This is the youngest, the last born of Walter and 43Y. A Tunis sheep is to her right looking at me. Liza. The Cotswold girls are Lissa, Lisa, Liza and 43Y.
The Cotswold sheep are a unique breed, with open curls and big bodies, but they are not overly tall. I started with three ewes from one farm and one ram from another. They were registered and purebred. My idea was to build a small flock of these sheep, however; there are some challenges to this breed. They do take at least two years to mature. The ewe lambs may breed when under a year old, but they are not even full grown at that time. Some believe the breeding stunts their growth. They have single lambs usually, so the prolificacy is not high. Twins are not common, though certainly can and do happen.
The ram, Walter, was a very nice, docile and quiet guy, halter trained and easy to manage. The Cotswold rams are not aggressive, as a matter of fact, the breed is quite docile and friendly. Walter looked fine to me when he arrived here, but he seemed a bit thin. I did not want to feed grain to my sheep so did not. Their hay was very good that year. One of the ewes, 43Y was larger and did so much better than the other two. She maintained her weight without grain and managed her wormload without the need for chemical inputs. Walter and the other two ewes could not do without the grain, it seems and also needed to be treated for worms. I sold the ewes and one ram lamb from one of the ewes with Walter as the sire. Walter bred most of the flock the second year he was here and the Cotswold cross sheep were better than the Cotswolds themselves, more robust, with some twins and much quicker growing.
Walter had an infection that would not get better and the following year he passed away. I really loved that big old ram. I held his head when he was going and covered him with straw so he would not be cold. He has been to the vet's 4 times and in total ended up costing me over $1200. I would not do that again. Now I understand that it is better to let them go. Walter never did get much better after the mutant staph infection was diagnosed. So now there is no Cotswold ram, but I have 43Y, one of the original three ewes and three other ewes, lambs from the ewes prior to being sold.
The sheep are really lovely, but I have been trying to sell them to lighten my load on the farm. Today they were together and I was able to snap a few photos. Liza, a coloured Cotswold, has such beautiful fleece. Most Cotswolds are white, as my other three ewes are. If I was going to remain a farmer, I would look for a new Cotswold ram. There is little to no market for the sheep and since they grow too slowly to produce market lambs in the first year, they are not a good choice for a meat/wool operation. But, if I could keep their fleece clean, there is certainly a market for their fleece. Spinners are becoming very fussy and only want to purchase coated sheep with ultra clean fleece. I don't blame them, because it is a long process to clean the vegetative matter out of a contaminated fleece and that happens just from eating hay, really.
Take a look at these beautiful girls with curls. Lovely, aren't they?
The ram, Walter, was a very nice, docile and quiet guy, halter trained and easy to manage. The Cotswold rams are not aggressive, as a matter of fact, the breed is quite docile and friendly. Walter looked fine to me when he arrived here, but he seemed a bit thin. I did not want to feed grain to my sheep so did not. Their hay was very good that year. One of the ewes, 43Y was larger and did so much better than the other two. She maintained her weight without grain and managed her wormload without the need for chemical inputs. Walter and the other two ewes could not do without the grain, it seems and also needed to be treated for worms. I sold the ewes and one ram lamb from one of the ewes with Walter as the sire. Walter bred most of the flock the second year he was here and the Cotswold cross sheep were better than the Cotswolds themselves, more robust, with some twins and much quicker growing.
Walter had an infection that would not get better and the following year he passed away. I really loved that big old ram. I held his head when he was going and covered him with straw so he would not be cold. He has been to the vet's 4 times and in total ended up costing me over $1200. I would not do that again. Now I understand that it is better to let them go. Walter never did get much better after the mutant staph infection was diagnosed. So now there is no Cotswold ram, but I have 43Y, one of the original three ewes and three other ewes, lambs from the ewes prior to being sold.
The sheep are really lovely, but I have been trying to sell them to lighten my load on the farm. Today they were together and I was able to snap a few photos. Liza, a coloured Cotswold, has such beautiful fleece. Most Cotswolds are white, as my other three ewes are. If I was going to remain a farmer, I would look for a new Cotswold ram. There is little to no market for the sheep and since they grow too slowly to produce market lambs in the first year, they are not a good choice for a meat/wool operation. But, if I could keep their fleece clean, there is certainly a market for their fleece. Spinners are becoming very fussy and only want to purchase coated sheep with ultra clean fleece. I don't blame them, because it is a long process to clean the vegetative matter out of a contaminated fleece and that happens just from eating hay, really.
Take a look at these beautiful girls with curls. Lovely, aren't they?
This is Lisa's beautiful coloured fleece. She is now her proper size and is two and half years old.
This is 43Y, the most perfect Cotswold. She has excellent fleece and is very hardy.
Another look at 43Y.
Lisa and Lissa, both 2 and half years old.
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