Laurie Meadows
The Arapawa sheep are not a 'breed' as such, but a 'composite' group
of feral sheep that are generally supposed to have been isolated on
Arapawa
island in the Marlborough Sounds since around the late 1800's. The
island
carries sub-populations of these feral sheep which probably derived
from
discrete breeds, and therefore seem to show some characteristics
typical
of those breeds. (Almost all the subgroups have now been shot by the
Department
of Conservation, bar about 20 animals saved on private land owned by
Betty
Rowe.) It is believed that Northern short-tailed group sheep were well
represented (probably Hebridean, Shetland, Scottish, and Orkney), and
seem
to have retained much of the northern breeds outward appearance - a mix
of medium framed and small
sheep with narrow faces, thin clean legs, and small feet with hard
hooves.
Some groups conform fairly well to the breed description of the UK
Hebridean
Society, except that the ewes are much less likely to have horns.
A group of sheep on Pitt Island are probably comprised of about 50% French merino and 50% Hebridean (David Tuart, pers.comm). The rams have large horns. About half the females have only scurs, and about 10% have horns, with the rest polled. This is somewhat similar to the sheep taken from Arapawa island, and suggestive of the merino influence. (The Finn sheep is also a Northern European breed, and is somewhat similar, but larger and white.) The fleece is typically more or less black, but bleached brown on the tips, sometimes frosted gray in part. The wool (like Hebridean sheep) is fine.
There is some suggestion that Australian sheep from New South Wales derived from merino and a small Indian breed (probably the very small, coarse haired Garole breed of coastal West Bengal) were left on the island by whalers. If so, it is uncertain what, if any, characters may have derived from this source.
Merinos were briefly farmed on Arapawa island in 1867, and may have contributed to the slightly shorter fleece. Natural selection may also have played a part in favoring animals with a shorter fleece. It is notable that in many animals wool is absent on the belly. In any event, while there is quite a lot of variation in size, vigor, and wool in the rescued population, there are also subpopulations conforming quite closely to the old Northern UK and Shetland sheep.
David Tuart is proactive in conserving rare breeds, and he estimates that prior to being shot out, there were about 2,000 Hebridean sheep on the island, and about 200-300 French merinos. The populations were reasonably discrete. Most of the feral sheep taken off the island came from the southeast part, and not all the original nodal groups were sampled. He suggests any very black so-called 'Arapawa' sheep is likely to be about 80% Hebridean.
Advantages
The variation within these feral animals has been constrained by 100
years of selection for natural worm resistance, footrot resistance, a
sufficient
degree of fleece shedding when unshorn, ease of lambing, and general
hardiness.
Flystrike resistance is partly due to thicker skin, and partly due
to general worm resistance or resiliance, which means they are less
likely
to be daggy - but it is no guarantee, and some animals are in fact
struck, but
the
incidence might be lower than for most other breeds.
Their footrot resistance is allied to their hard, black-horned feet,
whose horn grows only slowly, a character no doubt selected for in the
wet and boggy lands of Scotland and its offshore islands.
Like most northern short tailed sheep, 'Arapawas' are highly
fertile,
have narrow faces and generally give birth easily, with little uterine
prolapse unlikely (at a guess). They are excellent mothers and produce
ample milk.
While meat is very much a secondary consideration, the predominantly Hebridean nodal group have dark, good flavored, fine grained, lean meat.
Disadvantages
These isolated sheep have been hunted and the survivors tend to have
either or both extreme wariness and intelligence. Wariness means
that many are of very nervous disposition, taking flight and running
fast
with their necks outstretched, jumping readily, or even bursting
through
light grades of sheep netting if they hit it at full speed.
Put under pressure they will jump stand height sheep fences as if they
weren't there. When tamed and relaxed they are easily contained behind
800mm fences. But no matter how tame, they will use their jumping and
flat out running skills if hey are frightened enough.
The rams have tended to develop relatively large, open horns,
presumably
due to competition with other rams for mating rights. These tend to
have angled edges to them, and can easily accidently give you an
accidental scrape or scratch on the leg. As the post-cull remnant
population founding the 'mainland' Arapawa flock was so tiny, and as
many of the rams with the most magnificent horns were exported to
America to stock hunting parks, some small flocks have polled rams, the
trait probably fixed, so this can easily be selected for.
While there is large variation from which to select a small, worm and
footrot resistant sheep, this group of animals has not been exposed to
selective pressure for surviving on relatively rich grasslands with
little
or no tree and shrub browse. Although a speculative idea, it may be
that they have a higher
requirement
for tannins and lower tolerance of high protein spring grasses than
conventional
breeds. Certainly, many individuals have relatively long necks, perhaps
reflecting
browsing on twigs and leaves. This is a most undesirable attribute for
an orchard sheep.
Summary
Advantages
Size
The advantage of these sheep is that some individuals are very small -
or rather,
light. The UK Hebridean breed society has the ewes at 40 kgs, which is
the low
end
of the Merino ewe range. Merinos are therefore larger, and regarded as
a 'medium sized' breed according to some texts. While the next smallest
after
Merino, the 'New Zealand Romney' ewe is usually listed at 45 kg, a
small
variant
might approach 40 kgs. In any event, the range of variation in size,
will produce some very small and light sheep.
Clean face
Ideal for electric fencing, and unlike other clean face sheep such
as Poll Dorset and Poll Wiltshire, it is black.
Black skin
Highly important, and certainly arapawa crossed with black headed
dorper give a black skinned and wooled sheep.
Small hard feet
Anecdotally, they are noted as free from footrot. Certainly, a
small number of arapawas I had when repeatedly exposed to footrot from
a dorper in the same paddock showed no symptoms.
Have small 'hard feet', which may or may not translate
to footrot resistance.
Disadvantages
Horns
Clearly, the fact that Merino ewes have scurs has caused the Hebridean
ewe population on Arapawa Island to either have scurs or be polled. The
full breed ewe would normally have horns, and ocassionally scurs or
poll.
The horned Merino ram influence in the Arapawa rams has allowed most to
keep their horns. Horns in males can be eliminated by using a polled
male, individuals of which are apparent in the mainland flock.
Browsers
Like most sheep, they clearly like to browse, and some will leg stand
to reach high up. There is individual variability, with some
individuals browsing no more than any commercial sheep.
Facial eczema resistance
Have heavily pigmented skin, which may or
may not confer some resistance.
Worm resistance
They may have some worm resistance, but there is no particular evidence.
Flystrike resistance
Typical hebridean 'double coat' flystrike resistance is unknown.
Some ewes have no belly wool, but suceptibility to scouring may be more
important than wool length. Some individuals seem to have a shorter,
finer, fleece. This might or might not be a result of a merino
admixture.
Fertility
Arapawa seem fertile, larger framed animals often twinning, smaller
framed animals having singles.