Flock Features
More and more farmers are realizing the benefits of the Lleyn in a variety of situations and all over the UK. Read what they have to say about breeding and crossing the Lleyn.
 "The Sheep Keep us!"
I farm heavy land with high rainfall in the heart of the ‘Fermanagh Lakelands’ so sheep are the easiest stock to carry on the land. I have been involved with sheep breeding and purchasing store lambs since the late 80’s apart from a lull from 1999-2004 when due to training and working away from home decided to sell out my breeding flock.
When returning to breeding sheep I knew I needed a ewe that was easier managed and above all easier lambed. [More] |
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 A FLEXIBLE SYSTEM WITH EARLY LAMBING
As they got older, the Fords began to find the Suffolks to be hard work. They had read about Lleyn and met several enthusiastic breeders at NSA Sheep SW. Their positive views led to the purchase of 20 ewes at the first Exeter Society sale in 2000 from Gwyn Anthony (Flock 91), supplemented by ewes from Jo Hynes, Cathy Evans and Hefin Llwyd. The aim was to buy medium sized ewes for keeping economically, with tight fleeces and small ears (a personal preference) . They were an instant success – easy lambing, low cost to keep, easy to handle [More] |
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 Royal Welsh Show Champions
Whenever anyone talks about the Royal Welsh, one flock sticks with me “Wells Flock 575”. The Wells Family, Helen, Roger, Edward and Lorna won the Championship with their shearling ram at the 2010 show, they also won in 2008 and had best opposite sex to the champion in 2009 so they appear to be the team to beat. They breed their champions on their small holding where at present they have 45 breeding ewes.[More] |
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 Lleyn on Salisbury Plain- Jim Dufosee
Farming is in Jim Dufosee's genes. Although he is first generation on his present farm, he is the fifth generation of his family to farm on the Longleat estate. Jim started his own tenancy with 187 acres in 1989 and has managed over the years to expand to around 2500 acres on and around Salisbury Plain, near Warminster. His base is Tascroft Farm, a 300-acre unit on the Estate, complemented by 700 improved acres owned by the Ministry of Defence [More] |
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 Lleyns In Northern Ireland
Sheep have always been a primary interest for Andrew Kennedy, who is currently studying Business Studies at the University of Ulster. Together with his father, Charles, he has built up a highly successful pedigree Lleyn flock in Northern Ireland, where the Lleyn is fast becoming a popular choice of breeding ewe. [More] |
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 Profit without subsidies
Lleyn may not be the biggest or the showiest of breeds, but, these increasingly popular sheep, which in the 1970's were classified a rare breed, are now common place on upland and lowground units alike, as flockmasters are forced to continually cut costs to make ends meet. And, as 2013 fast approaches, and with it, the proposal that single farm payments be phased out, we could see an ever increasing number of these white Welsh sheep adorn our landscape in years to come."The Lleyn is the breed that produces the greatest net margin on our land, and it's the one that is most likely to leave a profit without subsidies," said Duncan Allison, who farms in partnership with his mother Nancy at Anston farm, Dunsyre, Lanarkshire. [More]
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 Harsh Conditions 1000ft up the Mid Wales Hills
After our first lambing season, it soon became apparent that this was the way forward. We were amazed at how milky the ewes were, how they didn’t need any assistance at lambing with mis-presentations etc and how lively the lambs were. At first we thought that the lambs didn’t look that hardy due to their tight skins but the environment in which we farm would put any breed to the test and it amazed us how tough they actually are. They just want to live! [More] |
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 Recording Pays Dividends
After careful consideration it was decided that, to earn it’s keep, the ewe flock must be low maintenance, able to rear two good lambs each, and be efficient feeders. As Ed was going to run the sheep enterprise on his own, a medium-sized ewe for easier handling was also necessary. When combining all these traits with a wish to run a purebred flock, it became apparent that the Lleyn would fit the bill. [More] |
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 Fickle hand of fate makes transition to Lleyns much smoother
