Rya, also known as Ryafår or Swedish Carpet Wool Sheep, is a breed of
sheep
Sheep (: sheep) or domestic sheep (''Ovis aries'') are a domesticated, ruminant mammal typically kept as livestock. Although the term ''sheep'' can apply to other species in the genus '' Ovis'', in everyday usage it almost always refers to d ...
that is native to
Sweden
Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...
. The breed originated from the
Swedish
Swedish or ' may refer to:
Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically:
* Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland
** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...
landrace
A landrace is a Domestication, domesticated, locally adapted, often traditional variety of a species of animal or plant that has developed over time, through adaptation to its natural and cultural Environment (biophysical), environment of agric ...
breeds. This double-coated breed of Swedish Landrace origin also contains some Norwegian
Spælsau
__NOTOC__
The Spælsau (Old Norwegian Short Tail Landrace, Gamalnorsk spæl Norwegian) is a breed of sheep from Norway. Many consider Spælsau to be the original breed of sheep in Norway, and it is one of the Northern European short-tailed sheep ...
heritage. The purpose of the sheep was to use the long, wavy, and shiny
wool
Wool is the textile fiber obtained from sheep and other mammals, especially goats, rabbits, and camelids. The term may also refer to inorganic materials, such as mineral wool and glass wool, that have some properties similar to animal w ...
to produce rya-wool, which is often used to make carpets. In the early twentieth century, few long wool sheep remained in the province of
Dalarna
Dalarna (; ), also referred to by the English exonyms Dalecarlia and the Dales, is a (historical province) in central Sweden.
Dalarna adjoins Härjedalen, Hälsingland, Gästrikland, Västmanland and Värmland. It is also bordered by Nor ...
, leading to the restoration of the rya sheep breed. In 2000, there was a stable
population
Population is a set of humans or other organisms in a given region or area. Governments conduct a census to quantify the resident population size within a given jurisdiction. The term is also applied to non-human animals, microorganisms, and pl ...
of about two thousand rya sheep. They can be found in northern and central Sweden. Most of herds are located in Dalarna. They are usually kept in small flocks.
At the start of the 20th century, Dalarna had a population of sheep with long wool, which was popular in the area for decorating national costumes. In 1915, breeding was done to obtain sheep that produced this "rya-wool".
The rya sheep is a medium-sized sheep with relatively short
leg
A leg is a weight-bearing and locomotive anatomical structure, usually having a columnar shape. During locomotion, legs function as "extensible struts". The combination of movements at all joints can be modeled as a single, linear element cap ...
s, and has strong and shiny long wool fibers. The legs, tail, forehead, cheek, and crown do not have wool. For a three-month-old lamb, the wool can be long, and for an adult, the wool can be up to long. Half the fleece should be the hair coat, which should be lustrous with a well-defined, broad crimp. Attaining wool fibers of at least 15 cm in length with a maximum crimp of 3 crimps per 5 cm is the breeding goal. The sheep are white, but there are some grey, black, and brown individuals. The adult wither height is 75 cm for
rams
In engineering, reliability, availability, maintainability and safety (RAMS)ewes. The live weight is 70 kg for rams and 50 kg for ewes. Both the rams and ewes are polled and have long tails.
The rya sheep is also known to be highly
fertile
Fertility in colloquial terms refers the ability to have offspring. In demographic contexts, fertility refers to the actual production of offspring, rather than the physical capability to reproduce, which is termed fecundity. The fertility rate is ...
. The mean
litter
Litter consists of waste products that have been discarded incorrectly, without consent, at an unsuitable location. The waste is objects, often man-made, such as aluminum cans, paper cups, food wrappers, cardboard boxes or plastic bottles, but ...
size is 2.1 lambs at birth.
The sheep is also characterized by
lambing
Domesticated sheep are herd animals that are bred for agricultural trade. A flock of sheep is mated by a single ram, which has either been chosen by a farmer or, in feral populations, has established dominance through physical contests with othe ...
ease and by their ability to forage in rough terrain.
See also
*
Rya
The Royal Yachting Association (RYA) is a United Kingdom Sports governing body, national governing body for sailing (sport), sailing, dinghy sailing, yacht and motor cruising, sail racing, Rigid inflatable boat, RIBs and sportsboats, windsurf ...