Wiltshire Sheep NZ

"Wiltshire sheep have something for everyone"

Wiltshire are the sheep of choice for the modern shepherd, with a lineage dating back centuries.
They take the drudgery out of sheep farming whilst providing high performance carcass sheep for commercial farmers, and easy-care, characterful companions for the discerning lifestyle farmer.

Wiltshire Horn Ewes from Muriwai Valley Farm

Wiltshires make sense - sustainable & no-nonsense

Horned & Polled Varieties

Wiltshire Horn

The origins of the Wiltshire Horn are not clear, they are thought to be descended from meat sheep brought into Britain by the Romans.
Wiltshire Horn is an old native breed and until the end of the 18th century it was the most popular breed of sheep to be found on the Wiltshire Downs. The sheep roamed freely during the day and were penned at night. The breed did well on poor terrain with little shade or shelter. These origins give the breed its resilience. Early records refer to their ability to thrive on the scant grazing and cover large distances. These characteristics are still part of the breed, they graze more independently than other breeds and move quickly and easily through rough terrain. Wiltshire Horn exhibit an unparalleled ability to thrive where other breeds would fail.
Wiltshire Horn numbers dropped during the 19th century when Britain became reliant on wool. In 1923, the breed was saved from extinction by a group of breeders forming the Wiltshire Horn Sheep Society. Wiltshire Horn numbers increased, and sheep were exported to a number of countries where they have been fundamental in the development of yet more breeds.
New Zealand Wiltshire Horn are descended from Australian imports. There have been several independent consignments of purebred rams and ewes. Some of these imports carry the natural polled mutation. The breed was once a rare breed, but flock numbers have increased, and the breed is very popular with organic farmers and life stylers.
Preserving the unique genetics of the purebred Wiltshire Horn is paramount so that these genetic traits can be replicated in future breeds. In the case of the Wiltshire Horn the ability to shed the fleece annually has been much sought after. It is essential that the original Wiltshire Horn DNA must be maintained, so that future opportunities for breeding and development will not be lost.
More information about the history of Wiltshire Horn can be found on the websites of
Wiltshire Horn Sheep Society of UK
and the
Australian Wiltshire Horn Sheepbreeders Association

Breed standard

Wiltshire (Polled)

The polled variety was developed in New Zealand and Australia. Purebred Wiltshire Horn were crossed with a number of breeds including Poll Dorset, Border Leicester, Poll Merino, and Perendale. Early breeders backcrossed the progeny to purebred Wiltshire Horn, selecting individuals with polled factor, shedding and production traits to breed on, progeny that did not inherit the desired genes were culled. The process of backcrossing continued over many generations until the polled variety was considered to be pure-bred as it bred true for the selected traits. Here the polled variety is referred to as Wiltshire, in Australia it is called the Wiltipoll. Australia set up a registry and breed society and have a breed standard.
The first consignment of Wiltshire genetics imported from Australia consisted of a pure-bred Wiltshire Horn ram and crossbred Wiltshire Horn x Polled Dorset ewes. The genetic diversity of the breed has been strengthened with more consignments of pure-bred Wiltshire Horn and crossbred Wiltshire Horn ewes from several Australian Stud farms.
Wiltshire in New Zealand have been selected to be a highly productive breed, adapting to different types of terrain and environment from the Winterless North to the depths of Southland and Fiordland.
There are flocks listed with Sheep Improvement Ltd (SIL) that undergo performance recording of a variety of production and health traits. Flocks have been developed with high Facial Eczema and parasite resilience.
The low input costs and economics of shedding sheep has led to the development of more shedding breeds. Some of the recent breeds are descended from a foundation of Wiltshire Horn whilst other breeds are Wiltshire free. Semen and embryos of shedding breeds such as Exlana, Easycare, Dorper, Australian White, SheepMaster and MeatMaster have landed in New Zealand. Some commercial breeders are incorporating these genetics into their Wiltshire breeding programmes. This is a new era for shedding sheep in New Zealand and yet another chapter in the Wiltshire story.
The future of Wiltshire in New Zealand is important and is certainly expected to be very bright.

Breed Standard

Proven performance under NZ conditions
Low maintenance and low input costs
Shedding every Spring
Short fleece or hair coat
No wasted energy growing unprofitable fleece
No shearing required, less work, less stress
Less flystrike, hardy & resilient
Highly fertile and good mothering
Lambing percentages of up to 200% or more
High-performance weight gains
Lean fine-grained meat of gourmet quality
Crosses have strong hybrid vigour
Ideal for small blocks
Perfect pets