Coopworth Sheep

The Breed

Dewdrop at 3 months already posing!

Coopworths originated in New Zealand after WWII. They were bred to be a hardy, dual-purpose breed with high lambing percentages, good mothering abilities, heavy fleece and high quality meat. The fleeces average 8-13 pounds, and the fiber tends to be in the 44-48s range.

We are breeding for fleece color but we recently acquired two white Coopworth ewes (one however carries the color gene so she is technically not a white sheep). Their fleeces really show up the lustrous aspects of many Coopworth fleeces. Having these two girls adds to our opportunity to breed for long, lustrous fleeces and also gives us a nice variety of colors in the flock (keeps things interesting!).

Dewdrop above shows off her pretty face with the "teardrops" that indicate she carries "the blue gene" (influences fleece color, leaning toward the blue end of gray). Coopworths are a polled breed (no horns) and have fleeceless faces. Their ears are usually almost horizontal to the ground, giving them a look quite different from that of many other sheep breeds.

To get a more detailed understanding of the Coopworth breed, the following are some good links:

American Coopworth Registry
Hatchtown Farm our neighboring sheep mentors
Coopworth Sheep Society of Australia
Coopworth Sheep Society of New Zealand
Deer Run Sheep Farm
Email us: nina@ruitfarm.com