|
The Wool Our sheep are sheared in early summer, mostly by hand. We use a local shearer (with electric clippers) when we need extra help. We sell whole (raw) fleeces which are just as it says - tidied up a wee bit to remove daggings and thistles then sold straight from the sheep. The fleeces are then sorted into their natural shades and sent (or taken) to a mill in England. We enjoy working closely with the mill to develop new woolly ideas and products. Since we stopped lambing (see The Shepherd's Year page) in 2019, we have noticed that the fleeces on our ewes has been stronger and softer, without the stresses placed on the ewe caused by lambing and feeding lambs. Shetland wool is among the finest of all native breeds, with a crimped staple. We notice that some colours produce even softer fleece than others, and this is something we are working on in our breeding. Our wool is sold on-line, at wool festivals around Scotland and the North of England. |
Natural colours variegated cone in DK
A great wool for weaving!
|
|
The Sheep
The Koru Flock of Shetland sheep was started in 2007, with 6 ewes. Little did we know how soon we would be struggling not to let our love of these amazing sheep take over our lives! At our peak, we had over 85 sheep in total, dotted around Humbie in East Lothian, Scotland. In recent years we have downsized the flock a bit. We tend to keep single-coloured rather than patterned sheep but you never know when something cute might catch your eye at a sale.... Our home-grown sheep come in white, moorit, fawn, grey, Shetland black and true black. Our sheep are friendly and bucket-trained and our older 'girls' are either sold on to good homes or kept on as pets. Our sheep are registered with the Shetland Sheep Society - which aims to preserve the breed standard on the mainland of Scotland and the rest of the UK. |
Koru Jot - a 2015 ewe lamb
|
Hopes Water, Gifford
Wester Wood, Gifford
|
|