Wool shedding ewes make commercial sense

This is the conclusion I would draw from a recent visit to Germany in association with the Easy care Sheep Society. We visited several “Nolana-Schafe” flocks accompanied by Dr. Rolf Minhorst, President of the Nolana-Network-Germany. “Nolana-Schafe” means “no wool sheep”. The flocks were a mixture of hobby and commercial, but each demonstrated a unique market orientated production system. Whether the market was for low maintenance lawnmowers in a range of different colours or high value organic lamb the message was simple – Why produce something the marketplace doesn’t value, namely wool?

Sheep production in Germany (like the UK) suffers from very low and widely fluctuating revenues from raw wool. As a result wool has been a cost to the sheep farmer for many years, especially when parasite prevention, shearing, crutching and the loss of ewes due to lodging because of heavy wet fleeces is all considered. Thus, it can be concluded, that wool production under these conditions is no longer economic.

Both hair and wool shedding sheep do not require shearing, crutching or tail docking, because the life cycle of the hair or wool fibre is much shorter than traditional wool producing breeds. In some cases the cycle may only last a few months with the sheep moulting or shedding their coats seasonally.

Several breeds of hair sheep were viewed during the study visit. The Barbados Blackbelly, grows slower than typical wooled breeds, but produces a carcass with a mild flavour and less body fat. Moreover, the Blackbelly is one of the most prolific breeds of sheep in the world. The Cameroon, not unlike a smaller version of the Blackbelly, has a brown coat of hair. However it is much too small to produce carcases for the standard European market. The Dorper was developed in the early 1940's in South Africa from a cross between the Dorset Horn and indigenous Black-headed Persian, (a fat-tailed sheep). Dorper lambs are noted for their outstanding growth, early maturity and heavy muscled, high yielding carcasses. However, in many European regions with wet and heavy soils, the Dorper breed is also associated with major feet problems.

Reproductive efficiency is an area where hair sheep can truly excel. Hair sheep breeds are prolific, reach puberty at an early age and breed all year round. They are a low-maintenance sheep, hardy and long-lived, able to produce under stressful environmental conditions. They are ideally suited to low-input, forage-based production systems and/or markets desiring lean, lighter weight carcasses.  Research also suggests that some hair sheep are more resistant to internal parasites, though more data is necessary before widespread claims can be made.

In addition to the flocks of hair sheep the group visited several farms which were basing their sheep breeding program on intro-gressing wool shedding Wiltshire Horn genes into their original flocks. Some flocks were being upgraded from a Suffolk ewe base, some from a Zwartbles ewe base and some from a Texel ewe base. Based on the stock viewed the Wiltshire Horn appeared the most promising option when focusing on producing 17-19 KG lamb carcases. This re-assured many in the group who were or had implemented such a breeding plan on their home farms. The group is also now convinced that gene pools exist in Germany, which exhibit traits such as foot-rot, worm resistance and high prolicacy.

There are several ways to use hair/wool shedding sheep in a breeding program:

Depending on what breed you use to cross, it takes anywhere from one to three generations to remove wool to the point where the sheep no longer require shearing. The first generation are likely to have wool fleeces with hair intermixed. They may shed part of their fleece, but will probably still require shearing. Most of the second generation ewes will shed their wool with limited shearing required. One potential problem with hair and wool shedding sheep is that the finished lambs produced could be discounted if sold through the live market because they look "different." However, when the ewes are crossed with wooled rams, the resulting crossbred offspring have fleeces, which make them look like "ordinary" wooled lambs.

As world wool markets remain depressed and the domestic sheep industry struggles with scarce labour resources and high-input production systems hair and wool shedding sheep offer an innovative alternative. If you wish to investigate the potential of hair or wool shedding sheep on your farm, please contact Dr Steven Johnston, Greenmount Campus on 02894426748 or steven.johnston@dardni.gov.uk or your local beef and sheep development adviser.

Dr Steven Johnston with  Mr Friedrich Melchior, founding member of the Network  and Dr Rolf Minhorst, the President of the Nolana Network Germany

Some of the wool shedding ewes from Mr Melchior's flock