Sheep : VAN ROOY

Origin: South Africa

Australia Status:

International Status:

Arrived in Australia:

Australian Population:

Distribution:

History: A cleanskin breed without wool, just a fine covering of protective hair, developed for meat in South Africa by J.C. van Rooy, who began his breeding program in 1906 using a Blinkhaar Afrikaner ram and 8 Rambouillet ewes, later adding a polled Wensleydale. He wanted a prime meat carcass without the localised fat deposit areas of most hot country breeds. He minimalised these fat deposits well, and bred a hardy, robust sheep that does not need shearing, wigging or crutching - having a clean wool-free tail, breech and face as well as body.

Breeds traits: The happy breed. A Roman nose, clean white face, drooping ears and a perpetual sleepy smile coupled with a good nature, make these sheep look happy all year round. Polled. They respect fences and are easy and docile to handle. They have the fat pillow under the tail of some cleanskin breeds, and a distinctive wattle under the chin like a venerable judge. The backline has a slight dip.

They thrive on low quality feed in tough, dry conditions and the ewe's fat reserves and plentiful milk means she feeds her lamb well without losing condition. There is enough sleek hair on the body for it to be happy in cool climates too, the skin being thick, hence more resistant to biting parasites too. Fertility is high due to the breed mating and conceiving all year round, at any season, thus ewes may have up to three lambs a year. 

They make a good breed to cross to for increased carcass weight and fat covering, increasing milk yield and being good doers and excellent mothers. They are also used to cross for reducing wool in other cleanskin and shedding breeds such as Dorpers. They have been used with great success to cross with several breeds including in Africa, and in Australia were one of the founding breeds of the Australian White. While a little slower to mature for meat, the good mothering and high fertility makes up for this, and the low cost of keeping a sheep that thrives in tough hot conditions. Importantly, they have outperformed all other sheep breeds in drought conditions, still breeding and looking after their lambs and browsing like a goat to obtain feed. They are excellent eating, full flavoured, succulent and tender like all meat breeds that are a bit slower to mature and live on tough country. The meat does not congeal in the mouth like other sheep breeds. On saltbush they cannot be beaten. They are rightly regarded as a gourmet product.

Uses: meat, cross-breeding

Breed Organisation: none in Australia. The Van Rooy Sheep Breeders Association in South Africa, its home country http://www.vanrooysa.co.za/?CID=2 formed 1947.

Additional Notes:

Photo: van Rooy ewe, Allpaedia

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