Scientific name Ovis aries | Rank Breed | |
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Similar Wiltshire Horn, Lleyn sheep, Welsh Mountain sheep, Beltex, Wiltipoll | ||
Easycare sheep
Easycare is a breed of sheep developed in the 1960s in the United Kingdom for meat. It was derived from the Nelson Welsh Mountain (a Welsh Mountain and Cheviot cross) which were crossed twice to the Wiltshire Horn, which is a wool-shedding breed. The progeny were selected for the following characteristics: wool shedding; no horns; and easy care traits. Most animals in the wild thicken up their coats in winter and then moult when spring comes, but many modern sheep breeds were selectively bred for thick coats which are retained for shearing. With the decline in the worldwide wool markets, a thick coat is now less desirable especially where the cost of shearing is higher than the value of the wool produced. In this respect, the Easycare breed is an interesting reversal of centuries of practice in sheep breed development as the sheep naturally shed their coats in spring, a process called rooing. Like lots of other sheep, easycare sheep can not live without the necessary grooming that is shearing every now and then.