Rya, also known as Ryafår or Swedish Carpet Wool Sheep, is a breed of sheep that is native to Sweden.[1] The breed originated from the Swedish and Norwegian landrace breeds.[2] This double-coated breed of Swedish Landrace origin also contains some Norwegian Spælsau heritage.[1] [3] [4] The purpose of the sheep was to use the long, wavy, and shiny wool to produce rya-wool, which is often used to make carpets.[4] [5] In the early twentieth century, few long wool sheep remained in the province of Dalarna, leading to the restoration of the rya sheep breed.[5] In 2000, there was a stable population of about two thousand rya sheep.[5] They can be found in northern and central Sweden.[3] [6] Most of herds are located in Dalarna.[3] They are usually kept in small flocks.[2]
At the start of the 20th century, Dalarna had a population of sheep with long wool, which was popular in the area for decorating national costumes.[3] In 1915, breeding was done to obtain sheep that produced this "rya-wool".[3] [7]
The rya sheep is a medium-sized sheep with relatively short legs, and has strong and shiny long wool fibers.[3] The legs, tail, forehead, cheek, and crown do not have wool.[3] For a three-month-old lamb, the wool can be 60NaN0 long, and for an adult, the wool can be up to 120NaN0 long.[4] Half the fleece should be the hair coat, which should be lustrous with a well-defined, broad crimp.[4] Attaining wool fibers of at least 15 cm in length with a maximum crimp of 3 crimps per 5 cm is the breeding goal.[2] The sheep are white, but there are some grey, black, and brown individuals.[4] [5] The adult wither height is 75 cm for rams and 70 cm for ewes.[5] The live weight is 70 kg for rams and 50 kg for ewes.[5] [8] Both the rams and ewes are polled and have long tails.[5]
The rya sheep is also known to be highly fertile.[3] The mean litter size is 2.1 lambs at birth.[5]
The sheep is also characterized by lambing ease and by their ability to forage in rough terrain.[2]