Wiltshire Horn sheep

Wiltshire Horn sheep have many features that make them suitable and a popular choice for many different enterprises: High fertility, good mothering, large frames often with long bodies, good muscling, lean meat, intelligence, ability to do relatively well in poor conditions, horns in both rams and ewes, and wool that is naturally shed in Spring are all characteristics that draw people to this breed.

As a shedding sheep, the hassle and expense of finding a shearer is eliminated. Crutching, mulesing, docking, dipping, or treating for lice or fly strike are also not necessary.

Wiltshire Horns are also in demand for commercial use Australia wide. The rams are used as 'terminal sire' crossed with first cross or merino ewes to produce prime lambs. More recently producers have realised that, if you backcross these Wiltshire cross ewes to a Wiltshire ram, after a couple of generations you can produce an ewe flock which sheds well, is fertile and great mothering. Such a commercial ewe flock has the advantage that management costs, and the need for extra staff, are greatly reduced.

 

Wiltshire Horn sheep

Wiltshire Horn sheep are a very old breed. Traditionally they were allowed to roam free, covering significant distances over tough hill country, and this background has given them considerable resilience. In recent years in Australia the advantageous characteristics of the breed have been improved even further by some clever breeding, and they are now very much a multi-purpose and very valuable breed of sheep.

The Wiltshire Horn, like other sheep, is a seasonal breeder. Ewes normally come into season around March, and don't usually cycle during summer months. Better feed will result in higher multiple births, but twins come consistently from mature ewes even on poor pasture. As a result, depending on the age composition of the ewe flock, time of joining, and pasture growth, lambing percentages are typically of the order of 180% or better.

Productive and protective mothering results in exceptional weaning percentages - birthing problems are rare, and ewes have large udders. The ewes expect to have multiple births and mismothering is virtually unknown.


  • Birth weights for single lambs’ range between 3.7-6.4 kg with an average of 4.7 kg. While twin lambs weighing in at 2.7-6.0 kg with and average birthweight of 4 kg.

    Weights at twelve weeks for single ram lambs average 30-35 kg, while twin ram lambs, and ewe lambs, average 25-30kg.

    Average mature rams weigh 100-110kg and an average ewe about 70-80kg.

    According to the Australia Wiltshire Horn sheep breeders association “in one case, a drop of Ram lambs averaged 4.3 kg at birth with a maximum weight of 5.9kg. Rams achieved 30 kg at 126 days, and at 250 days averaged 53 kg with a maximum weight of 69 kg. Ram lambs averaged 27 mm in depth of eye muscle with just 5 mm of fat. Alternatively, ewe lambs averaged 3.9 kg at birth with a maximum weight of 5.3kg. They achieved 27.5 kg at 124 days, and at 250 days averaged 45 kg with a maximum weight of 54 kg. Ewes averaged 26 mm in depth of eye muscle with 5.7 mm of fat”.

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