Easy Care Sheep are a revolutionary breed of sheep which requires
minimal shepherding and veterinary care, sheds its wool in the summer, does not
need shearing and yet offers excellent meat yields and lambing ratios. The
breed is now well established in Britain and abroad and is proving extremely
popular and successful with breeders in todays farming environment.
The guiding principle behind Easy Care is
straightforward. Centuries ago, sheep didn't naturally have huge fleeces,
merely a winter coat which was shed in springtime, as with most wild animals.
However, man began to breed sheep for wool because of its value. In recent
times, the value of wool has fallen so dramatically that its production is
uneconomic. Meat production without the overhead and extra shepherding required
in wool production would be much more profitable.
By using highly selective breeding to combine the rapid
growth rate, lambing quality, and other strengths of his naturally wool-less
pedigree Wiltshire Horn flock with the smaller, hardy Welsh Mountain and
combining some of the strengths of other breeds, Iolo Owen has achieved his
aim: a breed of sheep with all the qualities sought after by the modern farmer
with fewer of the drawbacks.
As well as being woolless, Easy Care are extremely
hardy, thrive on grass and inexpensive feeds, have a superb lambing ratio (180%
is the average), and produce excellent meat.
About Easy Care Sheep
