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| Philosophy and Practice of the Easy Care Breed by R.I. "Iolo" Owen, Secretary of the Society |
| Up until 1963 I, like most lowland sheep producers in Wales, bought in draft Welsh Mountain ewes at about four years old. They would last about 2 or 3 seasons before being replaced and would be crossed with a larger downland breed such as the Suffolk or, in Anglesey, often with the Wiltshire Horn. As the standard of farming improved and more nitrogen was used the demand changed for a larger ewe such as the Welsh half bred and so The Border Leicester became a very popular terminal sire. In 1963 I was plagued by an abortion storm and my lambing percentage dropped from 130% to 60%. With hindsight it was not surprising that disease was introduced to my flock since I bought 2,000 Welsh ewes annually from farms and markets all over North Wales. I therefore had no alternative but to establish a closed flock and breed my own replacements. Although there were dozens of breeds to choose from I was impressed with the small flock of Wiltshire Horns I had on an outlying farm. They needed no shepherding even at lambing and by shedding their wool needed no shearing or fly dipping. I was not however too keen on having a horned breed as a large commercial flock and a slightly smaller hardier and more prolific type was more attractive. The Cross Wiltshire Welsh Mountain was therefore the basis of my new type which I started breeding pure in 1965, and have bred pure ever since. The name ‘Easy Care’ was first used many years ago and means minimal human interference with the production of any commodity. However, it has been interpreted in many forms and is used loosely to describe anything from sheer negligence or ‘No Care’ to a marketing gimmick that often has no resemblance to ‘Easy Care’. The true Easy Care philosophy, when applied to shepherding, usually means set-stocking with anything from 2 ewes per acre all the year round with no nitrogen or concentrated feed up to 8 per acre from Spring until Autumn on rested land according to: 1. Size of ewe 2. Quality of pasture 3. Amount of nitrogen used 4. Any supplementary feed given I have practised the lower end of the stocking rate over the years and have found it very successful; 2 Ewes per acre (5 per Hectare) from October until weaning in July. The rams are introduced at a rate of 3 per 100 on 4th November to coincide with lambing 1st April. This low stocking rate means there is no need for feed unless the ground is snow covered for any length of time when feed blocks can be used. No concentrate feed is ever used and my flock have never seen a trough. No nitrogen is used but I do try and maintain a good Ryegrass sward with plenty of White Clover. Lime, Phosphate and potash is applied when necessary. The rams are removed at the beginning of January and all the flock are vaccinated with ‘8 in 1’ and foot bathed. That is the only time they are gathered during the October to July period making for very low labour costs and no need for a sheep dog! This low density means there is very little worm burden, any foot rot problem is not spread as it would if they were closely stocked and other diseases are not as likely to spread from sheep to sheep. Miss mothering at lambing is kept to a minimum as the ewes have space to lamb and bond on their own. The whole system is ‘back to nature’ as sheep were intended to be. At lambing time I open as many fields as possible for the flock to find its own ‘home’. I ‘look’ at them daily in case there is any problem such as mastitis (none this year) or any other unforeseen issue. The golden rule is to disturb them as little as possible – certainly not to take a dog with you. Sheep do not like stress - and any interference is stress. The very fact that you are in the field is interference. The bonding between ewe and lamb during the first few minutes or even seconds of birth is sacred and they should be left alone. I cannot stress the importance of this enough. Towards the end of April, after the first cycle when grass should be growing, I introduce some cattle at the rate of approximately 200kg live weight per acre or close up a few fields for silage or hay. |
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| The Easy Care Sheep Society Secretary: R.I. Owen, M.B.E., F.R.Ag.S. Glantraeth, Bodorgan, Anglesey, LL62 5EU, U.K. Tel. (01407) 840250 or Email |
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