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LEAVE NO BREED BEHIND - POLYPAY SHEEP

BY KELSEY CHADWICK CHADWICK SHEEP COMPANY

I always love to learn how people got into fiber arts. For some, it starts with knitting or crocheting, then down the rabbit hole to spinning and dyeing, and maybe even all the way to fleece processing. For me, it happened the other way around. I started off in 4-H at age 9 with showing project lambs, and then I wanted to expand into breeding sheep. We started raising our own project lambs when I was in middle school, and then I wanted to get into purebred stock. When I was in high school, I applied to the National Polypay Association because they were giving away a starter flock with an essay contest. I was so surprised when I got a letter that I won, and we have been raising Polypay sheep ever since.

Polypays are wonderful mothers that often birth and raise multiples easily. They are multipurpose animals bred for a balance of maternal, meat, and wool characteristics. They combine a variety of good traits, being one quarter each of Targhee, Rambouillet, Finn Sheep, and Dorset. Raising Polypays led us to strive for sustainability on our farm because they are a breed that is useful for so many different things.

When COVID hit, I was determined to learn how to process fleece and spin to continue my quest toward using everything that we had to work with on the farm. It had always been a dream of mine, and I finally had the time and bags of wool in the garage. While Polypays are a lesser known breed, their fine textured wool is great to work with. It has a springy, fresh feel that was very forgiving for a beginning spinner. I have been able to take fleece from Polypays and make all kinds of beautiful spinning, weaving, and felting creations, as well as bring an understanding of sheep raising and fiber arts to our local community.

I have found that every breed has their own unique strengths. While it can be easy to get comfortable using only one, I encourage you to step outside of your comfort zone and “leave no breed behind” in your fiber arts journey. The diversity of the world of wool is really fabulous to explore.