The Coll View croft in the Isle of Tiree is home to The Angry Triangle – a hebridean sheep, and her flockmates. The sheep are kept both for wool and for meat. They are not pets, they definitely have a purpose in life, but they are very well cared for and live excellent lives.
We have two distinct types of wool for sale.
- Wool from pure Hebrideans
- Wool from Hebrideans crossed with Texel sheep – we call them HebTex!
What is a Hebridean Sheep?
A Hebridean sheep is a small sheep, native to Scotland. It has horns and black fleece. Some rams have 4 horns which look very dramatic! It is a highly useful sheep. They are known to be good for conservation because they pick and choose what they eat and require less volume of grass to thrive.
Every 2 years we breed some new pure Hebrideans to keep as replacement breeding ewes.
The Hebrideans produce our aran weight, woollen spun Hebridean Wool.
What is a Texel Sheep?
A Texel is a larger commercial breed of sheep. It originates from the island of Texel, one of the north-western islands off Holland! These sheep tend to be white – although you can get a Blue texel. They produce a heavier lamb with good muscle. When you cross them with a native breed like a Hebridean, you get lambs that have the best of each breed. Well, that’s the theory!
What are the cross breeds?
The cross breeds (HebTex) produce our Brown and White Tiree knitting yarns. It is brilliant yarn for creating things like cushions – it’s hard wearing and holds a pattern, such as cabling, really well.
This yarn comes from sheep who had both Hebridean and Texel parents. The brown yarn comes from the ones which got slightly more of the Hebridean genes. The white yarn comes from the ones where the Texel genes won!
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