Wiltshire Horns are a very old breed. They may have originated in the Mediterranean as one of the original sheep varieties and been domesticated by the Romans.
What is certain though is that their history in Britain extends back at least 250 years. They were one of the old British Breeds, and were once probably the most numerous. They were allowed to roam free, covering huge distances over tough hill country, and this background has given them considerable resilience.
In recent years in Australia the wonderful 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.
Wiltshire Horn sheep have high fertility, are good mothers often producing twins, bear large frames often with long bodies, good muscling, lean meat, are intelligent, and have the ability to do relatively well in poor conditions. Horns are present in both rams and ewes, and their rather coarse wool that is naturally shed in spring.
All of those features make them suitable for many different enterprises. They are very popular on small farms. People often look for the Wiltshire because the shedding means that there is no need to find shearers for a small flock.
Commercial Flock Information
Wiltshire sheep are in demand for commercial use Australia-wide. The rams are used as a “terminal sire” crossed with first-cross or merino ewes to produce prime lambs, while some small farmers also do this to produce lambs for their own use.
Other commercial operators have used them as a ‘maternal sire’, that is to produce first cross Wiltshire/Merino ewes which can in turn be joined with a ram from another breed to produce prime lambs.
