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Wiltipoll Origins

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The Wiltipoll sheep is derived from the Wiltshire Horn, a very old British breed thought to have been introduced to Britain by the Romans. In this breed both the male and female have horns, and the wool is shed in Spring/early Summer each year.

The Wiltipoll sheep has been produced by crossing the Wiltshire Horn with a polled breed such as  the Merino or Border Leicester and backcrossing the progeny with the Wiltshire Horn successively a further four times, whilst selecting for polledness and wool-shedding.

The fifth generation of this process is an animal that is 96.87% Wiltshire Horn blood but carries the polled gene. If this animal sheds its fleece annually and is polled (or has small scurs no longer than 12mm at the horn site) it is classified as a Class A Wiltipoll.

The crossing of a Class A ram and a Class A ewe will produce a Class A1 animal (again, subject to it shedding its fleece annually and being polled). For further information see www.wiltipoll.com.

 

Registered vs Commercial (Flock) Wiltipolls

Only Class A1 animals (as mentioned above) are eligible for full registration with the Wiltipoll Association. Class A (fifth cross), Class B (fourth cross) and Class C (third cross) animals are eligible for appendix registration, but the back-crossing to the Wiltshire Horn needs to be completed for Classes B and C to produce a Class A Wiltipoll.

At Serenidad Wiltipoll, we have produced Class A Wiltipolls using a Wiltshire Horn ram purchased from the Wonoka Wiltshire Horn Stud in 2006, and through the additional purchase of some A1 ewes have had our first crop of A1 lambs in 2009 (see below).

 

 

Serenidad Wiltipoll also has commercial (or flock) Wiltipolls, produced by crossing Class B and C ewes, and their progeny, with Wiltipoll rams.  This has resulted in animals with all the desirable characteristics of the Wiltipoll, but are not able to be registered. These sheep are a more economic option for people wishing to have a low maintenance sheep without the expense of purchasing a stud animal.

(Right) Commercial ewes.

Desirable Characteristics

The Wiltipoll has many desirable characteristics, particularly for the hobby farmer, including:

• Low maintenance – as the fleece is shed annually, there is no need for shearing, crutching or mulesing, and the incidence of fly-strike and lice is virtually non-existent;
• The absence of horns makes handling easier, and eliminates the possibility of sheep getting caught in fences or causing injury to others in the yards;
• Superior quality meat for the production of prime lamb or mutton – dressing percentage generally exceeds 50% and at Serenidad we have achieved dressed weights of over 30 kgms at approximately 10 months of age;
• High fecundity (fertility) rate – multiple births are frequent, and at Serenidad we have achieved lambing percentages of up to 165%;
• Efficiency – Wiltipolls are great converters of feed to meat, even on poor quality pasture;
• Grass seed resistant - the Wiltipoll has generally shed its fleece by the time grass seeds are at their worst.

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Serenidad Wiltipoll
Via Mount Torrens
South Australia
0419 239 214
len@serenidadwiltipoll.com.au

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