Having raised sheep for many years, we've had many different breeds of ewes.  Dorset, Suffolk, Rambouillet, Shropshire, Hampshire, Polypay, Romanov, Columbia, East Frisian and many crosses.  Each of these breeds has something to offer and each breed comes with its own set of issues.  One problem they all have in common is they need to be sheared.

Its been many, many years since wool has been anything but a burden.  This is particularly true for medium and coarse wool breeds.  Shearing costs continue to rise while wool prices continue to decline.  Commercial production of medium grade wool has become completely unviable.  I have come to accept that shedding sheep are the future.

In the US, we have two predominant shedding breeds - Dorper and Katadhin.  Both breeds are synthetic breeds, created by crossing African and tropical breeds with European breeds.  As a result, they tend to be lightly muscled (Katadhin) or become excessively fat (Dorper) at light weights.

Wiltshire sheep are a centuries-old pure breed that originated in Europe.  Being purebreds, they are among the most consistent shedding breeds in the world.  Wiltshires are a medium to large breed that was primarily developed in Britain.   Breeders there had the foresight to resist converting the breed to a 'strong wool' breed.  They are most similar to "down" breeds such as Hampshires and Dorsets.  They are well muscled and grow quickly.  They were imported to Australia as a terminal sire.

In recent times, Wiltshires have undergone accelerated development and modernization in Australia, New Zealand and the UK.  In addition to breeding off the horns (polled Wiltshires) breeders in these countries are using genetic improvement technologies (SIL, LAI, etc.) to further improve the breed for modern commercial lamb production.  

After many emails, chats and calls with breeders in Australia and particularly New Zealand I have become convinced that Wiltshire sheep are the ideal breed for lamb production through much of the US.  In 2020, we began a program to develop the Wiltshire sheep in the US.  Semen was collected from 3 operations in New Zealand - 3 rams from each breeder, for a total of 9 rams.

Group 1 Sires:

Group 2 Sires:

Group 3 Sires:

My observations with Wiltshire sheep so far:

• Shedding starts around with about 50% breeding.  It increases rapidly with some 5/8 nearly shedding completely.

• Sound feet.  Wiltshire feet are much more sound than US whiteface breeds.   I've not yet found any deformed or abscessed hooves.

• Smaller frames.  They have noticeably shorter legs.  The average ewe weight is trending toward 175 lbs. 

• Higher vigor, especially at birth.  Newborn lambs are not lanky.  Most have good muscle and fat cover.  They are quick to their feet.

• Better conditioning.  This may be related to the smaller frames.  For the same feed, the Wiltshires hold condition better than my other sheep.

• Prolificacy is generally similar to that of Dorsets.  Triplets can occur but are not common.  Ewe lambs have about 1.50 lambs their first year.  I have not lambed many percentage mature ewes (3 years or older) yet.

• Growth is similar to white face breeds such as Dorsets.

Overall, the breed is meeting all my objectives.  Like any breed, there is variation from sire to sire.