Author Topic: wilthshire horns (Read 4445 times)

Bramham Wiltshire Horns · « **on:** August 03, 2016, 02:28:55 pm »

whats anyones thoughts on this breed

as with anything we decided on Ryelands and the eleventh hour

a collgue i work with has wiltshire horns he said he loves ryelands but finds the wiltshires a better
he had ryelands 12 years

JedM · « **Reply #1 on:** August 03, 2016, 03:03:18 pm »

I haven't kept them long, but I have 2 wiltshire horn ewes. I crossed them with my hampshire down ram and they produced amazing lambs, big and chunky!
They don't get foot rot as often as my hampshire downs and are generally easy to keep.
What I don't like is that I can never catch them!

Marches Farmer · « **Reply #2 on:** August 03, 2016, 04:01:07 pm »

Where's TimW....?

farmers wife · « **Reply #3 on:** August 03, 2016, 05:27:07 pm »

we have a flock here great breed always been happy with the lambs and carcass. Ideal for the wool shredding however the ewes and rams are very big and powerful and for someone short like me no good. Strictly speaking you should have a turn over unit for breeds like these as there is no way on earth an average woman could trim the feet of a powerful ram. The horns can be a nuisance too and like a pure breed stubborn.

We have a flock here we want to get rid of all together as we have moved onto to the Easycare (wilt x welsh) many reasons being mainly single births, easy births, wool lose and great for our low input organic farm.

The wilts need to go - they are pedigree with the last lot of lambs crossed with a welsh as our ram is no longer producing. If anyone is interested we would like to shift the whole flock soon (varying ages just a mix not interested in selling individuals etc)

Tim W · « **Reply #4 on:** August 03, 2016, 07:06:03 pm »

I kept 250 wilts for many years (25+) and I think they are one of the better ''traditional or rare'' breeds
Decent carcase and fairly low input, great image if trying to sell meat direct

Tips---- they are not the best mums in the world but will be fine in a small (100 ewes or less) situation
don't bother with the pedigree thing unless you want to show them
buy from a large flock that culls heavily

If you want recommendations for breeders to look at I will help if I can

Bramham Wiltshire Horns · « **Reply #5 on:** August 03, 2016, 09:19:23 pm »

Thanks you
We are only looking at half a dozen to begin with
Are they pretty docile
I am going to look at a colleagues flock and will look at rearing for meat

Where abouts are you TIM

Bramham Wiltshire Horns · « **Reply #6 on:** August 03, 2016, 09:21:07 pm »

Quote from: farmers wife on August 03, 2016, 05:27:07 pm

we have a flock here great breed always been happy with the lambs and carcass. Ideal for the wool shredding however the ewes and rams are very big and powerful and for someone short like me no good. Strictly speaking you should have a turn over unit for breeds like these as there is no way on earth an average woman could trim the feet of a powerful ram. The horns can be a nuisance too and like a pure breed stubborn.

We have a flock here we want to get rid of all together as we have moved onto to the Easycare (wilt x welsh) many reasons being mainly single births, easy births, wool lose and great for our low input organic farm.

H

The wilts need to go - they are pedigree with the last lot of lambs crossed with a welsh as our ram is no longer producing. If anyone is interested we would like to shift the whole flock soon (varying ages just a mix not interested in selling individuals etc)

Hi fathers I also was looking at easy care and a few people have recommended them

farmers wife · « **Reply #7 on:** August 03, 2016, 10:14:34 pm »

We got our easycare from the breeders in North Wales. We had no issues lambing and only 2 sets of twins. Ours are in training for the electric fence however note the influence of the 'welsh' ewe hence will make an escape through a mouse hole.

No shearing, long tails, no horns, Tiny single lambs. They do lose all their wool too. Watch out with Wilts you commonly have twins and trips which opens a can of worms with either you are a good adopter or just take them off and artificially raise.

I find the pedigree thing a nightmare with sheep its easy with cattle but I really dont have time messing with it. We want our sheep to survive and have little human intervention. As for footrot thats really to do with the amount of poor breeding/culling and the ground/management. I dont think there is much to say about breeds where footrot isnt prevalent. We mob graze on long grass hence scald can be an issue when grass wet.

Tim W · « **Reply #8 on:** August 04, 2016, 07:07:44 am »

Quote from: Princessrubyk on August 03, 2016, 09:19:23 pm

Thanks you
We are only looking at half a dozen to begin with
Are they pretty docile
I am going to look at a colleagues flock and will look at rearing for meat

Where abouts are you TIM

Docile will depend on the handling they have had (from a large farm they will be less used to people ---from a pet situation they will be very docile)
I am near Warminster but have no Wilts Horns ----we have now developed a polled shedding sheep --Exlana-- with better maternal and parasite resistance etc

Bramham Wiltshire Horns · « **Reply #9 on:** August 04, 2016, 03:03:31 pm »

Very interesting read on website
I love the data side I do a lot of them at for selective breeding my chooks

Could you PM me some contacts in the north (Leeds area) who have Wiltshire horns
Many thanks for the advice

Helen Wiltshire Horn · « **Reply #10 on:** August 07, 2016, 09:05:31 pm »

We have got Wiltshire Horns and really like them! They are big and heavy but don't seem to need a huge amount of care so it doesn't bother me hugely and mine run to a bucket and aren't too flighty. I really like the fact that they don't have are self-shedding and don't need dagging, though never be under any illusion that they don't get fly strike. We haven't had many issues with lambing and I had my first set of trips this year, born unaided in the field to a ewe with quite a bit of scar tissue owing to a previous bout of mastitis who raised them fine. That said, we have a small flock and can afford to cull any animals that have any undesirable traits.
Helen

Hillview Farm · « **Reply #11 on:** August 09, 2016, 09:34:17 am »

Where are you? I've got a handful for sale in Surrey

Bramham Wiltshire Horns · « **Reply #12 on:** August 09, 2016, 09:36:39 am »

I am up in leeds bit far at min

Timothy5 · « **Reply #13 on:** August 10, 2016, 10:31:35 pm »

I have Wiltshire Horns, and Wiltshire cross Soays, I have no complaints about either.

Yes, they are heavy, but I don't carry them around.

Yes, they have horns, but that is no problem.

I have 2 dozen in my flock, I chose them because I did not want the hassle of shearing,

I find they are hardy, doing well on my rough grazing, and very easily tamed.

Mine all come to a call, are easy to handle, and reliably produce and rear twins.

Each to their own, but they suit me very well.