 kg for ewes. The shearing capacity is 7.5 kg for adult rams and 4 kg for ewes. The hair grows 15 cm for adult rams and 12.5 cm for ewes. The capillary is 44 to 46, and the net gross yield is 58% to 60%. The lambing rate was 106%.
(3) Australian Romney sheep Adult sheep weigh 87 kg rams and 43 kg ewes. The shearing volume is 7.23 kg for adult rams and 3.5 kg for ewes. Hairy ram 15.5 cm, ewe 13 cm. Net gross rate 60%. The lambing rate was 105.5%.
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