Breed Standards

General Appearance:

- Well balanced with good body length
- Well muscled
- Strong, large framed sheep
- Mature body weights:
rams 120-150 kg., ewes 80-100 kg.

Head:
- Polled
- Attractive clean open face
- White in colour
- Ears long and pendulous
- No wool around eyes or ears

Neck:
- No wrinkles or dewlap
- Well proportioned with head and body

Body:
- Long, deep, wide and well muscled with excellent loin eye
- Hindquarters full and well muscled

Feet and Legs:
- Set at corners with strong upright pastern
- Wool stops at the knees but covers the hocks

Fleece:
- Dense and fine up to 24 microns
- White, well crimped with medium to long staple
- No kemp or black fibres

​​

The oldest established breed in the world, the Merino is named after a nomadic Berber tribe of North Africa who brought their sheep with them to Spain in the 12th century. After 1786 the Spaniards relaxed the ban on exports of breeding stock and the hardy, drought tolerant Merinos spread throughout the world as the predominant wool producing breed
​
La plus vieille race reconnue dans le monde, le Merino tient son nom d'une tribu berbère nomade du Nord de l'Afrique qui a apporté ses moutons en Espagne au 12ième siècle. Après 1786, les Espagnols ont assoupli l'interdiction d'exporter des sujets reproducteurs et le Mérino, robuste et tolérant à la sécheresse s'est répandue dans le monde entier en tant que race à laine prédominante.

​

merino

​La raza establecida más Antigua del mundo, la Merino recibe su nombre por una tribu nómada Berber del norte de África quienes llevaron sus ovejas con ellos a España en el siglo XII. Después de 1786, los españoles retiraron la prohibición de exportación de reproductores y el Merino rústico y tolerante al calor se difundió a nivel mundial como la raza predominante de producción de lana.

SHEEPBREEDERS.ca

​  ​ Canadian Sheep Breeders' Association

      La Société Canadienne des Éleveurs de Moutons