What is the history of Grey Troender Sheep?

The breed goes back to the Middel Ages as the old local sheep was crossed with Merino brought by monks of the Tautra monastery.

Grey Trønder sheep is known for having Norway's finest wool fibre. The Norwegian Grey Troender (Norwegian: Grå trøndersau) is a very rare breed of domesticated sheep that originated from crossbreeding native landrace sheep with the now extinct Tautra sheep in the late 19th century.

Originally bred in the Trøndelag region of Norway, from where the sheep derives its name, the Grey Troender are most commonly varying shades of grey in color with distinctive white "tear drop" markings under the eyes. However, black, brown and white woolled Grey Troenders occasionally do occur.

What are the characteristics of Grey Troender Sheep?

• Grey Troender Sheep is perfectly suited to the Norwegian climate and surroundings.
• They thrive on scarce resources, have a great herding instinct and are rarely caught by predators.
• Grey Trønder Sheep is known for having the finest wool fibre of all Norwegian breeds of sheep.
• Each fleece consists of numerous shades of grey, which makes the sorting of the wool a labour intensive task. In turn it also provides for the most beautiful natural wool yarn.
• Birth rate is 1.8 lambs per year.
• The Grey Troender  lambs are usually slaughtered at the age of 6 months and the live weight is then 30-40 kg.
• Both Grey Troender  rams and ewes are polled and the breed have half-long or variable length tails.
• In the early 90's Grey Trønder Sheep was close to extinction, and it is still considered an endangered breed.
• The popularity however is on the rise with a current breeding stock of around 600-800 sheep.

What is the weight of mature Grey Troender Sheep?

Grey Troender Sheep mature live weight of ewes is between 70 and 80 kg and ram weighs around 90 kg.