Falling demand for Suffolk cross lambs out of their Scotch Half-Bred flock left a Borders farming family with no choice but to look at other options. A brief encounter with the Lleyn breed took their farming in a new direction. Coincidence brought the Lleyn breed and the Mitchells, a Borders farming family together, fulfilling their need for an easy to manage sheep that combined the ability to produce good quality meat lambs and to produce good females for breeding flock replacements. [More] |
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 Lleyn Sheep & Dairy Cattle working in Cumbria
Prime lamb production based on pure Lleyn dams fits in well with running a high yielding pedigree Holstein herd on a farm in West Cumbria .Sheep are the best grassland tool you can have on a dairy farm. That is the simple philosophy of Cumbrian dairy farmer, Wilson Boow, and was the key factor leading to the establishment of a successful Lleyn based commercial sheep enterprise. [More]
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 Lleyn & Blue Texel working Together in North Wales
The Lleyn has always served us well. We started after I went to Gaerwen market to buy some females and there happened to be a Lleyn sale. I bought 15 Lleyn ewe lambs and we developed the flock from there. The Lleyn is an exceptional dam breed bringing together strong maternal characters and longevity and the Blue Texel is a particularly good match as a terminal meat sire on the Lleyn. [More] |
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 Lleyn in Mid Wales – Bennett family
The sheep have always been important at Tyn-y-Coed and, over the years, different breeds of sheep were tried. In the mid 1990s, Alun became interested in Lleyn as they were building a reputation for easy management and could be run as a closed flock, with home-bred replacements, which allowed flock improvement and a high health status. [More]
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 Success with Lleyn in Dumfriesshire
The initial reason Lleyn were introduced to Laneside was their accredited status, and their suitability for running alongside John Kingan’s Texels, but it only took one lambing season to decide they were there to stay. [More] |
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 Lleyn - A good choice on the Somerset Levels
Like most sheep farmers, I need to ensure that my enterprise is profitable; for me one of the key drivers is to produce as many lambs as possible.I was looking for a lighter ewe, one that milks well and, when crossed with a suitable terminal sire, will produce twin 38 kg finished lambs off grass; and, if allowed, the lambs will grow on to perhaps 45 kg without getting over-fat, to supply the hoggett trade that is usually good in those lean early months of the New Year. [More] |
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 Michael Keegan – A New Flock in Southern Ireland
‘I was impressed with what I saw and so in 2007 I decided to buy 20 shearlings from Derek Steen as a test’. These ewes were run alongside Michael’s existing flock of 350 Suffolk x Cheviot ewes at Ballinagee House, Enniskerry, Co Wicklow, and it soon became obvious how economical the Lleyn would be. ‘At first I thought there was something wrong with them. They were only eating half the amount of nuts as the other ewes, but they weren’t going backwards.’ [More] |
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 Lleyn in North Devon - Jenny Starr
Why did Jenny choose Lleyn? She had farmed Mules, which she regards as good sheep, but they were getting bigger, becoming harder to handle and needing high feed inputs. She considered a variety of types of sheep but a ‘must’ was to be able to breed pure, so that she could generate her own flock replacements, reducing replacement costs and minimising the threat of disease. The sheep also needed to be physically smaller [More] |
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 Lleyn on the Edge of the Denbighshire Moors
With a full-time job as a local authority land agent, Rhys Davies needs to keep his sheep flock as easy to manage as possible. Equally, he does not want to compromise on quality and believes strongly in the value of figures offered by a leading flock recording scheme. [More] |
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 Alan and Karen Stephens - Lleyns in the Cornwall
The first lambs are sold at the end of May or beginning of June and batches are sold as they are ready from then till the end of the year. Alan has found the carcase quality remarkably good. Overall, in 2007, 97.5% of the lambs graded U and R with 95% being 3L or 2L. Average carcase weight was 19.4 kg. [More] |
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 Lleyn Boost Returns in the Mournes
Seamus Killen farms in the foothills of the Mournes. In the kingdom of Mourne Blackface sheep are part of the landscape but, where Seamus is concerned, tradition is only worthy to be maintained if economically justified.
In today’s farming climate he decided that producing just over one lamb per ewe is not enough.
