The new ‘Exlana’ – ‘without’ wool
This is a new breed developed by ourselves and just 8 other farmers in the south west. We have adopted the ‘easy care’ philosophy for many years and it is now widely accepted within the industry as the way forward for the sheep farmer who will be managing much larger flocks of sheep in the future.
As one of the founder members of SIG (Sheep Improvement Group), a SW initiative which identified the need for a breed of sheep which will efficiently produce high quality lamb off grass with minimal labour inputs but with the highest possible Health and Welfare standards. The Exlana combines the best of many existing UK breeds, (including the New Zealand Katardin, South African Dorper and the Barbados Black Belly) with the most notable factor of wool shedding, with natural resistance to internal worms and footrot, easy lambing and milky, producing lambs outside with tremendous vigour at birth leading to good growth rates and superior carcases.
Along side the SufTex rams we will be demonstrating some SIG hybrids, working from the maternal line which is currently in development. We think that this will be the ultimate ‘easily managed’ ewe. wool shedding, easy lambing, milky, ewes with good mothering ability, resistance to worms and footrot, and capable of producing fast growing lambs with good carcasses.
The wool, which is shorter and more sparse than a traditional British sheep, begins shedding around the animal’s neck and legs, often leaving a temporary patch in the middle. Where a normal sheep would produce up to 9 kg of wool, the Exlana ‘ – yields just 500g, with obvious benefits against getting caught up, on their backs and is spared the stress of shearing.