Herdwick (sheep)

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A Herdwick lamb

The Herdwick is an ancient breed of sheep typical to the mountainous Lake District, in North West England. Like much of the tradtional language and culture of the Lake District, Herdwicks are thought to be descended from sheep introduced by early Norse settlers. The name Herdwick itself is derived from the Old Norse "herdvyck" meaning sheep pasture.

[edit] Characteristics and Uses

They have a hard and resilient grey fleece and is historically used as carpet wool; these carpets are sold under the auspices of the National Trust. The wool is also an excellent natural insulator - it is possible to buy sheets of fireproofed wool to fit as loft insulation. The sheep are also favoured by farmers for their strong-flavoured meat. They are well adapted to the harsh terrain and climate in which they typically live. Most sheep spend winter on the fells. They are normally left to graze freely on the hillsides, but tend to stay in their heaf, the natural home to which the flock will return every year. This trait is part of the reason fell farmers so highly value Herdwicks over much higher-producing lowland breeds. For shows and auctions Herdwicks traditionally have their wool "ruddied up" with dye(see picture). Rams are also ruddied when put out with the ewes to show which have been bred. Lambs are born with black faces and legs, and with blue-roan fleeces that lighten in adulthood. Rams are horned, with ewes polled either manually or naturally.

[edit] History

The beloved children's author Beatrix Potter was enthraled with keeping and breeding Herdwicks, even acting as president of the breed association for a time. Upon her death she bequeathed fifteen farms in the District to the National Trust, and per her instructions all continue to graze Herdwick flocks.

The outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease in 2001 led to the destruction of many flocks, and to fears for the survival both of the breed and of the typical lakeland sheep farming industry. The Cumbria Hill Sheep Initiative has been set up to "reassess the position and circumstances" in the aftermath of the disease. The reintroduction of many agricultural shows in the county should help to boost interest in the breed. The destruction of entire flocks also meant that the shepherds were forced to undergo the process of again "heafing" their new sheep to the heaf. Normally ewes teach this beahavior to their lambs, but with no more ewes left aquainted with a particular heaf the behavior had be taught all over again to new ewes which inevitably involved much rounding up of flocks that had strayed over the often inaccesible fells (see Sheep husbandry). Unheafed sheep would also undoubtedly cause much overgrazing by wandering if they replaced Herdwicks.