Warwickz Farm Sheep

Warwickz Farm sheep are a mix of black and coloured and rare breeds including arapawa and gotland pelt sheep. While New Zealand has over 40 million sheep,the majority of these are white, on Warwickz Farm white sheep are in the minority.

Having a small but diverse flock of black & coloured sheep made up predominanltly of merino and romney and crosses of these gives us a choice of naturally coloured wools to use for a host of woolcrafts.

Not only natural colours but also a natural feel and look to the wool enable us to use it for spinning and felting and also to supply other wool and handcrafters.

Panda the lamb

Having maintained a flock of black and coloured sheep for many years Warwickz Farm in recent years has added some rare breeds to the mix.

Arapawa Sheep

Arapawa Sheep are named after Arapawa Island in the Marlborough Sounds where the original Merinos were introduced probably by whalers as a source of meat in case of shipwreck.

Due to the harsh conditions on such an exposed Island these feral sheep evolved into their current form in order to survive.

They are highly resistant to foot rot and their fleece will only grow so long before they shed their wool naturally.

Their high resistance to fly-strike has led to research being currently conducted at AgResearch in Canterbury to introduce this characteristic into a new no fuss sheep breed.

Arapawa rams are noted for their spiraled horns which can grow to over a metre in length.

Arapawa fleece is of Merino fineness and of high bulk and is ideal for felting.

Warwickz Farm has bred some stunning panda (spotted) lambs from crossbreeding Arapawa and Merinos

Music to shear to

Ron Gallagher ably assisted by his wife Kath has assisted us with our shearing requirements for many years. Ron is also a highly regarded country and western singer/songwriter. You too can enjoy his music as he recalls old days in the shearing shed in the following you-tube clip.

Ron's song

Gotland Pelt Sheep

Gotland Pelt Sheep originate from the Island of Gotland, a dependency of Sweden situated in the Baltic Sea. In the 1920s the native sheep of Gotland Island, the Gute where selectively bred to create today�s hornless, even coated, even bodied Gotland Pelt Sheep.

The pelts are highly prized in Europe in the creation of fashion garments, hence the name Gotland Pelt. Closer to home, many of the stunning garments used in the making of The Lord of the Rings were made from the Gotland Pelts soft curly fleece which is also sought after by spinners and felters.

Pinky and the twins

Farmed on a small scale only in Sweden as a multi-purpose wool and meat breed there are only approximately 80,000 Gotland Pelts, 1000 of which are now being farmed in New Zealand.

Gotland Pelt Sheep are very curious and friendly being closer in personality and appearance to goats than to sheep.