The Hill Radnor sheep is a breed of domestic sheep originating in the United Kingdom. It is distributed mainly in Herefordshire, Monmouthshire and Powys.
The breed is classified as one of the upland or mountain sheep breeds. It was developed over the years for making them suited to the Radnor Hills and it is probably typical of the old Welsh tan-faced sheep that used to roam the hills.
And the Hill Radnor sheep breed remains very much confined to the Brecon/Radnor area of Wales and there are very few flocks in the rest of the United Kingdom.
The earliest reference to this breed was dated 1911, and the first breed society for this breed was founded in 1949.
Today the breed is listed as ‘Vulnerable‘ by the Rare Breeds Survival Trust of the United Kingdom. Read some more information about this breed below.
Hill Radnor Sheep Characteristics
The Hill Radnor sheep are medium sized animals, and have the appearance of a larger, bulkier Welsh Mountain sheep. They have a dense white fleece, with light brown face and legs. The rams usually have horns, and the ewes are usually polled.
Average live body weight of the mature Hill Radnor rams is between 70 and 80 kg. And mature ewe’s average live body weight vary from 50 to 55 kg. Photo from hillradnor.org.uk and info from RBST and Wikipedia.
Uses
The Hill Radnor sheep is a meat sheep breed. It is raised mainly for meat production purpose.
Special Notes
The Hill Radnor sheep are very hardy animals like many other hill sheep breeds. The ewes have very good mothering instincts. The ewes are sometimes crossed with lowland rams for producing market lambs.
Lambing percentages of the Hill Radnor ewes vary under different conditions, but can easily average around 155 percent. Meat of these animals is of very good quality.
The lambs can reach around 17kg at 8 weeks of age. And they become ready for slaughtering at their 4-5 months of age.
Average fleece weight of these animals is around 2-2.5 kg with a staple length of 8-10 cm. However, review full breed profile of the Hill Radnor sheep in the following chart.
| Breed Name | Hill Radnor |
| Other Name | None |
| Breed Purpose | Mainly meat |
| Special Notes | Very hardy animals, ewes have very good mothering instincts, ewes are sometimes crossed with lowland rams for producing market lambs, lambing percentage averages around 155 percent, raised mainly for meat, meat is of very good quality |
| Breed Size | Medium |
| Weight | Mature rams weight between 70 and 80, and ewe’s body weight vary from 50 to 55 kg. |
| Horns | Rams have horns, but the ewes are polled |
| Climate Tolerance | Native climates |
| Color | White |
| Rarity | Vulnerable |
| Country/Place of Origin | United Kingdom |