“I tried everything to improve the lambing percentage, but to no avail, so I felt I had to try a different approach” [More] |
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 Looking forward to a buoyant future lamb market
We aim to finish Beltex cross lambs at 40 kg to 42 kg liveweight and have found that, on our system, it is not worth trying to put on another 3 kg to hit 45 kg. The live auction system works well for us, and, overall, gives us better prices than if we sold on a deadweight basis. We also feel that it better, if possible, to sell lamb for 12 months of the year rather than for half the year. [More] |
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 Combining technology with a move to outdoor lambing for expansion
Duncan Nelless Flock 884
Starting to lamb outdoors after years of doing it inside, significantly increasing the size of his flock and introducing an electronic identification system – JOANNE PUGH went to meet the sheep farmer who is adamant that, despite how it sounds, life is in fact getting much easier. [More]
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|  Ballylinney Lleyn Flock
Much has happened in the life of Derek Steen over the last decade, Derek has been firmly focussed on the type of sheep he wants to breed "I'm aiming to breed sheep with maternal qualities, sheep which will produce and rear plenty of good shaped lambs with minimal shepherding. When buying a breeding tup, I look for strong maternal characteristics in his bloodline history. Visually I consider skin, conformation and correctness. [More]
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 Increased Efficiency Pays Dividends
The Lleyn may not be the biggest of the UK 's sheep breeds but what this increasingly popular commercial female lacks in size, she more than makes up for in production and ease of management.Not surprisingly, a growing number of flockmasters up and down the country are in the process of reducing their commercial breeding Mule ewe numbers to make way for this prolific, easy-care Welsh-bred female. [More]
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 Lleyn Sheep at Duchy Home Farm
We sell lambs to some very particular customers, such as the Ritz and Lidgates of Holland Park, at an average liveweight of around 42kgs. The lambs these days are far from small and kill out well because of their relatively fine bone. Another plus is the excellent eating quality of the meat, both in terms of flavour and texture. [More] |
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 Breeding Quality - The key to commercial success
"Over the years the issues of size and limited genetics have been dealt with and the Lleyn is a medium sized ewe that consistently gives us 200 per cent lambs reared over ewes tupped. The size, length, and general conformation of the lambs have also improved. We are selling pure Lleyn tup lambs at 40 to 45kg liveweight and could take them heavier if the market required. [More] |
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 Earl of Rosebery - Lleyn making big savings
When the Lleyn was suggested, and its proven achievements discussed, Mr Stewart admits: “It just all seemed too good to be true. We asked ourselves if the Lleyn really could solve all our problems and make it seem so simple.”
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New Zealander Believes in Lleyn
From New Zealand to Co Down, Northern Ireland, one man has tried many a breed but has ended up with 100 pure bred Lleyn ewes and 25 ewe lambs. Malcolm Fraser farms 30 acres plus 12 acres in Conacre in Moneyrea, near Newtownards, Co. Down. [More] |
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 Ruthless Streak Pays Off In Pursuit of Farm Profit
The Lleyn are easy to manage and held their own over 2007, despite the market disruptions caused by foot-and-mouth. So far this year we have 190 per cent lambs on the ground compared with ewes tupped so we are feeling hopeful.’ [More]
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 Lumbylaw Lleyn Sheep
Robert Lee, who farms 1100acres with his wife Sally at Lumbylaw, Northumberland. Having experimented with various breeds and crosses, not to mention lambing dates over the past 15 years, this system that the couple believes will enable them to survive a future.
"May-lambing Lleyns are more profitable because they don't have the input costs," explained Robert. [More] |
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 Lleyn Influence Making a Big Impact on Cumbrian Hill Farm
The Lleyn is revolutionising sheep production on a Cumbria hill farm. But father and son team of John and Mark Handley believe they still have their ace card to play as they capitalise on even more Lleyn genetics as part of a crossing programme underway in their flocks of Rough Fell and Herdwick ewes.It's 10 years since the first Lleyn tups were used on the Handley's 600-acres at Catholes, near Sedbergh. [More] |
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 Lleyns - the original added value enterprise
Richard and Jennifer Twose have found that establishing a stud flock of high performance Lleyn ewes on their South Wales dairy unit is paying dividends as well as essential to efficient grassland management. [More] |
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 Lleyn ideal for synchronised lambing
A north country Lleyn breeder, who sold some of the highest priced shearlings at last year's society sales, believes AI not only concentrates stockmanship skills over a tight lambing period but brings long-term management benefits by producing a lamb crop of even age. [More]
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 Lleyn Key to Success for Sheep Farmer of the Year
Northern Ireland sheep farmer, Crosby Cleland, has been awarded the prestigious Farmers Weekly Sheep Farmer of the Year award.When the judging panel visited Crosby's Brookmount Farm, in Saintfield, County Down they were impressed with not only his business-like approach to sheep farming but also his progressive breeding strategy and contribution to industry improvement. [More]
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 Challenging organic sheep production with a closed Lleyn flock
Going organic ago presented a number of challenges to Warwickshire sheep producers, Wallace and Josie McCurdie, however introducing the Lleyn as their flock damline is helping them to establish an easy care, relatively high performance, sustainable enterprise. What's more, switching to 800 pure Lleyns is enabling the couple to achieve the benefits of a closed flock and eventually to market added value purebred replacements. [More]
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