Llanwenog Sheep Characteristics, Origin & Uses

The Llanwenog sheep is a breed of domestic meat sheep originating in Wales. It was developed from the Llanllwni, the Shropshire, Welsh Mountain, and Clun Forest breeds in the nineteenth century.

Native area of these animals is the Teifi Valley, in the western Wales. But the breed has since spread into other areas.

Total number of the purebred Llanwenog sheep has been decreasing over the last few years and there were estimated to be fewer than 3000 registered breeding ewes in 2015.

And the breed appear at a regular basis at the agricultural shows in England and Wales. A breed association for these animals was formed in 1957.

Today the breed is raised mainly for meat production. However, read some more information about this sheep breed below.

Llanwenog Sheep Characteristics

The Llanwenog sheep are medium-sized animals with black face and legs, and with a tuft of wool on the forehead.

Wool of these animals is of very good quality with a Bradford count of 56/58 and a staple length of around 3 inches. Both rams and ewes are usually polled, that means they have no horns.

As a medium sized animal, average live body weight of the mature Llanwenog rams is around 90 kg. And the mature ewes on average weight around 55 kg. Photo and info from RBST and Wikipedia.

Uses

The Llanwenog sheep is a meat sheep breed. It is raised mainly for meat production.

Special Notes

The Llanwenog sheep are hardy animals. They are docile in terms of temperament and are known for their profligacy in lambing.

They are easily handled, and have a very placid temperament. They are easily contained and are well suited to stress free inwintering if necessary.

This has important consequences for the health of both the animal and it’s keeper. They are usually long-lived animals, and the ewes have very good mothering abilities.

The Llanwenog sheep are economic to feed and can be housed in winter. Ewes can be crossed with other breeds if larger carcasses are required.

The lambs grow relatively faster, and they reach slaughtering weight faster. However, review full breed profile of the Llanwenog sheep in the following chart.

Breed NameLlanwenog
Other NameNone
Breed PurposeMeat
Special NotesVery hardy and strong animals, docile in terms of temperament, known for their profligacy in lambing, lamb easily, easily handled, usually long-lived animals, the ewes have very good mothering abilities, they are economic to feed and can be housed in winter, can be crossed with other breeds for improving carcass, lambs grow relatively faster
Breed SizeMedium
WeightVary from 55 to 90 kg
HornsNo
Climate ToleranceNative climates
ColorWhite
RarityCommon
Country/Place of OriginWales

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